The Legal Position of the Religious Communities in the Republic of Macedonia

The territory of the modern Republic of Macedonia (official name as of recently is Republic of North Macedonia) has historically been exposed to Judaism, Eastern and Western Christianity, Islam, and later to Protestantism. In the People’s /Socialist Republic of Macedonia, the religious communities were kept out of public life and suppressed. The government favored the Macedonian Orthodox Church for strengthening the Macedonian national consciousness. The Republic of Macedonia is a self-declared secular multi-confessional state. The article covers the history of the religious landscape as well as the legal framework and practices of the state toward the Churches, faith communities, and religious groups. According to its 2001 Constitution, all faith communities are equal before the law. However, the Constitution singles out five faith communities that use the term Constitutional faith communities. The biggest is the Macedonian Orthodox Church, and next is the Islamic Religious Community. The third is the Catholic Church. The other two constitutional faith communities are legacy one, the Evangelical Methodist Church, with 1000 adherents, and the Jewish Community has only 250 adherents. The Court Register of the Churches, Faith Communities, and Religious Groups has a total of 44 entries: 20 churches, 11 faith communities, and 13 religious groups. The article presents information on the majority of the registered religious communities from available public sources.