Religion in Bulgaria after 1989: historical and sociocultural aspects
Religion in Bulgaria after 1989: historical and sociocultural aspects

Summary/Abstract: Speaking of religion in eastern Europe and especially in the Balkans, and in particular in Bulgaria, the specific socio-cultural characteristics of the region, which are quite different from those of western Europe, should be taken clearly into account. This does not mean that the Balkans are not Europe, nor that the local states are post-Ottoman hybrids between the west and the orient. The Balkans are, indeed, Europe and in it live people who are Europeans in spirit and in self-consciousness, but this is not the well-known western Europe; it is one different, alternative Europe, a Balkan Europe or, in other words, the other Europe. And when meeting one close and yet alien reality, we should not be confused by the similarities between them, nor exaggerate the differences, but to try to comprehend it within the boundaries of its own tradition which had created it in its present state. In this respect should be seen the specific ethnic and religious problems of the Balkans.

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