Brazil: Bolsonaro aims new law at religious abusers, but activists view his bill with suspicion
EDUARDO CAMPOS LIMA looks at a bill in Brazil which would toughen penalties for religious leaders who commit sexual abuse – and why some are viewing it with suspicion…
Montenegro lawmakers change religious law opposed by church
Podgorica, Montenegro AP Montenegro’s new, pro-Serb authorities have amended a law on religious rights and property that was passed by a previous government but was strongly opposed by the Serbian Orthodox Church, which led months of protests against the bill. The parliament early Tuesday approved the legislative changes with 41 votes in the 81-member assembly. […]
Protests erupt against new Montenegro government over religion law
Podgorica, MontenegroAP Several thousand people rallied Monday in Montenegro, accusing the young country’s new government of being pro-Serb because of its plans to amend a religious property law that is strongly opposed by the Serbian Orthodox Church. Carrying Montenegrin flags and chanting “Treason”, protesters gathered outside the parliament building in Podgorica, the capital, where lawmakers […]
Police in Algeria seal church building
Interrupting a worship service, police on Tuesday sealed a church building in north-central Algeria, less than three months after locking shut another site in the same area. “I am deeply saddened by so much injustice – it breaks my heart,” pastor Messaoud Takilt told Morning Star News. “This is not surprising since other Christian places […]
A group of former house church Christians ordered to stop meeting together in China, reports CSW
A group of former members of an unregistered house church in China have been ordered to stop meeting together after authorities in the south-west province of Guizhou accused them of carrying out illegal activities, according to religious freedom advocacy CSW. The Christians are all former members of the Living Stone Church – an unregistered house […]
Children barred from attending church in Tajikstan, 5,000 Christian calendars burned
World Watch Monitor Tajik authorities implementing a new religion law are barring children from attending religious services and have burned thousands of calendars with Bible verses. Amendments to Tajikistan’s Religion Law came into force in January last year, giving the state greater control over religious education, and increasing the amount of information religious organisations must pass on […]
World Evangelical Alliance raises concerns over “discriminatory” proposals to amend Religious Denominations Act in Bulgaria
The World Evangelical Alliance has expressed concern over proposed amendments to Bulgaria’s Religious Denominations Act which it says threatens to force the closure of evangelical churches and institutions or see them face “unbearable and discriminatory administrative burdens”. The WEA said in a statement that the draft law, first read in Parliament on 11th October, “has […]
Dozens of churches forced to close after registration denied in rebel-held region of Ukraine
World Watch Monitor Dozens of churches in the rebel-held Luhansk region of Ukraine have had to stop meeting after their registration applications were turned down by the authorities of the self-declared republic, reports Oslo-based news agency Forum 18. The deadline for religious communities to register, set for 15th October by the Luhansk People’s Republic, was […]
Having human rights in Kazakhstan depends on state permission – report
World Watch Monitor Kazakhstan tries to make the “exercising of human rights conditional on state permission”, says the Oslo-based news service Forum 18 in a new report. “[Kazakhstan] systematically violates intertwined fundamental rights – such as the freedoms of religion or belief, of expression and of assembly” when it has international obligations to respect and defend these, […]
Sixty-nine punished for practising faith in Kazakhstan in first half of 2018
World Watch Monitor Courts in Kazakhstan prosecuted at least 69 individuals, religious communities or organisations for religious activities in the first half of this year, according to Oslo-based news service Forum 18. Punishments included fines of up to four months’ average salary ($US1,400) and three-month bans on activities such as distributing religious literature or meeting for worship. […]