RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AMONG SERBS AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR PRESERVING NATIONAL IDENTITY

Abstract

The subject of our work is to point out the importance of religious education among Serbs, starting from the historical paradigm – the first half of the 18th century when Slavic and Latin schools were opened in Sremski Karlovci, thanks to the activities of the then Metropolitan of Belgrade, Mojsej Petrović, and later Vićentije Jovanović. Within these schools begins the education of Serbian students and the development of the school system in the Russo-Slavic language, the official language of the Serbian Orthodox Church and equivalent to the first Serbian literary language. It is indisputable that the Serbian people joined the community of civilized nations, with a clearly recognizable and strong national identity thanks to Orthodoxy. Serbian Orthodox Church played the essential role in the national integration and preservation of national consciousness and identity. Therefore, it becomes quite clear that any current “speech” on the renewal and development of the Serbian national identity cannot “put out of sight” its Orthodox component, nor declare it anachronistic and outdated. Further, the paper considers the need for higher quality religious education in the Republic of Serbia, as well as the assumptions (conditions) for their implementation. The provision of Religious Education in primary and secondary schools in the Republic of Serbia is of great importance for the improvement of educational system, mostly because it provides the insight of the connection between religion and science. Its introduction into the educational system has a significant impact on the evaluation, nurturing and preservation of national values. The provision of Religious Education in primary and secondary schools also provides students with a complete religious view of the world and enables the building and preservation of national and cultural identity. Also, the introduction of Religious Education has a great impact on the construction of a multi-ethnic and multicultural society within the community of European states.