Belgrade is the capital of Serbian culture, education and science. It is home to the largest concentration of institutions of national importance in the fields of science and art. It is home to the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, founded in 1886 as the Serbian Royal Academy, the Serbian National Library, founded in 1832, the National Museum, founded in 1841 and the National Theatre, founded in 1869. The city is also home to Belgrade University, founded in 1869 as the High School, as well as the University of Arts.

The main religion in Serbia is Orthodox Christianity. The Serbian Orthodox Church has been autocephalous (independent) since 1219 and the Church is separate from the state.

Belgrade has many valuable memorials of spiritual culture, churches, monasteries and other places of worship belonging to various different confessions. According to the census of 2002, the population of Belgrade is 90% Orthodox, 1.3% Muslim, 1% Roman Catholic, about 0.2% Protestant and about 0.03% Jewish.