Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
has been a
secular state
A secular state is an idea pertaining to secularity, whereby a State (polity), state is or purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state claims to treat all its citizens ...
since its founding in 1912, despite various changes in political systems. During the 20th century after Independence (1912) the democratic, monarchic and later the totalitarian
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
regimes followed a systematic secularisation of the nation and the national culture. The Albanian understanding of
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...
has strong influences from the French "
Laïcité
(; 'secularism') is the constitutional principle of secularism in France. Article 1 of the French Constitution is commonly interpreted as discouraging religious involvement in government affairs, especially religious influence in the determin ...
".
Currently Albania is a secular
parliamentary republic
A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number ...
, in which the state guarantees freedom of belief. The constitution recognizes the equality of religious communities and the state is neutral in the questions of faith.
History
Ottoman Era
![PashkoVasa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/PashkoVasa.jpg)
During
Ottoman era
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, Albanians were divided by religion in the
Millet system
In the Ottoman Empire, a millet (; ar, مِلَّة) was an independent court of law pertaining to "personal law" under which a confessional community (a group abiding by the laws of Muslim Sharia, Christian Canon law, or Jewish Halakha) was al ...
in which the Muslims should use Sharia while the Christians would use Canon Law.
Albanian nationalism
Albanian nationalism is a general grouping of nationalist ideas and concepts generated by ethnic Albanians that were first formed in the 19th century during the Albanian National Awakening ( sq, Rilindja). Albanian nationalism is also associated w ...
as it emerged wanted to overcome the religious divisions among Albanians between members of the local
Sunni Muslim
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...
,
Orthodox Christian
Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...
,
Bektashi Muslim and
Roman Catholic Christian communities since the Ottomans would use religion to divide them. Albanian nationalists argued that divisive sectarian religious fanaticism was alien to Albanian culture, and propagated what some historians refer to as a "'civic religion' of Albanianism".
[Duijzings, Ger. "Religion and the Politics of 'Albanianism. In Schwandler-Stevens and Jurgen, ''Albanian Identities: Myth and History''. Pages 61-62. Page 62: "nationalist rhetoric declared it eligion/milletto be unimportant (and that religious fanaticism to be alien to the Albanian soul)", page 61:"From the beginning, national ideologists propagated a kind of 'civil religion' of Albanianism, which was epitomized in Pashko Vasa's famous and influential nationalist poem ''O moj Shqipni'' ("O poor Albania"): "Awaken, Albanians, wake from your slumber. Let us all be brothers, swear an oath not to mind church or mosque. The faith of the Albanian is Albanianism!] Pashko Vasa Pashko is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Gramoz Pashko (1955–2006), Albanian economist and politician
* Josif Pashko (1918–1963), Albanian politician
* Walter Pashko (1930–2006), American painter
See also
* Pasco (di ...
's famous poem ''
O moj Shqypni
O Moj Shqypni ( en, "Oh Albania, poor Albania") is a poem written by Vaso Pasha, a political figure, poet, novelist, and patriot known for his role during the Rilindja. It was written between 1878, an important year for the League of Prizren and 1 ...
'' told Albanians to "swear an oath not to mind
it. "look to"church or mosque" because "the faith of the Albanian is Albanianism"
( sq, feja e shqiptarit është shqiptaria or in aln, Feja e shqyptarit asht shqyptarija).
Sami Frashëri
Sami bey Frashëri ( tr, Şemseddin Sami Bey; June 1, 1850 – June 18, 1904) or Şemseddin Sâmi was an Ottoman Albanian writer, philosopher, playwright and a pr ...
in his 1899 work, ''"Shqipëria ç'ka qenë, ç'është dhe ç'do të bëhet"'', envisioned an Albania that would have no official religion and where education would be secular.
Independence
![Ahmet-Zogu-1895---1961](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Ahmet-Zogu-1895---1961.jpg)
After Albania became Independent in 1912, the government decided that the old Ottoman laws would still be in use until the government would pass new laws. But it was decided that
Kadis would only handle cases related to religion, while the civil cases would proceed but by state courts. The Albanian Constitution of 1920 had no official religion and the separation of between the state and the religious communities was in the framework of the freedom of religion. The 1922 Constitution first established the main contours of the model of secularism, tailored to country’s troublesome religious plurality: the state had no official religion; all religions were free; but they were excluded from any role in the system of legal jurisdiction or politics. In particular, the state’s claim to neutrality targeted the privileges that the Muslim majority enjoyed during the outgoing Empire.
Zogist Era
Modernization reforms took on new impulses once Ahmet Zogu came into power, first as president, from 1924 to 1928, and later as self-proclaimed king of Albania, from 1928 to 1939. During his reign, Zog embraced the renaissance ideals of unity, areligiosity and European modernity, and turned them into the very ideology of the state. He further added authoritarian might to enforce an Albanian version of laïcité, namely: 1) state neutrality; 2) a plethora of religious rights; and 3) co-optation of religious communities to state’s goals.
