65 Sociological review 2019 p. 65-82 Z.Matevski, RELIGIOUS EXCLUSIVISM IN THE... 323.1:2(497.7) 316.323.6:2-022.218(497.7) RELIGIOUS EXCLUSIVISM IN THE MODERN MACEDONIAN SOCIETY ZORAN MATEVSKI* Abstract: Religious exclusivism is one of the biggest problems shaking the global world. Many ethnic, political, and economic conficts take on the appearance of religious confict. That is one of the reasons that multiculturalism, as a static concept, is increasingly outdated in Europe. That is why interculturalism as a dynamic concept is becoming more current. R. of North Macedonia, which is unfortunately still in a post-confict period, is trying to build a strategy for one society for all and develop interculturalism. In such a society, all citizens, regardless of their religious, ethnic or political afliation, will have equal access to the labour market, social, cultural and political institutions. This will overcome religious tensions and conficts. The two largest religious organizations in the country, the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric (MOC-OA) and the Islamic Faith Community (IFC), play a crucial role in developing the religious dialogue and cooperation. They still do not do this satisfactorily, because of their extreme closeness to political parties, which leads them to religious nationalism. Consequently, R. of North Macedonia is experiencing the politicization of religion and the religionization of politics. Instead of engaging in a process of religious dialogue, the dignitaries of the MOC-OA and the IFC often poison the believers with hate speech and religious exclusivism. Key words: religious exclusivism; religious nationalism; interculturalism; religious dialogue Introduction Religious exclusivism, or exclusivity, is the doctrine or belief that only one particular religion or belief system is true (Wainwright 2005). This is in contrast to religious pluralism, which believes that all religions provide valid responses to the existence of God (Chad 2008). A number of Christian denominations assert that they alone represent the one true church – the church to which Jesus gave his authority in the Great Commission. The Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox communion and the Assyrian Church of the East each understand themselves as the one and only original church. Muslims believe that Islam is the original and primordial faith, or ftrah, that was revealed by Muhammad. Muslims maintain that previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted over time and consider the Quran to be the unaltered and the fnal revelation from Allah. Religious concepts and practices include the fve pillars of Islam, which * e-mail: zmatevski@fzf.ukim.edu.mk