{"id":12113,"date":"2026-01-24T13:48:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T12:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/?p=12113"},"modified":"2026-02-10T14:20:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T13:20:19","slug":"informer-profiles-students-as-non-believers-contrary-to-survey-findings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/24\/informer-profiles-students-as-non-believers-contrary-to-survey-findings\/","title":{"rendered":"Informer profiles students as \u201cnon-believers\u201d, contrary to survey findings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Original article<\/em><\/a> (in Serbian) was published on 21\/1\/2026; Author: Stefan Kosanovi\u0107<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In an article about the alleged \u201cprofile of the average student that takes part in protests\u201d, the tabloid Informer misrepresented the results of a survey conducted by the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory and the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, portraying students involved in protests and blockades as a group for whom \u201cGod is not important.\u201d That claim is not supported by the survey\u2019s findings, as only 14.9% of respondents identified themselves as atheists. Informer framed students\u2019 answers, about values they consider important, such as freedom and democracy, within a narrative on religiosity, implicitly presenting those values as being in opposition to faith. Theologian Vuka\u0161in Mili\u0107evi\u0107 said that religious belief cannot be used as a measure of political engagement and added that the students\u2019 actions demonstrate values that are consistent with Christian teachings.<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tabloid Informer<\/a> has published an article on its website about what it described as the \u201cprofile of the average protest blocker,\u201d citing a study titled \u201cStudents in Blockade: From the Lecture Hall to the Street,\u201d conducted by the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory and the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBlockaders (students) are showing their true face more often \u2013 steeped in tycoon-controlled and \u201canti-Serbian media\u201d, lacking faith, and rejecting everything that does not align with their ideology,\u201d Informer said, presenting this as a conclusion of the research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In line with the tabloid\u2019s established practice, the article was written in a strongly non-journalistic tone and relied on selective presentation of the findings. Sections critical of the authorities were excluded, while certain results were used to ideologically discredit students, including claims that they value social justice, freedom and democracy, but that, as the article suggests, \u201cGod is not important to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That claim was highlighted in the headline and lead, despite not being supported by the survey data. According to the research, only 14.9% of respondents identified as atheists. An additional 6.5% declined to answer the question, while the remaining 78.6% said they believe in God \u2013 with some practising their faith, some not, and some identifying as agnostics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the article, Informer criticised the students, whom it has repeatedly targeted and labelled with derogatory terms over recent months, for valuing freedom, claiming they would, as the tabloid put it, \u201cban it for their opponents who report on events in Serbia,\u201d adding that \u201cthe first to be targeted would be the media, including Informer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tabloid also cited a finding that only 1.4% of students follow political developments through Informer, and other Serbian pro-government tabloids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, numerous other findings from the survey, conducted on a sample of 973 respondents, were left out of the article. According to the data, 84% of respondents believe it is important for religious tolerance to exist in Serbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to political information, 84.5 % cite social media as their primary source, 47.3% follow online newspapers and portals, while only 21.3% rely on television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main reasons students gave for participating in the protests include a desire to change a system, they say, led to the collapse of a railway station canopy, cited by 54.9% of respondents, dissatisfaction with the work of state institutions, cited by 37.6%, and the fight against corruption, identified by 33.8%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A large majority \u2013 86.8% \u2013 said they do not feel that politicians address them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distrust in the electoral process was also expressed. Only 4% of respondents believe elections in Serbia are free and fair for all participants, while 4.7% trust that votes are counted honestly. By contrast, 94.6% said voters are subjected to pressure or threats, and 95.6% believe that wealthy and powerful actors buy political influence and elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respondents provided answers to these and many other questions that Informer did not consider relevant to publish in its article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mili\u0107evi\u0107: Core Christian values are reflected in events of the past year in Serbia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theologian Vuka\u0161in Mili\u0107evi\u0107 said he was not surprised by such tabloid coverage and questioned why an individual\u2019s belief in God should matter at all when assessing their political activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Serbia, when it comes to the sociology of religion and thinking about religion in the public sphere \u2013 as in many other crisis regions \u2013 there is a phenomenon known as belonging without believing,\u201d Mili\u0107evi\u0107 told Raskrikavanje.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople identify with religious communities simply because, in our case, that is part of their national identity, and often the only thing that distinguishes them from similar groups. Between Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks there is no difference other than religion, right?\u201d, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that \u201cthe stronger such affiliation becomes without substantive content, the weaker faith is in a meaningful sense in people\u2019s lives\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo the fact that in Serbia, I don\u2019t know, around 85% of people declare themselves Orthodox, and more than 90% say they are religious, absolutely does not mean that these are people for whom belonging to a religious community or professing a faith is fully conscious or deeply lived,\u201d Mili\u0107evi\u0107 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also recalled images that circulated across the region from Novi Pazar, as well as from villages \u201cthat no one has deliberately passed through for decades,\u201d which he said show what matters most in the Christian worldview \u2013 love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo paraphrase a 20th-century thinker who said this about socialism, it goes something like this: not every socialist has to be a Christian, but every Christian has to be a socialist. The same applies here,\u201d Mili\u0107evi\u0107 said. \u201cNot everyone who supports the student movement and student protests in Serbia today has to be a Christian, but I sincerely believe that every Christian must support them if they are truly Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that what students have articulated as their core demand ultimately comes down to a desire for justice and truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd anyone who has ever opened the Gospel knows the place those values occupy in it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mili\u0107evi\u0107 also warned about the consequences of abusing religion to discredit and label others in the public sphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a cycle we have been living in for 40 years and cannot break out of \u2013 not only Serbia, but the entire region,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is how you get the kneeling movements in Croatia, football hooligans who terrorise citizens and sell cocaine, and then ban matches from being played because it is a religious holiday. All the evil we have witnessed happens that way \u2013 and I hope it is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Mass crimes happen. Genocides happen\u201d, he told in an interview with Raskrikavanje. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated in English using AI tools, then thoughtfully refined by a human editor.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Original article (in Serbian) was published on 21\/1\/2026; Author: Stefan Kosanovi\u0107 In an article about the alleged \u201cprofile of the average student that takes part in protests\u201d, the tabloid Informer misrepresented the results of a survey conducted by the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory and the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, portraying students involved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12114,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[316],"tags":[506,10,28,571,318],"class_list":["post-12113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fact-checks","tag-blocades","tag-politics","tag-serbia","tag-serbia-students","tag-tabloids"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12113"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12117,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12113\/revisions\/12117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}