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Albania is a secular and religiously diverse country with no official religion and thus, freedom of religion, belief and conscience are guaranteed under the country's constitution. [2] Islam is the most common religion in Albania, followed by Christianity, though religiosity is low and there are many irreligious Albanians.
Communist era and contemporary Albanian scholars with nationalist perspectives interpret the Ottoman period as negative and downplay the conversion to Islam as having had barely any benefits to Albanians in a sociocultural and religious sense. [107] In 1975, Hasan Kaleshi challenged these mainly "negative" views of the period of Islamization. [108]
From the early days of interwar Albania and due to Albania's heterogeneous religious makeup, Albania's political leadership defined Albania as without an official religion. [46] Muslim Albanians at that time formed around 70% of the total population of 800,000 and Albania was the only Muslim country in Europe. [46]
Albanian national revivalists in the 19th century such as Faik Konica, Jani Vreto and Zef Jubani were often anti-clerical in rhetoric (Konica said in 1897: "Every faith religion makes me puke", or Albanian: Më vjen për të vjellur nga çdo fe) [20] but the first advocate of atheism in modern Albania is thought to have been Ismet Toto, a ...
The Albanian census in 2023 note that 8% of Albanians are Catholic. There are five dioceses in the country, including two archdioceses plus an Apostolic Administration covering southern Albania. Prior to the Ottoman invasion, Christianity was the religion of all Albanians.
The Christian religious vocabulary of Albanian is mostly Latin as well, including even the basic terms such "to bless", "altar," and "to receive communion". It indicates that Albanians were Christianized under the Latin-based liturgy and ecclesiastical order which would be known as "Roman Catholic" in later centuries. [122]
The book contained the author's opinions on Islam and how the religion has impacted upon Albanian life. According to the prosecutor's office, several statements in the book demeaned Islam. The prosecutor had asked the court for 6 months imprisonment for the author. In June, the court acquitted Myftari of all charges. [7]
The communist regime which ruled Albania after World War II persecuted and suppressed religious observance and institutions, and entirely banned religion to the point where Albania was officially declared to be the world's first atheist state. Religious freedom returned to Albania following the regime's change in 1992.