RELIGIOUS CO-EXISTENCE AND INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE ACTIVITIES IN ALBANIA

In our days the world and especially western societies are facing a lot of problems and challenges concerning cultural issues. As a product of globalism modern communities show the necessity of coexistence between persons who belong to different races, religions and nationalities. In the conditions of economic, political and social turmoil that the world faces today, religion seems to be an important factor in the installation of positive and constructive values which are the basic elements of coexistence in a multicultural society. By the second half of twentieth century not only the religions themselves but also international political organizations increased the efforts to promote the interreligious dialogue and the coexistence in multicultural societies. Such activities were very common in Albania after 90’s when the Albanian people guaranteed the right to freely move, political pluralism, the freedom of speech and that of belief. As an old European nation, the Albanians have lived for centuries in harmony even their religious affiliation consisted in Muslim, Catholic and Orthodox communities. The historical past and religious composition of Albania is an example of interreligious coexistence that can be a model for the modern societies which face numerous problems regarding multicultural coexistence.