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Religious Freedom Summary* (1997) The Constitution provides for freedom of conscience and religion and free public profession of religious convictions, and the Government respects these rights in practice. There is no official state religion. All religious communities are free to conduct public services and to open and run social and charitable institutions. Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Islam are the major faiths, and there is a small though active Jewish community. The great majority of Croats are Roman Catholic, and the Government provides optional Catholic religious training in schools. No formal restrictions are imposed on religious groups. The main mosque is in Zagreb, where it serves not only as a religious center but also as a social aid office for the large Bosnian Muslim refugee population. Croatian Protestants from a number of denominations, as well as foreign clergy, actively practice and proselytize, as do representatives of Eastern-based religions. The Government tightened its residence permit and visa issuance policy at midyear, but this was a general policy shift and not directed at religious workers (although they were among those affected). Although religious education is not in itself compulsory, all schools are required to offer classes in religion. Schools with large minority populations are allowed to offer classes in minority religions (i.e., Orthodox catechism in Serb majority schools). There were numerous reports that despite the fact that religious training in schools was not compulsory, students were subtly pressured to attend. Incidents occurred in which the police harassed those attending religious ceremonies, incited anti-Orthodox mob action, and refused to restrain those who sought to disrupt Orthodox rituals (see Section 5). The Government discriminates against Muslims in the issuance of citizenship documents. The Interior Ministry frequently uses Article 26 of the Law on Citizenship to deny citizenship papers to persons otherwise qualified to be citizens (see Section 5). *Source: County Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997, U.S. Department of State |