Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
March 1, 2002

Conference STATE, RELIGION AND POLITICS (organised by the Foundation Conrad Adenauer and Yugoslav Legal Committee for Human Rights) was held in the Belgrade Sava Centar on February 26 and 27, 2002. Numerous domestic experts and representatives of Churches and religious communities, non-governmental organisations and state organs took part in this conference together with lecturers from Germany and Poland.

Lectures delivered by Professors Sverin and Mazurkyevic, lecturers from Germany and Poland, as well as examples from their respective countries, are completely in conformity with the results and work programme of the Ministry for Religious Affairs and especially with the return of catechesis.

Domestic participants - experts and representatives of religious communities and non-governmental organisations, mostly think positive of the return of catechesis into schools and of efforts made by state organs to bring back equal position in society to Churches and religious communities for the general benefit of all the citizens, although there was a certain number of participants with opposite opinion.

Many issues were brought up and clarified in a fruitful conversation, which greatly contributed to the harmonisation of relations in the society.

On February 26 in the evening, Prof. Dr. Vojislav Milovanovic, Minister for Religious Affairs, opened the conference. Minister Milovanovic pointed out in his speech that Serbia had holy tradition and live practice of multicultural, multiethnic and multiconfessional life.