Freedom of religion in Slovenia

Freedom of religion in Slovenia refers to the extent to which people in Slovenia are freely able to practice their religious beliefs, taking into account both government policies and societal attitudes toward religious groups.

Slovenia's laws guarantee the freedom of religion and establish a separation between church and state, as well as prohibiting religious discrimination and religious hatred. Religious groups may easily register with the government in order to receive some privileges, largely consisting of various forms of monetary compensation. Slovenia's laws prohibit circumcision for nonmedical reasons and animal slaughtering practices that are necessary for meat to be considered kosher or halal. Members of the Jewish and Muslim communities observe these practices outside of the country (importing meat, and traveling to neighboring countries for religious circumcision) without obstruction from Slovenia's government.

During the medieval and early modern periods, modern Slovenia was part of the Holy Roman and later Austro-Hungarian empires, and thus had a strict state religion of Catholicism. Religious laws were slowly liberalized starting in the late 18th century, although a formal separation of church and state was not implemented until the establishment of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946. The Yugoslavian government promoted atheism and expropriated the Catholic Church, but otherwise engaged in minimal religious repression in Slovenia. Following the collapse of Yugoslavia and the establishment of an independent Slovenia, Slovenia continues to use religious freedom laws lightly adapted from previous Yugoslavian legislation.

In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.^[1]