Only 1 percent of the people in Serbia are Protestant, and only a small portion of them are evangelical. But social anthropologist Aleksandra Djurić Milovanović believes they have had an outsize impact in the country through effective social support and by bridging ethnic divisions.
Milovanović, a principal research fellow of the Institute for Balkan Studies at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade, has studied minority religious groups in Serbia and Romania for more than 15 years. Her internationally known work has included explorations of the migration of persecuted religious minorities, as well as renewal movements in the Orthodox church and interreligious dialogue.
The Balkans, a region in Southeast Europe, faced significant changes after the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991. That country divided into six independent republics: Serbia (including the now-disputed region of Kosovo), Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Slovenia, and Montenegro. The Balkans also include Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Albania. Catholics, Orthodox, and Muslims are the predominant religious groups.
Milovanović’s research interests were shaped by her upbringing in the region of Banat, which straddles the Serbian-Romanian border and has a very multiethnic and multireligious composition. She noticed that religious minority groups were often stigmatized, especially in public discourse.
“In my research in the Balkans, I have noticed that fear of evangelicals is a dominant discourse,” she said. “It is less prevalent than in the previous century, but there is still lack of knowledge about who evangelicals are, what they believe, and how they contribute to society.”
In her view, sources of this fear include the intertwining of religious and national identity in Serbia, the perception of evangelicalism as an imported faith from outside the Serbian tradition, and the tendency to brand groups of evangelicals as sects or cults due to their efforts to attract converts from dominant faith traditions.
Milovanović believes that scholarly work and friendly dialogue can allay those fears. She pursues practical application of her scholarship as a fellow and project coordinator of the Network for Dialogue in KAICIID, an international, multifaith dialogue center based in Europe, where she is engaged in projects that tackle social inclusion, hate speech, and discrimination.
CT spoke with Milovanović about how evangelicalism developed in Serbia and how evangelicals can grow their influence in the region.
What is the history of evangelicals in Serbia?
Protestants have been permitted in what is now the northern part of Serbia since 1781, but the first evangelicals were Nazarenes [an Anabaptist group, not connected to the Nazarene denomination that arose later in the US] who came from Switzerland around the 1860s. Their growth was related to the British Bible Society’s translation of the Bible into the languages of different ethnic groups in northern Serbia. The society had Bible distributors who traveled by horse to areas where the Baptists and Nazarenes were active.
At this time, the Serbian Orthodox church still used the Old Slavonic language in worship, and the people couldn’t understand the liturgy or what the priest was saying. In contrast, evangelical churches held services in each community’s local language, enabling even illiterate people to hear the Bible.
Evangelicals brought a small revolution to Serbia in terms of literacy and Bible knowledge. They introduced hymn singing and community participation in worship. The first Nazarene hymnbook, containing mostly Lutheran songs, was translated from German into Serbian by a famous national poet Jovan Jovanović Zmaj. When the Orthodox criticized him for doing so, he responded that it would not harm anyone because the songs were all about Christian love and respect.
Evangelicals were revolutionary in another important respect: They were multiethnic and multilingual. Back then, not only was religion closely tied to ethnicity, but interethnic marriages were uncommon. Evangelicals faced many challenges during the Communist period in Yugoslavia, which significantly influenced their decisions to emigrate in search of religious freedom. In my recent book, I focus on the Nazarenes, who were severely persecuted under communism due to their pacifism. Their story is an example of resilience and preservation of evangelical identity in a minority religious community.
How did evangelical relief efforts make an impact during the Bosnian War of 1992 to 1995 and since then?
When Serbia was receiving refugees coming from Bosnia and Croatia during the war, many evangelical humanitarian organizations, with support from the West, provided aid. People remember how they received support from evangelical churches.
Most famous were the efforts of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). During the siege of Sarajevo, ADRA was the only faith-based organization that could deliver aid, because it was perceived as not divided along ethnic lines. ADRA representatives were very important messengers in this tragic time because they delivered letters between Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia for families divided by war. It was the only way family members could tell each other that they were alive. Even today, people say that “ADRA saved our lives.”