The 1925 Constitution arranged for stricter state controls on the activity of religious groups and expanded the competences of Zog in ‘tutoring’ religious authorities and ‘preventing’ them from infringing national ‘unity’. Zog’s increased powers as king of the country after 1928 allowed him more authority to pressure religious communities into following the state’s vision of a ‘true European state’. Specifically, the 1928 Statute of the Kingdom tightened state supervision over religious communities and religious education was placed under the control of the Ministry of Education. A 1929 decree on the administration of religious communities put them under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, and banned the clergy from pursuing political goals. The king himself took on exceptional powers to replace the chairs of religious communities whenever needed. He also took it upon himself to remind the communities of their national-patriotic tasks: ‘Do not forget that while fulfilling the holy duty… the fatherland must be above everything.’ Intellectuals in general gave their backing to the state’s top-down modernist approach, and argued that Muslims had no other choice but to reform according to ‘principles of present European life’.
In 1924 the government led by
Ahmet Zogolli
Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939), Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27 ...
(later King Zog) passed a decree in which the religious communities of Albania would be granted a special status that gave the state the right to monitor the ban of religious political activities. They would also have no jurisdiction in the Albanian state, no subsidies or relations with outside organisations or persons.
In 1928, a new constitution was put in force which proclaimed King Zog and abolished
Islamic law
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...
, Canon Law and the Albanian customary law, adopting in their place a
civil code
A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations.
A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...
based on the
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
one, as
Atatürk's Turkey had done in the same decade. The new constitution declared:
In a 1929 congress, the Muslim community, under pressure from the government, adopted the template of Albanianism, including its twist towards European modernity and civilizational progress. In line with state-demanded reforms, the Sunnis’ 1929 congress, which was de facto organized by the state, adopted highly controversial reforms, including the use of Albanian as the official language for sermons, the unification of all local madrassas into a single institution, and the closure of the mosques. The Muslim community's reshuffled statutes required its head ‘to be faithful to the King, to the fatherland and to respect the Constitution with national consciousness”. The 1929 Civil Code abolished also remaining competences of the Islamic courts by stripping the Muslim hierarchy of any forms of political and legal authority.
In 1930 the Albanian Ministry of Education passed a decree which forces religious communities to finance their own religious schools and lessons. The law hit the Muslim community hard because they could not finance them, and as a result of it in 1938 there were only 2-3
madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
s left in all of Albania.
From 1933 until 1936 all
private school
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
s were banned, which in practice meant that Catholic schools could not operate in Albania. The government of Zog was forced to backtrack after Italian and international pressure.
Italian and Germany occupation
The relations with the state and the religious communities improved after the 1939 occupation, since both the Italians and the Germans wanted to have good relations with the religious communities of Albania. During the occupation a limited number of religious lessons were maintained.
Communist era
During the
communist era
A Communist Era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of Communist rule.
Current communist states China
The Chinese Communist P ...
, Albania transitioned from a simple secular state to, in 1967, an entity upholding
state atheism
State atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. It is a form of religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically li ...
by which all public practice of religion was banned, although some private practice survived.
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...
exploited Pashko Vasa's ''O moj Shqypni'' and implemented its stanza "the faith of the Albanians is Albanianism" literally as state policy. The communist regime proclaimed that the only religion of the Albanians was ''Albanianism''.
1946-1967
The
Agrarian Reform Law of August 1946 nationalized most property of religious institutions, including the estates of monasteries, orders, and dioceses. Many clergy and believers were tried, tortured, and executed, and all foreign Roman Catholic priests, monks, and nuns were expelled.
Religious communities or branches that had their headquarters outside the country, such as the
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
and
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
orders, were henceforth ordered to terminate their activities in Albania.
Religious institutions were forbidden to have anything to do with the education of the young, because that had been made the exclusive province of the state. All religious communities were prohibited from owning real estate and from operating philanthropic and welfare institutions and hospitals.
Although there were tactical variations in First Secretary of the Communist Party Enver Hoxha's approach to each of the major denominations, his overarching objective was the eventual destruction of all organized religion in Albania. Between 1945 and 1953, the number of priests was reduced drastically and the number of Roman Catholic churches was decreased from 253 to 100, and all Catholics were stigmatized as fascists.
Total ban on religion beginning in 1967
Beginning in 1967 the Albanian authorities began a violent campaign to try to eliminate religious life in Albania. Despite complaints, even by
Party of Labour of Albania
The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded o ...
members, all churches, mosques,
tekkes
A khanqah ( fa, خانقاه) or khangah ( fa, خانگاه; also transliterated as ''khankah'', ''khaneqa'', ''khanegah'' or ''khaneqah''; also Arabized ''hanegah'', ''hanikah'', ''hanekah'', ''khankan''), also known as a ribat (), is a buildin ...
, monasteries, and other religious institutions were either closed down or converted into warehouses, gymnasiums, or workshops by the end of 1967. By May 1967, religious institutions had been forced to relinquish all 2,169 churches, mosques, cloisters, and shrines in Albania, many of which were converted into cultural centres for young people. As the literary monthly Nëndori reported the event, the youth had thus "created the first atheist nation in the world."
A major center for anti-religious propaganda was the National Museum of Atheism ( sq, Muzeu Ateist) in Shkodër, the city viewed by the government as the most religiously conservative.
