Abstract

Post-communist Eastern and Central Europe has witnessed a rise in ethnonationalism. The struggle of identity formation has often involved a re/turn to traditional, or even fundamentalist, religious practices that are authoritarian and patriarchal. Faith communities within such a sway often undermine the organs of society that ideally in a democracy negotiate between the government and the citizenry, the domain of civil society.Since the end of the civil war of 1992-1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has struggled under the constraints of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which institutionalized a tri-partite government along ethno-national lines. Today this country lags behind every successor state of Yugoslavia (measured by GDP per capita), and political instability continues to thwart hopes for EU ascension. A civil society that fosters a critical citizenry offers hope for support of constitutional amendments that would recreate and support a functioning multiethnic state. Despite the common association of faith communities and ethno-nationalism, some work, usually “on the ground,” to create a civil society that engages both the political and religious hierarchies.The representatives of faith communities considered here, in BiH and Croatia, who must maintain a lower profile politically, receive, consequently, less attention in the international arena. Yet, their work provides crucial support for European integration and open societies in the region and deserves special attention now, when the threat to their work is on the rise.