In the framework of the “West Balkans and the EU” lecture cycle The International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) invites You kindly to take part at the lecture by M.Sc. Drago Pilsel entitled Relations between the state and churches/religious communities in the Western Balkans on Tuesday, 11 February 2020, at 16.00, uHotel, (ex Grand Hotel Union Business), hall »Orchid«, Miklošičeva 3, Ljubljana.
M.Sc. Drago Pilsel is a journalist, columnist, editor, writer, theologian and social activist. He was born among Croatian immigrants in Argentina. He is a well-known publicist and multimedia columnist in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. He is a television presenter and editor-in-chief of the Autograf.hr web portal.
The adoption of the controversial law on freedom of religion in Montenegro, which has triggered mass protests, reopens the question of the relationship between the state and churches/religious communities in the Western Balkans, and the inevitable question of restitution of church/religious property. Lecture by mag. Drago Pilsel will be an opportunity to talk about this in more detail.
Pilsel is critical of ethno-nationalism; he is an insightful analyst on the Balkans, an excellent expert on the Roman Catholic Church and a leading religious journalist in the region. He went to the Catholic Theological Faculty in Zagreb and graduated from the Evangelical Theological Faculty (ETF) in Osijek. In 2008, he defended a Master of Science in Moral and Political Theology, entitled “Theology of National Anti-Myth” at the ETF. He is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University of Belgrade, where he prepares a dissertation on the topic of secularism, the church and modernity. He speaks Croatian, Spanish, English, Italian and Portuguese, as well as passive French and Latin.
The lecture will be delivered in Croatian and will be followed by a discussion with the guest lecturer moderated by Assist. Prof. Dr. Zijad Bećirović and Bakhatyar Aljaf.
Live broadcast at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2DJIyDth6o
Please take your seat at the hall at the latest by 15.55 h.
Attendance is free of charge but we kindly ask you to confirm your participation at telephone number (01) 430 15 33 or at ifimes@ifimes.org.
Ljubljana, 3 February 2020
IFIMES – International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies, based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, has Special Consultative status at ECOSOC/UN since 2018.
