To be a believer one needs to be human first: Catholicism with others in Bosnia and Herzegovina

This thesis explores the meanings of the concept of human/čovjek/person/ethical/moral person amongst adult (35+) Catholic women and men in contemporary Jajce, central Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). It demonstrates ethnographically how this particular concept serves people in this post-war and post-socialist country to comprehend themselves not simply as Catholics (or Croats) but also as humans/human beings (ljudi). That suggests that although the entire space of what was known as socialist Yugoslavia currently highlights the importance of collective ethno national and religious identities, a wider concept of a person or moral person that transcends these categories is not fully lost. Moreover, its employment has gone through various continuities but also changes. By exploring this concept, the thesis engages in conversations with two bodies of literature. The first is regionally focused and deals with the representation of Catholicism through ethno-nationalism. By showing how this concept is employed in the ev