Uloga vjere u formiranju stava prema drugom i drukčijem: između religijskih ideala i bosanskohercegovačke stvarnosti
The role of faith in forming a stance toward others and toward those who are different: between religious ideals and reality in Bosnia

Summary/Abstract: In the context of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s, and the revitalization of religious praxis and its more vivid presence in social life, this article asks what is the role of the individual’s faith, in terms of religious awareness and personal experience of holiness, in the context of developing peaceful coexistence with the members of different ethno-religious communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The purpose of this enquiry is to determine how much and in what way religious orthodoxy, as a personal reinforcement of basic religious beliefs and as an aspect of religious awareness, determines the attitudes of young people toward those who can be characterized in an ethno-confessional sense as “other”, and how this affects, to a greater or lesser degree the individual’s willingness to accept coexistence. The issue is examined from the perspective of contemporary psycho-social theory and in accordance with the scientific methodology of empirical research into religious awareness. Depending on how the evidence is analyzed, orthodoxy may have no implications whatsoever for this kind of inter-ethnic attitude, or it may have a minor influence on young people, discouraging them from moving closer to people from other ethnic communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The data may suggest that the cause of this unwillingness to move closer to other groups may be a lack of ideological consistency and also a feeling that the individual’s ethnic group is under threat – characteristics that are found among a small proportion of religious believers. The article identifies ways in which religious communities must intensify their efforts if they want to help develop peaceful coexistence among the different ethno-religious communities living in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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