Religious Beliefs In Montenegro

The Southeastern European country of Montenegro occupies an area of 13,812 square km and hosts a population of around 640,000 inhabitants. No ethnic group forms a majority in this multi-ethnic state. Some of the ethnic groups found here include the indigenous Montenegrins, Serbs, Croats, and Albanians.

Orthodox Christianity is the religion of the majority in Montenegro. According to the CIA World Factbook, 72.1% of the country’s population adhere to this religion. Montenegro also has a large Muslim population with 19.1% of the population adhering to Islam. Roman Catholics account for 3.4% of the population. Atheists and others make up about 1.2% and 1.5% of Montenegro’s population, respectively.

The Largest Religion In Montenegro

Montenegrins and Serbs of Montenegro are mostly adherents of Orthodox Christianity. The Montenegrin Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church have the largest number of adherents in Montenegro. While a small percentage of Montenegrins are affiliated to the former, most Montenegrins and Serbs are affiliated to the latter since the former is still in its early phase of development and is uncanonical and unrecognized.

The Largest Minority Religion In Montenegro

Islam is the largest minority religion in the nation. Most of the Muslims in Montenegro are affiliated to the Sunni branch of Islam. The religion became popular in the country during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Today, there are two main groups of Muslims in the country, the Slavic Muslims and the Albanian Muslims. The former group includes the ethnic Bosniaks, ethnic Montenegrins, and other Slavic Muslims. The latter group includes the ethnic Albanians. Most of the country’s Muslims are concentrated in the northeastern municipalities of the country and in places where Albanians form a majority.

Roman Catholicism In Montenegro

Most of Montenegro’s ethnic Croats and a small number of ethnic Albanians adhere to Catholicism. The Boka Kotorska region of the country has the largest presence of Catholic Christianity.

Jews In Montenegro

In 2012, an agreement was signed by Igor Lukšić, the former Prime Minister of the country where Judaism was established as one of the four official religions of Montenegro. The other three are Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Islam, and Roman Catholicism.

Freedom Of Religion In Montenegro

The people of Montenegro are generally tolerant towards the religion of each other. Freedom of religion is granted to the residents of the country. Religious institutions present here are separate from the state. Laws of the state ensures that the religious minorities are allowed to practice their religion freely. For example, Muslim women are allowed to wear headscarves to school or work. Halal foods are served at military facilities for the Muslims. They can also take Fridays off work to attend the Friday prayers.