English summary: The Austro-Hungarian Littoral was an ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous but predominantly Catholic region at the periphery of the late Habsburg monarchy. The book examines whether and how ethnic-linguistic diversities could lead to conflicts within the local Catholic Church, and it concludes that nationalism was perceived as a foreign influence at the local level. The cases from the rural area were told in the cities as clear examples of "nationality conflicts". But the local level had much more complicated differences and interests than all conflict actors could have been assigned to one "nationality". By using a large number of sources, the work shows the complexity of social interests within the local Catholic Church in the Upper Adriatic region: The conflict actors (peasants and priests) were primarily characterized by their socially marginalized position. German description: Am Beispiel des multiethnischen Kustenlandes Osterreich-Ungarn und anhand einer grossen und neuen Quellenbasis zeigt Peter Techet eine katholische Kirche, in der die Konflikte auf den sozialen Interessen marginalisierter Schichten beruhen. Das Narrativ einer nationalistisch auseinandergefallenen Habsburgermonarchie wird dadurch infrage gestellt. Gerade in der heutigen Zeit, in der nationale und religiose Fragen in Europa wieder zunehmend polarisieren, leistet die Studie einen wichtigen Beitrag zum Verstandnis national und religios (miss)verstandener Konfliktsituationen.