Nonecclesiastical Religiousness in Croatia

The apparent proliferation of new forms of religious communal life challenges the traditional premises of the sociology of religion because it requires the relativization of its definitions & methods. The traditional focus of the Croatian sociology of religion on ecclesiastical religiousness is analyzed as a consequence of its long-time confrontation with Marxist ideological atheism. Studies of non-Christian & non-European religions in Croatia could be facilitated by the development of comprehensive statistical surveys, as well as detailed ethnographic research on local communities. The necessary reinterpretation of both secular & religious values in Croatia is further complicated by the absence of the sociocultural context of developed pluralist societies. 17 References. Adapted from the source document.