Religion and Atheism in Albania - Part 2
Albania has long been marked by religious variety: Christianity predominates in the north, while Islam shapes the south. This mix makes the country’s history unique and explains why the break of 1967 was so profound. In the northern city of Shkodra, a stronghold of Catholicism, stands the impressive St. Stephen’s Cathedral, built under Ottoman rule and consecrated in 1867. It remains Albania’s largest Catholic church but suffered greatly under communism.
In 1967, St. Stephen’s Cathedral was shut down and turned into a sports hall, even hosting the Communist Women’s Congress in 1973. Nearby, the great Fushë Çela Mosque was demolished entirely, leaving only an empty square as a reminder of the regime’s campaign against religion. Later, in the 1990s, the Ebubekir Mosque was built to serve Shkodra’s Muslim community. The Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, beneath Shkodra’s fortress, was first turned into a ballroom, then blown up, and only rebuilt after communism’s collapse.
Hardly a single place of worship in northern Albania remained untouched. Churches and mosques were used as warehouses, sports halls, or cultural houses. In the mountain village of Theth, the small church was at least given a humane role as a hospital and maternity clinic. In the capital Tirana, however, the policy was most radical: in 1967, all places of worship were closed, many destroyed or converted to secular use.
Despite repression, religion never vanished. The Church of St. Anthony of Padua, dating back to the 16th century, resisted destruction — its foundations endured even after attempts to demolish it in 1964. Just 50 kilometers from Tirana, it became a secret site where people gathered for rituals and sought comfort. This shows that faith cannot simply be banned: it survived in every town and in every heart, proving that belief outlasts regimes and remains part of Albania’s soul.
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