Discover Montenegro " Hidden Gem of the Mediterranean" People & Religion

People and Religion Pictures of Montenegro

The population in 1999 was 662.000, now increased 10 % by refugees from Kosovo and Albania, although unfortunately the 1990s also saw a steady exodus of better-educated young Montenegrins looking for a higher standard of living abroad. Around 58 % of the population lives in urban areas. The refugee problem is exacerated by the age spread: 30% of refugees are under 14 years of age and 35,5 % are over 60. That leaves only 34,5 % in the most productive years between 14 and 60.

The real ethnic and cultural differences between Serbian and Montenegrins are interminably debatable and interminably debated. There have been constant population shifts and intermarriage among the two and also with Croations, Albanians and Bosnians. A reasonable estimate puts the ethnic Montenegrins at about 60 %, Serbs and Albanians at about 15 % each, with Hungarians and others at about 5 % each. Another 140.000 Montenegrins live in Serbia. In a notable social shift, the farming percentage of Montenegro dropped from 61,5 % of the population in 1953 to 7,4 % in 1991.

Religion

The population of Montenegro is approximately 65 % Orthodox, 19 % Islamic, 4 % Roman Catholic, 2 % Protestants, 1 % other. Montenegro's various religions co-exist with no apparent signs of strife, although there is minor disagreement between those who espouse Serbian Orthodox and those who prefer to call themselves Montenegrin Orthodox. Religious extremists of any persuasion are very rare. The council for the Safeguarding of the Rights of National Minorities, chaired by the President of Montenegro, takes a particular interest in religious equality. Most of the ethnic Slav Muslims come from the Sandzak are, which was partitioned between Montenegro and Serbia in 1913,while the ethnic Albanian Muslims live near the Albanian and Kosovan borders. Some Montenegrins were converted to Islam through force and some through bribery. Others were convinced. Most Montenegrin Muslims are Sunni, though a Dervish sect introduced in 1974 also has its adherents. The civic rights of Muslims are carefully protected and there were seven Muslim members of the Parliament; the deputy prime minister and the head of the civil service were both of the Islamic faith. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bar is one of the two covering the territories of Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia. The current archbishop is Petar Perkolic. Bar was raised the status of Archbishopric by Pope Clement 3 in 1089. It supervises ten bishoprics. For historical reasons the Catholics tend to be concentrated by the coast, while the mountains have a higher proportion of Montenegrin Orthodox. The predominant Montenegrin religion remains Eastern Orthodox, part of the family of Christian Churches in eastern Europe under the general primacy of the Patriatchate of Constantinople. It developed from the Greek Church of the Byzantine Empire and finally broke with Rome in 1054 over the issues of papal primacy and the language of the creed. The veneration of icons central to Orthodox belief. Top