3 - Religion and Forced Displacement in Modern Bulgaria

Summary

Abstract

The modern Bulgarian state has encountered a series of forced displacement acts, as either the receiving state or the state of origin. As a rule, they were triggered by outbursts of nationalism, military campaigns, border changes and population exchanges. Meanwhile, the role of religion was not constant: a key factor in the pre-communist acts of forced migration, religion was suppressed under communism (1944-1989). The collapse of this regime returned religion in the public arena, and the recent refugee crisis revealed the renewed potential of religious authorities to influence the attitudes of Bulgarians towards the newcomers.

Keywords: forced displacement, refugees, religion, ethno-religious minorities, interreligious relations, Bulgaria

Introduction

The modern Bulgarian state emerged onto the map of Europe in 1878. Since then, it has experienced a series of forced displacement acts, as either the receiving state or the state of origin. According to some estimates, during the first seven decades of its existence, Bulgaria witnessed the arrival of about 806,000 refugees and the exodus of another 954,000 people (Mintchev 1999: 125). Most of these migrants were victims of forced displacements provoked by military campaigns, border changes, and population exchanges. After the Second World War, however, the waves of out-migration lost their previous intensity due to changes in the domestic and international political situation. On the one hand, the communist regime established in Bulgaria radically reduced movement across state borders. On the other hand, the inclusion of the country into the Soviet orbit of influence and the descent of the Iron Curtain impeded migration between the two rival parts of the Cold War world.

Until recently, Bulgarian scholars showed no particular interest in the religious aspects of forced displacement. During the communist regime, this approach was additionally nurtured by the dominance of militant atheism in the social sciences. Although the collapse of the ideology of militant atheism triggered a growing interest in faith-related issues, the relationship between religion and migration remained beyond the scope of researchers’ scholarly interest. The situation changed in 2015 when the influx of thousands of refugees to Bulgaria provoked intense public debates centred on the migrants’ religious identity. The journalists, scholars and politicians participating in this discussion gave, however, almost no credit to theological arguments.