Analyst: Serbian Orthodox Church Is Lynchpin of Greater-Serbian Nationalism

Slobodan Sadzakov (Photo: PrintScreen YouTube)

A sociologist of religion and professor of the University of Novi Sad, Slobodan Sadzakov, assessed on Sept. 7 that the Serbian Orthodox Church was nowadays "the lynchpin of greater-Serbian nationalism."

Sadzakov told the Autonomija portal from Vojvodina that "convicted war criminals are heroes for the Serbian Orthodox Church" and assessed that "its sympathetic, positive stance towards the chetnik movement is not surprising, bearing in mind that the chetniks in World War II were the executors of the concept of the greater-Serbian idea." "They also blessed the war criminals of the 1990s, just like they supported Serbia's policy of war," said Sadzakov.

He stated that the latest example of the Church's influence was the announced ban on the EuroPride (in Belgrade), which is the obvious result of months-long pressure from the Church and right-wing groups alike. He assessed that the influence of religious instruction as "a model for embalming human souls, which goes hand-in-hand with an inclination towards nationalism, conservativism and authoritarianism," was undisputable.