STEPPING OUT OF THE “ENCLAVE”: PUBLIC ACTIVITIES OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND THE QUEST TO REGAIN SOCIAL AUTHORITY IN THE 1980S
STEPPING OUT OF THE “ENCLAVE”: PUBLIC ACTIVITIES OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND THE QUEST TO REGAIN SOCIAL AUTHORITY IN THE 1980S

Summary/Abstract: In this paper we will consider how, from the beginning to the end of the 1980s, the Serbian Orthodox Church gradually abandoned its restricted mode of public action and moved from an enclave form, with occasional elements of counter publics, to a dominant public sphere. This process was the result of a complex set of phenomena that often overlapped. Pressure from authorities on religious communities and believers started to decline at the time despite restrictive legislation regarding public appearances by religious officials still being in force. This was followed by a pronounced deatheization of younger parts of the population and an expansion of various forms of secular religiosity (popular culture, sports), including hybrid types of postmodern spirituality within Yugoslav society. In such circumstances, religious communities were encouraged to expand the scope of their public activities, so they found new forms of communication and networking, both among believers and in various social circles. Our aim is to point to forms of public action cultivated at the time by the Church and the stages it underwent in its participation in the public sphere. Additionally, the factors that influenced a change in the Church’s public and social position in the late 1980s will be discussed, along with the consequences caused in different areas of its functioning.

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