The Church Law in Montenegro

n recent years, since its independence from Serbia in 2006, Montenegro has witnessed an intense conflict that can be considered virtually unprecedented among the former member republics. The conflict that has developed between Belgrade and Podgorica stems from the Montenegrin law on religious affairs, under which the property of the Serbian Orthodox Church may be subject to confiscation in this state of barely 600,000 inhabitants.

In December 2019, the Montenegrin legislature adopted the law on religious affairs, which caused extremely large waves both domestically and abroad. Numerous protests took place at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 in Montenegro, Serbia, as well as in several European cities inhabited by Serbs. Closely connected to the law on religious affairs that gave rise to the protests is the issue of national identity, which periodically comes to the fore in connection with Montenegro’s process of state and nation building.

In my study, I examine the circumstances of the birth of the law on religious affairs, the causes of the historically rooted tension between the Montenegrin Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as the topic of the confrontation between Belgrade and Podgorica concerning religious policy. The law goes far beyond itself: it can be regarded as a prominent episode in the Montenegrin process of state and nation building, one that speaks not only about the relationship with Serbia but also about the Montenegrin society’s relationship to religion and the state. The central question of the state- and nation-building debate has essentially become whether “the Montenegrin can be regarded as a distinct nation.” This is the question that largely determines Montenegrin politics today, as well as its relationship with Serbia and with the Orthodox Churches.