Religion in the Republic of Macedonia
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In North Macedonia, the most common religion is
Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
, practiced mainly by ethnic Macedonians, Serbians, Vlakhs, and
Romanis The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic Itinerant groups in Europe, itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have Ro ...
. The vast majority of the Eastern Orthodox in the country belong to the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which declared autocephaly from the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
in 1967. Muslims are the second-largest religious group with almost one-third of the population adhering to
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, mainly from the country's
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
,
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
,
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
, Bosnian, and
Macedonian Muslim The Macedonian Muslims ( mk, Македонци-муслимани, Makedonci-muslimani), also known as Muslim Macedonians or ''Torbeši'' ( mk, Торбеши), and in some sources grouped together with Pomaks, are a minority religious group w ...
population. There are also many other religious groups in North Macedonia, including Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism. In 2011, through a survey carried out by Ipsos MORI, the religious composition of North Macedonia was found to be 70.7% Christian, divided in 69.6% Eastern Orthodox and 0.4%
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, and 28.6%
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, with unaffiliated Muslims making up the 25.6%. According to the 2021 official census, the religious composition of North Macedonia was 60.44% Christian of all denominations, 32.17% Muslim, 0.59% atheist or agnostic, and 7.26% other or undefined (predominantly orthodox Macedonians as per registries) .


Christianity


Eastern Orthodoxy

Eastern Orthodoxy has had a long history in North Macedonia, and remains the majority religion. In 1019 the Archbishopric of Ohrid was established. In 1767 on order of the Sultan, the Archbishopric was abolished by the Turkish authorities and annexed to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries there was an effort to reinstate the Archbishopric of Ohrid. The Macedonian Orthodox Church gained autonomy from the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
in 1959 and declared the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. On July 19, 1967, the Macedonian Orthodox Church declared autocephaly from the Serbian Orthodox Church. Most Macedonians belong to the
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
faith. In 2001 the Church had about 1,350,000 adherents in North Macedonia.CIA - The World Factbook - Macedonia
/ref> The Serbian Orthodox Church congregates primarily the ethnic
Macedonian Serbs The Serbs are one of the constitutional peoples of North Macedonia ( mk, Србите во Северна Македонија, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Срби у Северној Македонији, Srbi u Severnoj Makedoniji), numbering about 24,000 ...
.


Catholicism

In 2001 the Holy See established the
Byzantine Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia The Macedonian Greek Catholic Church ( la, Ecclesiae Graecae Catholico Macedonica; mk, Македонска грчка католичка црква), sometimes called, in reference to its Byzantine Rite, the Macedonian Byzantine Catholic Churc ...
. Currently, members of the Macedonian Catholic Church number about 11,266. It is a
Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. Th ...
'' sui juris'' particular church in
full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...
with Pope and the rest of the Catholic Church, alongside the Eastern Catholic Churches and uses
Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...
in the liturgy. The census of 2021 registered 6.746 Catholics.


Protestantism

There are a number of Protestants in North Macedonia. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
missionaries converted villages in the
Strumica Strumica ( mk, Струмица, ) is the largest city2002 census results
in English and Macedon ...
- Petrich region to Methodism, a faith still practiced. There is also a small community of Macedonian Baptists which has existed since 1928.


Islam

Islam has had a significant influence in North Macedonia since the Ottoman conquests in the 14th and 15th centuries. Many Turks settled in the region of Macedonia and introduced aspects of
Islamic culture Islamic culture and Muslim culture refer to cultural practices which are common to historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to the early Umayyad period and the early Abbasid period, were predomi ...
. Most
Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
and some ethnic Macedonians converted to Islam. These Macedonian Muslims or Torbeši generally retained their
Macedonian culture The term Macedonian culture may refer to: * Culture of Ancient Macedonians * Culture of Macedonians (ethnic group) In territorial terms: * Culture of Macedonia (region) * Culture of Ancient Macedonia * Culture of Macedonia (Greece) * Culture of No ...
and customs while many were assimilated as Turks.Niel Simpson, Macedonia; Its Disputed History, Aristoc Press.1994 By the 19th Century most of the cities were primarily populated by Muslims. The Šarena Džamija in Tetovo is a legacy of the country's Ottoman past. In 2002, Muslims form approximately 33.33% of the nation's total population. According to the census of 2021, the share of Muslims was 32.17% of the total (resident) population, which was slightly lower compared to 33.33% in the census of 2002.


Judaism

Jews had been present when the region now called the Republic of North Macedonia was under Roman rule in the second century AD. The population was decimated by the Crusades, but rose again following the immigration of Sephardic Jews under the Ottoman Empire. In the Second World War, North Macedonia was occupied by Bulgaria, an
Axis power The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were Na ...
, and the Jews were sent to concentration camps. As in the rest of the Balkans, the Holocaust and immigration to Israel means that North Macedonia now has a much smaller Jewish community, numbering roughly 200. It is mainly based in the capital, Skopje, and has no functioning
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
. The census of 2021 registred 74 "Members of the Jewish (Moses) community", with Jewish men forming the majority of this community (42 males compared to 32 females).


Religious freedom

The laws of North Macedonia prohibit religious discrimination and provide for equal rights for all citizens regardless religious belief, and people generally have the freedom to practice their religion without disruption. Religious organizations have complained about unfair treatment by the government around questions of building permits and property restitutions. There have been incidences of vandalism and theft against religious buildings.
International Religious Freedom Report 2017 Macedonia
', US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor


See also

* Demographics of North Macedonia *
Hinduism in North Macedonia Hinduism in North Macedonia is mainly represented by the Hare Krishna movement ( ISKCON) and the Sathya Sai Baba Organisation. ISKCON and the Satya Sai Baba-Centre have been registered in Macedonia as a part of the Oriental religion. Hare Krishna ...


References


Sources

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