A Christian region
According to the most recent census (2021), 78.97% of Croatians are Catholics, while 3.32% are Orthodox Christians, mainly represented by the Serbian community of Krajina or Eastern Slavonia. This shows the importance of Catholicism and Christianity in this country, even if not all Christians are practicing Christians. On a political level, close links between Church and State exist. In the history of governance, they have supported conservative and nationalist orientations, with a large part of the clergy openly siding with the traditionalist and identitarian right.
By signing four agreements of mutual interest with the Vatican between 1996 and 1998, Franjo Tuđman, President of the Republic from 1992 to 1999, officially recognized the historical and cultural importance of Christianity in Croatia. The Communist era was highly repressive towards religious believers, who were seen as opponents of the regime. After the collapse of the Eastern bloc and the end of the communist ideal, Catholicism regained a significant place in civil life. Today, despite the disinterest and atheism of various leaders, the Church is able to influence educational and family issues, as well as general and ethical orientations. We saw this during the demonstrations against gay marriage, anti-abortion and, more recently, against gender theory.
Religious and secular minorities are well represented
The distribution of religions in Croatia also includes Protestant Hungarians (0.16%) and a few thousand practicing Jews. Muslims (1.3%) come mainly from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia and Kosovo. Having lived in the Balkans for centuries, they speak Serbo-Croatian, which contributes to their relatively good integration in Croatia. Judaism numbered only 571 at the last census.
Although the majority of the population is Christian, an anticlerical tendency, a legacy of socialist collectivism, persists in the civil service, the professions and among intellectuals. 6.39% of Croats are atheists and 3.86% are undecided. This form of secularist thinking, notable in the media, is also expressed in cultural institutions and, more delicately, in education. At school, the family gets involved and reactionary debates flare up, particularly on the question of sex education, which remains a taboo for many traditionalists. But overall, in its quest for religious coexistence and social cohesion, Croatia is moving peacefully between conservative ideas and modern pragmatism, reciprocal respect for religious practices, community initiatives and secular citizen action.
Calendar holidays, pilgrimages, religious tourism attracts believers from all over the world
Epiphany, Easter, Assumption Day, All Saints' Day, Christmas Eve and St. Stephen's Day are well attended in the Church by a multi-generational congregation, while processions of patron saints, such as St. Blaise's Day (February 3) in Dubrovnik or St. Domnius' Day (May 7) in Split, attract large crowds. Some sanctuaries and pilgrimage sites, of which there are many throughout the region, are so famous that people come from far and wide to take part. In this sense, we can speak of religious tourism, as in Marija Bistrica, Vepric, Sinj, Solin, Ludbreg, Aljmaš, Voćin, Trsat (Rijeka), Karlovac and Biskupija, not forgetting Međugorje, the site of apparitions of the Virgin, located in neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina. Dražen Kutleša, Bishop of Pula and Poreč, who is responsible for this sector of activity within the Croatian Bishops' Conference, believes that his country has an underdeveloped resource here. Several incoming agencies offer local tours and accommodation. For example, Meridian, a tour operator based in Podgora (Split), has specialized in this buoyant segment.
