Chapter VII - Confessional policy

Summary

Religion is the opium of the people. We must do everything to make each man understand this great truth, and we must treat those who are poisoned (and there are many of them). This is not easy work, but it is possible to carry it out. We can not stop this fight and be satisfied that the young generation have thrown away this opium, or live with the conviction that religion and its practices exist only among the elderly.

In contrast with other Balkan nations, Albanians were a society with multiple religions, and one in which religion did not play a significant role in group identification. The process of Islamisation, which was particularly intensive from the 17^th Century meant that the majority of inhabitants on Albanian soil recognised Islam. The Sunni Muslims were the largest group, but the Bektashi community, with almost 20% of Albanian followers of Islam, also played an important role (it was active mainly in the central and southern parts of the country). In the south and south-eastern part of the country, the Orthodox Church had considerable influence, while in the north and north-western parts, Catholicism was influential. Documents of a constitutional character, passed in the inter-war years, uniformly stated that in Albania there was no state religion. In the most important state bodies, the principle of religious equality applied.