Religion, Ethnicity and Symbolic Boundaries in the Republic of Macedonia

Authors:

Pages: 167-173
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/PGHX8082

Abstract:

In historical context, the territory of the contemporary Republic of Macedonia was inhabited by population with different ethnic and/or religious belonging. Furthermore, there is not sharp division between the different groups and the boundaries (according to Barth) are not impervious. The picture in ethnic and religious terms in this part of the Balkans is extremely variegated and dynamic both in the past and today. The population has lived in a contact zone, where cultural adoptions were hardly an exception. This is an area where the processes of differentiation, consolidation and identification had not come to an end even in the 20th century, and are continuing today. The aim of the presented paper is to analyse the dynamics of religion-ethnicity ratio with a stress on its contemporary issues. The author places a special emphasis upon the actual ethnic conflict between Albanians and Macedonians and the use of religion and religious symbols in this collision, which is reflected both in the political discourse and in the everyday social life and relationships, influencing perceptions and collective notions of peoples about religion and ethnicity.

Keywords:

Macedonia, religion, ethnicity, boundaries

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