Croatian Religious Communities in the (Counter)majoritarian Prism of the Secular State

This paper analyses the constitutional provisions which establish the secular state in the Republic of Croatia. The relevant parts of the constitutional text outline the following three requirements: equality of religious communities before the law, their separation from the state and, finally, the assistance and protection the state is obliged to provide. These form a complex whole which is permeated by majoritarian and countermajoritarian factors. Consequently, the provisions on the secular state attempt to introduce two opposing elements to its relationship with religion: democratic decision-making and its limitations. It is the former that prevail at the time of writing, and I provide an overview of some of the influences that support its flourishing. I also warn that the majoritarian and countermajoriatian facets of the secular state should not be confused; pointing out that an adequately regulated relationship with religious communities forms the basis of the Croatian secular state