Perception: Roma do not practice organized religion or have any religious beliefs.

Reality: Roma do not follow a single faith. Instead, they often adopt the predominant religion of the country in which they are living. For example, many Roma in the Balkans are Muslim while in France, Spain, and Germany they are likely Evangelicals. It is common, however, for Roma to maintain some aspects of their more traditional belief systems, which are founded on a dual eastern doctrine, which focuses on a source of goodness and light (Del, “God”) and one of darkness and temptation (Beng, “Devil”).

Dragana Seferović-Pilav (27),
Mother and Winner of Two Gold and One Silver Medal in Taekwondo

“At 18 months old, I was left in a hospital because I had a condition that my parents thought would render me unable to walk. My parents never came back for me, so I spent some time in the Dom Bjelave Orphanage. I was then placed in an SOS Children’s Village where I was under the care of an SOS foster mother who became more important to me than my real mother. She understood me and knew that I had a tendency to withdraw into myself when I was feeling unaccepted by others as a result of my Roma heritage. She saw that I was only happy when I would hear music and start to dance, so she persuaded me to take ballet lessons and also motivated me to become successful in Taekwondo. I never wanted to end up on the streets doing God knows what, but through sports, ballet, and the support of my SOS mother I found a deeper purpose in life. I met my husband at the Faculty of Sports and am now a mother of two amazing children. I want to transfer this sense of power and meaning to them and to other Roma people so that they don’t allow themselves to be discriminated against just because they are Roma. I have also found meaning in religion. It helps me to find inner peace and guides me. I choose to wear the hijab because it gives me a sense of fulfillment. Through my attitude, education, and purposeful life I have been able to overcome the prejudices that have befallen me as a Roma woman.”