National holidays and religion

 

 Religion with all its teachings and norms of behavior and expression of belonging is also a strong component of the culture of a nation or ethnic group. If the state is based on an ethnic group or nation, the religion of that nation also becomes the state religion. In countries where the so-called secularization or separation of religion and state is established, which allows for a greater influence of other religions on the culture of the citizens of that country, the right of the majority religion or religion is very often asserted in the area of determining national holidays and working days off.

In Wikipedia you will find that there are actually twelve major world religions or faiths. They are followed by Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Judaism, Sikhism, Jainism, Babism and Bahaism and Zoroastrianism.

On the Asian continent, as well as on the African continent, we often find so-called Islamic countries. In these countries, the Islamic religion and Sharia law, or Muslim law administered by a cleric, are also legalized. And of course national holidays are also Islamic religious holidays.

On the European continent, however, the Christian faith and Christian religious holidays are actually the most established as public holidays. Although you cannot find a Christian country in the title itself, except for the Vatican. You will also have problems finding established Christian religious law in a country on the European continent, or you will be judged by a priest.

However, atheism or godlessness appears and has appeared on the European continent, and with it the abolition of religious holidays in these countries.

Such an example is also the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, of which Slovenia was also an integral part until 1991. As in many socialist-type countries, the state power was also one-party, that is, there was only one socialist or communist party. In Slovenia, after the Second World War, the first religious communities were registered again in 1976 in accordance with the legislation of the time. To date, as many as 66 churches have registered. In 1976, the Catholic Church, the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession (AV) in the Republic of Slovenia, the Jewish Community of Slovenia, the Union of Baptist Churches in the Republic of Slovenia, the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Metropolis of Zagreb-Ljubljanska, the Islamic Community in the Republic of Slovenia, the Pentecostal Church, the Christian Adventist Church and Jehovah's Witnesses - Christian religious community. One religious community was erased by a decision in 2022. All other religious communities began to register after 1982. The largest number of religious communities registered after 1991, when Slovenia seceded from Yugoslavia and established a multi-party system. At the same time, I should also mention that, for the most part (except for Christmas), Christian holidays began to be recognized as public holidays only after 1991. At the time of independence, more than 70% of Slovenia was said to be Christians.