Serbia & Montenegro

Slavonic people migrated in the early 7th century to south-eastern Europe, where Serbian, Croatian, and other identities developed later. Serbia was under the Ottoman Empire from the battle of Kosovo in 1389 until 1878. After World War I, the kingdom of Yugoslavia was created, which included also Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It became the communist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after World War II. With the end of the cold war, Yugoslavia disintegrated under the pressure of Serbian and Croatian nationalism. A vicious civil war from 1991-95 resulted in the creation of several independent states. Serbia and Montenegro formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which in 2002 became a loose “confederation”. In Montenegro, which enjoyed relative autonomy in the Ottoman period, some parts of the population affirm their distinct identity. Significant minorities in Serbia are the Albanians in Kosovo, who are Muslim, and the Hungarians, Slovaks, and Croatians in the northern province of Vojvodina. The future of Kosovo was still an unresolved issue through 2005. The Serbian Orthodox Church is the majority church. It is indisssolubly bound with the political and cultural identity and the history of the Serbs. There are also small Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, as well as a Reformed church among the Hungarians, a Slovak Lutheran church, and a Methodist church which is part of the United Methodists. The Catholic Church is mostly made up of Croatians and other minority groups. The former Ecumenical Council of Yugoslavia still exists in Serbia. There is a Serbian Evangelical Alliance, affiliated with the WEA.