Religious Tolerance Patchy in Balkans, State Department Says

The International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 published by the State Department says societal discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice remains widespread in the Balkans.

Victims of most abuse, including cases of physical violence and vandalizing places of worship, are usually members of smaller religious groups, it says.

Albania is the only Balkan country in which no cases of discrimination based on religion were reported last year.

However, the report says the Albanian government “made little progress in addressing claims from religious groups for the return or restitution of property seized during the former Communist era”.

In Bosnia, the report says religious discrimination was present in most parts of the country, blaming political authorities and “weak administrative and judicial systems” for failing to prevent or punish such occurrences.

On a positive note, “the number of incidents targeting religious symbols, clerics, and property in the three ethnic-majority areas remained relatively low for a second straight year. Some political and religious leaders took positive steps to promote inter-faith dialogue,” the report noted.

Bulgaria grants preferential status to the country’s biggest religious community, the Orthodox Church, the report says.

“The constitution designates Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the 'traditional' religion, exempting its branch in the country, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, BOC, from the court registration required for all other religious groups,” the report noted.

The report says discrimination, harassment, and general public intolerance of some religious groups in Bulgaria remained a “persistent problem” and...