Rational Silence
Explaining the Serbian Orthodox Church’s Response to Protests in Serbia (2016–2025)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7872848 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marko Veković (0000-0003-3850-7432, University of Belgrade), Despot Kovačević (0000-0002-8381-4151, University of Belgrade), Dunja Aranđelović (0009-0005-2817-8577, Clemson University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 67 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Church and State (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-969X • E-ISSN: 2040-4867 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jcs/csaf050 |
| Language | EN |
Historically, religious institutions have played a pivotal role in popular protests across the globe, and the dominant religious actor in Serbia, namely the Serbian Orthodox Church, is no different. Nevertheless, the Serbian Orthodox Church has been intriguingly silent when it comes to the waves of popular protests against the authoritarian regime in Serbia since 2016. In this study, we employ the rational choice theory approach and suggest that the decision of the Serbian Orthodox Church not to support popular protests in Serbia is a rational calculation aimed toward protecting its own societal, economic, and political interests. Moreover, despite the secular nature of the Serbian constitution, the Serbian Orthodox Church is not fully autonomous from the state, which limits its potential to act independently
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |