Identität von Religion und Nation in den Ländern Südosteuropas
The Sameness of Religion and Nation in the Countries of Southeast Europe

Summary/Abstract: Many people believe that orthodox churches support nationalism; religious identities prevent the development of democratic pluralism. Christianization in young Slavic states of South-Eastern Europe meant political autonomy; it characterized the beginning of a separate literary culture and helped to develop a "national identity". Under almost 500 years of their rule, the Ottomans divided their subjects according to their religious identity as "millet" (religious nation) and the Orthodox Christians as the "Rûm millet". Especially the monasteries proved to be a refuge for Slavic worship, language and culture, they marked the revival of national consciousness and identity supported the liberation and reinstitution of separate states. – There is an Islamic diversity in South Eastern Europe. – Based on the declaration of Corfu in 1917, political equality and an equal status for Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim faith and for the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets became effective in Yugoslavia. Even since the end of communism and the suppression of religions, there is the danger that religious or ethnic identity causes fundamentalism and hostility or again might be abused to strengthen the political or economic power of special groups or politicians. Only with a real knowledge of the own identity but also of the religious/philosophical orientation of others, it will be possible to spread values as well as ethical and spiritual sources of Europe’s building process

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