The Relationship Between The Political And Religious Elite In Contemporary Macedonian Society Cover Image

Однос између политичке и верске елите у савременом македонском друштву
The Relationship Between The Political And Religious Elite In Contemporary Macedonian Society

Author(s): Duška N. Matevska
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences
Published by: Центар за проучавање религије и верску толеранцију
Keywords: political elite; religiosity; religious elite; religious tolerance

Summary/Abstract: In contrast to the political parties which are a relatively new social phenomenon, the religiosity is a universal social one which has been incorporated in almost every significant civilization and was established on the grounds of a certain religious component. Regarding the Christianity, this act has been directly bounded to the recognition of the Christianity as an official religion of the Roman Empire which led to an impermissible relationship between the church and the state. The Church began to neglect its holy duties more frequently by turning to secular ones. It was no longer a Church that served the people but, rather, it became a Church aspiring towards power and dominion. The focus of this paper will be the influence of the political elite on the religious situation in the Macedonian post-communist society. We will do our best to determine both the genesis and the reasons that led to such a firm link between the political parties of the Macedonian provenience and the Macedonian Orthodox Church, as well as the possible negative impact of this “matrimony” between the holy and the secular over the Macedonian multi-cultural, multi-ethnical and multi-confessional society especially in the post-conflict period.

  • Issue Year: V/2011
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 129-140
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: English