Religion in North Macedonia
In
Muslims are the second-largest religious group with almost one-third of the population adhering to
In 2011, through a survey carried out by
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).[4][5]
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 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 faith. In 2001 the Church had about 1,350,000 adherents in North Macedonia.[6] The Serbian Orthodox Church congregates primarily the ethnic Macedonian Serbs.[citation needed]
Catholicism
In 2001 the
Protestantism
There are a number of Protestants in North Macedonia. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American missionaries converted villages in the Strumica-Petrich region to Methodism, a faith still practiced. There is also a small community of Macedonian Baptists which has existed since 1928.[8]
Islam
Islam has had a significant influence in North Macedonia since the
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
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.[13]
In 2023, the country was scored 3 out of 4 for religious freedom.[14]
See also
References
- ^ "Попис на населението, домаќинствата и становите во Република Северна Македонија, 2021 - прв сет на податоци" (in Macedonian). Archived from the original on 30 March 2022.
- ^ "State Statistical Office - Census Law Article 5 (2)" (PDF). State Statistical Office (in Macedonian). 2022-04-08.
- ^ "Strategies of symbolic nation-building in West Balkan states: intents and results (completed) - Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages". www.hf.uio.no. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ^ "State Statistical Office - Census Law Article 5 (2)" (PDF). State Statistical Office (in Macedonian). 2022-04-08.
- ^ "Total resident population in the Republic of North Macedonia by religious affiliation and sex, Census 2021".
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Macedonia
- ^ Annuario Pontificio 2012, p. 1031
- ^ Историја на македонската нација. Блаже Ристовски, 1999, Скопје
- ^ a b Niel Simpson, Macedonia; Its Disputed History, Aristoc Press.1994
- ^ "Попис на населението, домаќинствата и становите во Република Северна Македонија, 2021 - прв сет на податоци" (PDF). popis2021.stat.gov.mk (in Macedonian). 30 March 2022. p. 82. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Bulgaria". Archived from the original on 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
- ^ "North Macedonia Virtual Jewish History Tour".
- ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2017 Macedonia, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Freedom House website, Montenegro page, retrieved 2023-08-08
Sources
- Dragojlović, Dragoljub (1991). "Archevéché d'Ohrid dans la hiérarchie des grandes églises chrétiennes" (PDF). Balcanica (22): 43–55.
- Kiminas, Demetrius (2009). The Ecumenical Patriarchate: A History of Its Metropolitanates with Annotated Hierarch Catalogs. Wildside Press LLC. ISBN 9781434458766.
- ISBN 9780521071888.
- Stanković, Vlada, ed. (2016). The Balkans and the Byzantine World before and after the Captures of Constantinople, 1204 and 1453. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. ISBN 9781498513265.