Free to Worship...Religious Life in Kosovo

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,463af2212,464dc6c92,4cf2d08a82,0,USDOS,,.html

We are free to worship in our country.  It is a right guaranteed to us in the Constitution of the United States of America.  In other countries worship and declaration of one's personal faith is not as easy as it is for us here.  Overseas, geography forms boundaries where one faith is prevalent over all others, for example the diving line between Islam and Christianity/Judaism in Israel.

During the the war the U.S. Government intervened in  certain situations as to make sure that places of worship belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church and other faiths were protected.  I'm sure that it was very hard for the citizens of the region to stand by and watch as the sanctity of their places of worship was destroyed when the the U.S. was unable to intervene.

In 2010 the population of Kosovo was estimated to be around 2,000,000.  The accuracy of this figure is not certain as the last credible census was taken during the 1980's.  Islam is the predominant faith in the country.  Of personal note, my niece is Catholic and her husband is Muslim.  As a couple they have decided that their son will be exposed to both faiths and will allow him to practice whichever faith he is most comfortable with.  I find this admirable whereas they are living in a society that is largely Islamic and Serbian Orthodox.  My niece told me that Catholicism is practiced by less than 5% of the total population.  Christmas is just another day of the week and icons that we place on the holiday are very hard to find.  The first year my niece was unable to come home for Christmas, her then boyfriend (they are now married), draped himself in lights, attempting to brighten her day and spirit.

Both of these photos are from the personal libraries of my family.

2010 Report on International Religious Freedom - Kosovo

I encourage you to visit the above site,  It expounds my thoughts and so many others regarding religious freedom in Kosovo - I found it quite enlightening and will use it as one of many sources in my personal blog project.