Religious Freedom Without Material Autonomy: Property Dispossession and the Containment of Religion in Socialist Macedonia, 1945-1958

Authors

• Aleksandar Spasenovski, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (Iustinianus Primus Faculty of Law)Follow

Author ORCID Identifier

0009-0000-9731-4265

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between religious freedom and property rights in socialist Macedonia within Yugoslavia between 1945 and 1958. It argues that the formal constitutional recognition of religious freedom did not necessarily guarantee the institutional autonomy of religious communities. Through a legal-historical analysis of federal Yugoslav and Macedonian legislation, implementing regulations, and administrative mechanisms, the article shows how agrarian reform, nationalization of private economic enterprises, expropriation, and the nationalization of rental buildings and construction land progressively reduced the material foundations of religious organizations. The central claim is that property was one of the clearest indicators of the practical scope of religious freedom. By limiting land, forests, buildings, enterprises, and other assets, the socialist state weakened the capacity of religious communities to maintain clergy, preserve institutions, conduct charitable and educational activities, and participate independently in public life. The Macedonian case demonstrates how federal socialist policy was translated into republican legislation and administrative practice. The article concludes that socialist secularism operated not only through ideology, constitutional separation, or administrative supervision, but also through property law. The result was a model of managed religion: formally recognized, institutionally present, but materially weakened and administratively dependent.

Recommended Citation

Spasenovski, Aleksandar (2026) "Religious Freedom Without Material Autonomy: Property Dispossession and the Containment of Religion in Socialist Macedonia, 1945-1958," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 46 : Iss. 9 , Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2693-2229.2862
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol46/iss9/5