You may have heard somewhere that Croatians are a very devoted and religious nation. The rumor doesn’t stand away much from the truth. Only by looking at the population census made a few years ago, over 90% of the population declared themselves as religious and mostly Catholic.
Religion holds it’s rooted from the very beginning of the formation of Croatian nation in general.
Historical documents confirm that the first Christian baptisms in these areas were in progress in the 9th century and since then, as a nation, we were always close to the Catholic church and the institution of the Pope which helped us during centuries and centuries of historical struggle.
Because of the complicated history blended with longtime aspiration for an independent country with our reign and our people, religion was an important part of constituting Croatian identity, and Catholic church played a huge role in that constitution through diplomacy with other, stronger nations, through education, contributing to art, science, etc. The Pope has always been an ally to Croatian national struggles even in recent history when the Homeland war occurred. Therefore, Croatians always nurtured tradition which had religion incorporated into it. A big amount of Croatians of all ages attend church mass on a weekly basis and participate in charity activities supported by the Church as well as most people get married in Church and baptize their children.
Although Croatia consists mostly of declared Christians, it is a thoroughly secular country open to people of all religions of the world and encouraging everyone to practice their religion in peace and equality.
There is an increasing amount of atheist population and a smaller percentage of Orthodox, Muslim and Protestant community who all live in perfect coexistence with each other and it’s no wonder that Croatia is often stressed out as an example of how people of various religions can live in harmony and friendship.
Besides numerous beautiful Catholic churches, Croatia is a home to several beautiful mosques (Zagreb, Rijeka and a new one being built in Sisak) and Orthodox monasteries as well as to churches of several Protestant denominations such as Anglicans and Baptists.
So no matter how you religiously declare yourself, be sure that you are welcome and secure in Croatia!
