Shkodra has always been a multicultural city, with each religious or ethnic community playing an important role in the economy and cultural development of the city. In 1967, the Communist Party declared Albania to be the world's first atheistic state and unleashed a light version of China's cultural revolution, resulting in the senseless destruction of many religions buildings. After 1990, though many people are non-believers, the four main religions in Albania (Islam, Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism and Bektashi faith) have gone through a revival and get along very well, and the monuments dotted around Shkodra attest to this traditional spirit of tolerance and cooperation.