RUSSIAN RELIGIOUS BILL REVISITED

RUSSIAN RELIGIOUS BILL REVISITED

[Distributed by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist News Service. These articles cannot be stored on BBS or Internet sites without permission from the author. Any articles which are redistributed by e-mail must be left intact and nothing must be removed or changed, including these informational headers. This is a listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Our primary purpose is to provide information to assist preachers in the protection of the churches in this apostate hour. If you desire to receive this type of material on a regular basis, e-mail us, tell us who you are and where you are located, and request to be placed on the list. Also include your postal address and the name of the church of which you are a member. Some of these articles are from the "Digging in the Walls" section of O Timothy magazine. David W. Cloud, Editor. O Timothy is a monthly magazine in its 14th year of publication. Subscription is $20/yr. The Way of Life web site is http://www.wayoflife.org/.]

June 21, 1997 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) - On June 18 the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, voted overwhelmingly for religious legislation to protect Russia’s traditional faiths and restrict the activities of foreign missionaries and minority religious groups. One month later, the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, voted 112-4 to back the bill. It now goes to President Boris Yeltsin for his signature or veto. Many reports indicate that he will sign the bill.

On July 16 the U.S. Senate voted 95-4 to cut off aid to Russia if the bill restricting religious freedom becomes law. The new $13.2 billion foreign aid bill includes $800 million for former Soviet states. Roughly $195 million will be earmarked for Russia.

The following information on the proposed religious bill is from The Washington Times, July 18, 1997 --

"The proposed law would override religious liberty provisions in the 1990 Law of Religious Freedom of Belief and the 1993 constitution.

"It creates two categories of legal religions, one having full rights as a religious ‘organization’ and the second limited as a religious ‘group.’ All others are outlawed.

"The preamble of the bill gives the Russian Orthodox Church primacy as an ‘inalienable part of Russian historical, spiritual and cultural heritage.’

"Islam, Judaism and Buddhism are also put in this first level of recognition. The bill gives full rights to religions that have existed for more than 50 years in more than half of Russia’s provinces.

"The second level of recognition requires that a religious group be registered in 1982.

"The Roman Catholic Church is in this category, church officials have said. But Russian Orthodox branches that did not work with the Soviet era’s Council on Religious Affairs would not be recognized under the new law.

"Baptist groups that worked with the state-sponsored Baptist organization are acceptable under ‘the 15-year rule,’ but not Baptist groups that were independent then or now.

"The second category of religious groups is restricted from doing ‘charitable work.’

"Only the first-category groups are allowed to own property, publish literature and organize worship in public places. Foreign missionaries may only be allowed into Russia at the invitation of registered religious organizations. ... critics of the legislation say it will mostly constrain Baptists, Adventists, Pentecostals and other mission groups.

"The International Religious Liberty Association, which held a world assembly in Brazil last month, protested the bill, saying it ‘would restrict religious liberty of most religious groups in Russia.’"