Religion in Albania

The most common religion in Albania is Islam, with the second-most-common religion being Christianity. There are also a number of irreligious Albanians. There are no official statistics regarding the number of practicing religious people per each religious group.^[1]^[2]

Albania has been a secular state since 1912, and as such, is "neutral in questions of belief and conscience":^[3] The former socialist government declared Albania the world's first "atheist state", even though the Soviet Union had already done so.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] Believers faced harsh punishments, and many clergymen were killed. Religious observance and practice is generally lax today, and polls have shown that, compared to the populations of other countries, few Albanians consider religion to be a dominant factor in their lives. When asked about religion, people generally refer to their family's historical religious legacy and not to their own choice of faith.

The 2011 census on religion and ethnicity has been deemed unreliable by the Council of Europe, as well as other internal and external organisations and groups.

^ "Albania". International Religious Freedom Report 2009. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, United States Department of State. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
^ Bogdani, Mirela; Loughlin, John (2007). Albania and the European Union: The Tumultuous Journey Towards Integration and Accession. I.B.Tauris. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-84511-308-7. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
^ "Constitution of Albania" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
^ "Revelations from the Russian Archives: ANTI-RELIGIOUS CAMPAIGNS". Library of Congress. US Government. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
^ Kowalewski, David (October 1980). "Protest for Religious Rights in the USSR: Characteristics and Consequences". Russian Review. 39 (4): 426–441. doi:10.2307/128810. JSTOR 128810.
^ Ramet, Sabrina Petra., ed. (1993). Religious Policy in the Soviet Union. Cambridge University Press. pp. 4. ISBN 9780521416436.
^ Anderson, John (1994). Religion, State and Politics in the Soviet Union and Successor States. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 3. ISBN 0-521-46784-5.

[1] "Albania". International Religious Freedom Report 2009. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, United States Department of State. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2009.

[BogdaniLoughlin2007-2] Bogdani, Mirela; Loughlin, John (2007). Albania and the European Union: The Tumultuous Journey Towards Integration and Accession. I.B.Tauris. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-84511-308-7. Retrieved 16 April 2017.

[Constitution_of_Albania-3] "Constitution of Albania" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2012.

[USGOV1-4] "Revelations from the Russian Archives: ANTI-RELIGIOUS CAMPAIGNS". Library of Congress. US Government. Retrieved 2 May 2016.

[Kowalewski-5] Kowalewski, David (October 1980). "Protest for Religious Rights in the USSR: Characteristics and Consequences". Russian Review. 39 (4): 426–441. doi:10.2307/128810. JSTOR 128810.

[6] Ramet, Sabrina Petra., ed. (1993). Religious Policy in the Soviet Union. Cambridge University Press. pp. 4. ISBN 9780521416436.

[7] Anderson, John (1994). Religion, State and Politics in the Soviet Union and Successor States. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 3. ISBN 0-521-46784-5.

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