Bulgaria

Bulgaria is an eastern European country that was dominated by the philosophy of secular Marxism during the Cold War but has enjoyed a religious revival in the post–Cold War period. The largest denomination in Bulgaria is the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC), regarded as the “traditional” church of the Bulgarian nation. Under communism, the BOC was marginalized in society; at the same time, the authorities used it as a tool for foreign policy ends. It was thus heavily politicized as an institution, while its inner life and social witness were both disabled.

Since the end of communism, the BOC has been able to restore religious education, but it is still weak in resources and hampered by the legacy of a compromised leadership. From 1992, mainly as a result of political interference, it has suffered from a debilitating schism. A new law on religion in 2002 granted the BOC official status and automatic legal personality; all other denominations have to go through a process of registration. There is always a tendency for “Orthodox” identity to be claimed in the name of nationalism. Meanwhile, like “traditional” religions in all postcommunist countries, the BOC has been faced with the novel challenge of political, cultural, and religious pluralism.

Around 83% of Bulgarians self-identify as Orthodox. Around 12% are Muslims, who are divided among ethnic Turks, Roma, and ethnic Bulgarians (Pomaks), the latter probably constituting about 3% of the population. Communist policies toward the Muslim minorities saw considerable variation. Muslims seem to have maintained a higher level of religious activity than the nominally Orthodox. Since the end of communism, Muslims have boosted their profile in the society, with religious and cultural revitalization and political mobilization. A big issue now is the perceived threat of “fundamentalist” ideas penetrating the traditional Muslim communities from abroad.

Other Christians probably constitute about 1% of the population (half of them Catholics and half, various types of Protestants). They were all repressed under communism. As in other postcommunist countries, from the early 1990s, there was an influx of Protestant missionaries as well as representatives of new religious movements. This caused alarm in the BOC, which feared for its canonical territory and its own legitimate flock, and indeed more widely in society, as fears spread about “destructive cults” and “dangerous sects” as a threat to national identity and family life. This influx had ebbed away by the late 1990s, however.

Bulgarian society is one of the most secular in Europe, and the religious market there seems to have stabilized. People tend to know little about their own religious traditions, let alone about those of others. Historically, relations among the so-called traditional religions have been marked by passive tolerance and coexistence, and this continues, but there is the risk of the reinforcement of the fortress mentality inherited from communist times.