Lift of the ban
After the death of
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...
in 1985, his successor,
Ramiz Alia
Ramiz Tafë Alia (; 18 October 1925 – 7 October 2011) was an Albanian politician serving as the second and last leader of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albani ...
, adopted a relatively tolerant stance toward religious practice, referring to it as "a personal and family matter." Émigré clergymen were permitted to reenter the country in 1988 and officiate at religious services.
Mother Teresa
Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...
, an ethnic Albanian, visited Albania in 1989, where she was received by the foreign minister and by Hoxha's widow. In December 1990, the ban on public religious observance was officially lifted, in time to allow thousands of Christians to attend Christmas services.
Constitutional principles
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right. There is no official religion and all religions are equal; however, the predominant religious communities (Sunni Muslim, Bektashi, Orthodox, and Catholic) enjoy a greater degree of official recognition (e.g., national holidays) and social status based on their historical presence in the country.
The current Albanian constitution (from 1998) stipulates that:
# In the Republic of Albania there is no official religion.
# The state is neutral on questions of belief and conscience and guarantees the freedom of their expression in public life.
# The state recognizes the equality of religious communities.
# The state and the religious communities mutually respect the independence of one another and work together for the good of each and all.
# Relations between the state and religious communities are regulated on the basis of agreements entered into between their representatives and the Council of Ministers. These agreements are ratified by the Assembly.
# Religious communities are juridical persons. They have independence in the administration of their properties according to their principles, rules and canons, to the extent that interests of third parties are not infringed.
Debates about secularism
Generally in Albanian society secularism is considered very important and the guarantor of religious tolerance and coexistence. However, there have been public debates about its scope and how encompassing it should be.
Religious symbols in schools
The Albanian government in 2011 wanted to pass a new education law that would prohibit religious symbols in the schools. This promoted new debates about the secularity of education and about possible religious discrimination since they could ban the
hijab
In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...
. The government removed the part that would ban religious symbols in the new law after protest from the religious communities.
In a 2011 Ipsos poll in Albania, 53.6% of those who responded "fully supported" a ban on religious symbols in public schools, while 20.7% supported it to "some extent" and 21.5% were opposed.
Religion classes in state schools
The Ministry of Education asserts that public schools in the country are secular and that the law prohibits ideological and religious indoctrination. Religion generally is not taught in public schools but there have been attempts to include religion in education.
In 2012 the religious communities proposed an inclusion of a subject about "Religious culture" in pre-university education and they gained the support the then minister of education, Myqerem Tafaj. This incited strong debates about the nature of subject, with questions regarding whether it was permissible by the constitution and what impact it could have.
In 2016 the government of
Edi Rama
Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama, 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, painter, writer, former university lecturer, publicist and former basketball player, who has served as the 33rd and current Prime Minister of Albania since 2013 and chairm ...
proposed to have lessons about "History of Religion" which according to the Education Minister,
Lindita Nikolla
Lindita Nikolla (born: 22 October 1965) is an Albanian politician
who is serving as the Speaker of the Parliament since September 10, 2021.
Previously she served as the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth
The Ministry of Education, Sports an ...
"would not entail religious proselytizing". A pilot project about this new religious school subject started being implemented in the second semester of 2016-2017 in some schools for 6th and 10th graders.
See also
*
Religion in Albania
The most common religion in Albania is Islam, with the second-most-common religion being Christianity. There are also many Irreligion in Albania, irreligious Albanians. There are no official statistics regarding the number of practising religio ...
*
Laïcité
(; 'secularism') is the constitutional principle of secularism in France. Article 1 of the French Constitution is commonly interpreted as discouraging religious involvement in government affairs, especially religious influence in the determin ...
Religions
*
Christianity in Albania
Christianity in Albania was established throughout the country in 325 AD. From 1100 AD, the Byzantine Empire carried out Church missions in the area. In relation to the increasing influence of Venice, the Franciscans started to settle down in the ...
*
Roman Catholicism in Albania
The Catholic Church in Albania is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
According to some sources around 16-17% of the population of Albania were Catholic,[Orthodoxy in Albania
Eastern Orthodoxy arrived in the area of contemporary Albania during the Roman period.
In Albania, Eastern Orthodoxy underwent many changes due to sociopolitical difficulties of the medieval period resulting in the conversion of the Albanian nort ...]
*
Islam in Albania
Islam in Albania mainly arrived during the Ottoman period when the majority of Albanians over time converted to Islam. Following the Albanian National Awakening (Rilindja) tenets and the deemphasizing of religion during the 20th century, t ...
*
Protestantism in Albania
*
Irreligion in Albania
Irreligion, atheism and agnosticism are present among Albanians (see religion in Albania), along with the predominant faiths of Islam and Christianity. The majority of Albanians lead a secular life and reject religious considerations to shape or ...
*
Judaism in Albania
The history of the Jews in Albania dates back about 2,000 years.
According to historian Apostol Kotani (''Albania and the Jews''): "Jews may have first arrived in Albania as early as 70 C.E. as captives on Roman ships that washed up on the coun ...
References
{{Religion and politics
Religion in Albania
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...