Sažetak
During Croatian recent history we witnessed massive changes in social, political, cultural and religious domains. Catholicism as a dominant religious position intertwined with political ideas, at the same time reinforcing specific Croatian ethnic identity and providing social cohesion, pride and value system for the majority of the population. On the other hand, these processes provoked a redefinition of religious/non-religious boundaries as well as dominant/majority religious ones. Our focus in this paper is to contribute to the discussion of the minority religious’ statuses, especially Orthodox, by discussing public visibility of Orthodox identities and the destiny of many Orthodox churches in isolated and border areas which have fallen into disrepair, are destroyed, desecrated and abandoned. Observing Orthodox religion through two distinct, yet related ways, as material objects and (invisible) social identities, we argue that Orthodoxy as a religious identity in Croatia is privatized; that in many places devastation of sacred sites affects historically rooted memory; and that, due to the state neglect, Orthodox minority in many isolated areas are hindered in practicing religion and are facing cultural and social disappearance. The analysis is based on ethnographic field research, in-depth interviews, and visual analysis of archival photographs.
Ključne riječi
orthodoxy; Croatia; sacred spaces; religious identity