Guarantee of freedom of religion and its regulation with international
and regional legal instruments is undoubtedly the foundation of every
modern democracy.
However, elaborating freedom of conscience and religion has to be done
within the framework of a positive legal system, i.e. Laws and the Constitution,
which underlie the concept of organizing the state itself.
Religious beliefs have been present for millenniums and their beginnings are
in the very essence of both humans and communities, and even countries.
The Republic of Macedonia along with all other states which were once
part of the common Yugoslav federation has two periods of treatment of
the issue of religious freedom, i.e. the freedom of conscience and religion.
The well-known concept of separation of religious feelings from the statelegal
system was practiced in the former common federation. Relying on
that concept and upon gaining independence, the Republic of Macedonia
has developed a different, primarily symbiotic blend of the state with
its two biggest religious communities, thus attempting to deal with this
extremely sensitive issue, more or less successfully, which is actually the
basic principle of human freedoms.