The effect of religious policies during the communist regimeperiod and current religious life in Albania.

The communist regime established in Albania during the years 1945-1990 had many impacts on the lives of Albanians. The repressive policies pursued by the regime in the political, cultural, and religious spheres have been dealt by various scholars who seek to see the impacts of this regime in Albania. This study will focus on the impact of the repressive policies undertaken by the communist regime in the religious sphere. The underlying assumption of this study is that the atheistic ideology followed by the communist regime in Albania has curbed the acquisition of religious knowledge and the implementation of rituals and religious practices in the country. Further, the study argues that by changing from the totalitarian system to the system of liberal-democratic states, Albania faces a lack of interest in religion today. To demonstrate this assumption will be considered the theoretical aspects of the role of religion during communism and the factors that have influenced the relationship of Albanians with religion. More specifically, it will be seen how frequently do Albanians attend religious institutions, their interest in religious books, rituals and religious practices. The methodology used in this study combines theoretical and empirical analysis to support the hypothesis raised.