In recent years, evangelicals have assisted refugees from the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as homeless people, especially Roma communities in Serbia. Many evangelical relief agencies are part of larger transnational networks, which enables members of the evangelical diaspora from Serbia to be involved in various forms of humanitarian aid and assistance. Evangelicals also organize values-based activities for both evangelical and nonevangelical youth, and many of them make economic contributions as small business operators.
Do you see this humanitarian work attracting people to evangelical churches?
In some contexts, evangelical humanitarian work does lead to increased participation, especially among marginalized minority groups such as the Roma. It is remarkable how many Roma have become Pentecostals. Pentecostal churches actively welcome Roma, offering a sense of community and acceptance, which is different from the Roma’s general experience as a socially excluded group. There is a large Roma Pentecostal church in the city of Leskovac, with gifted musicians and livestreamed services.
Evangelicals are also playing a significant role with older people in smaller villages, bringing them together to provide a sense of belonging and support. Relative to the Orthodox churches, evangelicals have a more personal approach that goes beyond holding weekend services, with a greater set of activities during the week.
We are, unfortunately, witnessing many conflicts in the world nowadays, and people live in fear of another war and with tension and anxiety about tomorrow. Post-conflict societies have a special atmosphere. Evangelical communities often offer community support and a sense of solidarity. In my research, faith-based organizations have played a key role in addressing urgent humanitarian needs, such as the large number of refugees coming to the Balkans from the Middle East in 2015. Their specific approach and transnational networks facilitated a much more immediate response to those in need.
How do you believe evangelical minorities in other countries could contribute more positively to and gain greater respect in their societies?
Evangelicals can become more active in intra-Christian dialogue. I am very pleased when I see collaboration between evangelical pastors and Orthodox priests in the interfaith gatherings I organize. Prejudices toward the religious “other” are overcome through dialogue.
Evangelicals sometimes avoid interfaith dialogue because they do not understand its value or how they could contribute to such dialogues from a minority perspective. Scholars like me can help to provide an educational space where people can come together and learn about each other.
Evangelicals can also contribute to raising public awareness about the stigmatization of minority groups. They can talk about religious freedom and resilience because they have navigated difficult years of state oppression or nonacceptance by the dominant faith groups.
One important methodology is to visit different religious communities. I am developing various interfaith programs where we visit faith-group locations and talk with religious leaders. Without that personal experience, dialogue sounds very abstract. If you have a good facilitator who can engage members of the religious community in this way, you can create dialogue in such a way that they don’t even realize that is what they are doing.
Evangelical groups here are not active politically, or if they are, we do not see them speaking openly as evangelicals. But in recent years, many evangelical pastors have been trying to speak a more universal language, especially among youth, and to address broader societal issues. For example, they may address human trafficking or the rise of hate speech. In these ways, their visibility is seen as having more purpose.
One evangelical who effectively speaks a universal language is Nick Vujicic, an Australian American inspirational speaker of Serbian descent and Nazarene background. People all over the world admire his faith and how he overcame obstacles despite being born without limbs.
Many evangelicals are hesitant about interfaith dialogue because they do not want to endorse non-Christian religious views.
The purpose of dialogue is to move you out from your comfort zone into a space of growth and understanding where you learn about the other. Interaction with the other brings a change to you. That doesn’t mean that you convert to their view but that you understand and respect it. To be able to understand and respect others, you need to know them. And you can’t know them if you don’t actively listen to them.
What other patterns have you seen in evangelical influence in Serbia?
One of my students is writing his thesis on the development of entrepreneurship in the Seventh-day Adventist church. Many Adventists have become entrepreneurs because, as they are not supposed to work on Saturdays, it is difficult for them to find jobs. We are seeing a link between evangelical membership, willingness to work hard, and success in business. Max Weber’s Protestant work ethic is very much alive in Serbia!
Evangelicals as religious minorities carry stories of resilience that defy centuries of erasure. These stories have often been silenced beneath layers of prejudice. Their journey is not just about survival; it’s about the right to exist authentically. The experiences of evangelicals as religious minorities challenge mainstream narratives and encourage a rethinking of minority communities as active contributors to society rather than as marginal. The patterns of evangelical influence in Serbia reveal their [evangelicals’] resilient nature and their ability to adapt to societal changes.
Evangelicals in Serbia are showing how minority groups can be a driving force in any society. It doesn’t matter how big you are; what matters is the positive change you are bringing in the lives of people.
