Religious Freedom in Serbia Friday October 21, 2011
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Institute on Religion and Public Policy : Religious Freedom in Serbia Friday October 21, 2011 Executive Summary (1). Serbia is a parliamentary republic government and the Constitution, which was approved in a constitutional referendum in November 2006, provides religious freedom. The Serbian Orthodox Church is the majority religion and therefore receives preferential treatment. Leaders of minority religious communities reported acts of vandalism, hate speech, physical attacks, and negative media reports labeling them "sects," "satanists," or "deviants." Police and government officials took positive steps in response to acts of hate speech and vandalism; however, investigations tended to be slow and inconclusive. THE INSTITUTE on Religion and Public Policy (2). Nominated multiple times for the Nobel Peace Prize, THE INSTITUTE on Religion and Public Policy is an international, interreligious nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring freedom of religion as the foundation for security, stability, and democracy. THE INSTITUTE works globally to promote fundamental rights, and religious freedom in particular, with government policy makers, religious leaders, business executives, academics, non- governmental organizations and others. THE INSTITUTE encourages and assists in the effective and cooperative advancement of religious freedom throughout the world. History and Religious Demographics of Serbia (3). Serbia has a population of 7.5 million and approximately 78 percent of the citizens are Serbian Orthodox, and 5 percent are Muslim, including Slavic Muslims in the Sandzak, ethnic Albanians in the south, and Roma located throughout the country. Roman Catholics comprise 4 percent of the population and are predominantly ethnic Hungarians and Croats in Vojvodina. Protestants make up 1 percent of the population. There is a Jewish population numbering between 2,000 and 2,400. In a 2002 census, 3 percent of Serbian citizens claimed to be nonbelievers or declined to declare a religion. Approximately 100 foreign missionaries from several religious groups are present in the country. Legal Status (4). Article 43 of the Serbian Constitution guarantees freedom of thought, conscience, beliefs and religion. It also states that every person has the freedom to manifest their religion or religious beliefs in worship, observance, practice and teaching, individually or in community with others, and to manifest religious beliefs in private or public. Freedom of manifesting religion or beliefs may be restricted by law only if that is necessary in a democratic society to protect lives and health of people, morals of democratic society, freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Constitution, public safety and order, or to prevent inciting of religious, national, and racial hatred. the April 2006 law on religion discriminates among religious groups and requires minority groups, including those that were previously recognized, to reregister through an invasive and burdensome procedure to attain or retain their status as recognized religious groups. (5). In Article 44, the Serbian government states that churches and religious communities are equal and separated from the state. Churches and religious communities are equal and free to organize independently their internal structure, religious matters, to perform religious rites in public, to establish and manage religious schools, social and charity institutions, in accordance with the law. (6). In April 2006, the Serbian government passed a religion law that discriminates among religious groups and requires minority groups, including those that were previously recognized, to reregister through an invasive and burdensome procedure to attain or retain their status as recognized religious groups. (7). The provisions of the 2006 Law on Churches and Religious Communities do not ensure the rights of religious groups which elected not to register or were denied registration. For Serbia to comply with its international commitments, it is the responsibility of the Serbian authorities to interpret the Law as implying the same rights to freedom of religious beliefs and practice for those communities. (8). The second main concern about the Law is that the registration system put in place discriminates against minority denominations. Under the Law, the State can provide financial aid to some churches or religious communities (Articles 28 and 36). The Law provides no detail regarding criteria that should be used for financial aid, which impermissibly leaves the matter to the discretion of the Serbian authorities. Even if differential treatment is permitted, allotment should still be done in a fair and objective manner. Specific Instances of Discrimination (9). Serbian officials and the police have not taken strong action against those who perpetrate religious hate crimes in order to discourage such conduct in the future. (10). On March 28, 2007, in Stari Banovci, a man attacked two Jehovah's Witnesses missionaries and held them at gunpoint for nearly an hour. On April 10, 2007, the same person attacked one of the missionaries again. Police intervened in each case. (11). Minority religious communities continued to experience vandalism of church buildings, cemeteries, and other religious premises. Religious leaders noted that instances of vandalism often occurred soon after press reports characterizing some religious groups as sects. US Foreign Policy (12). The U.S. Government continues to promote ethnic and religious tolerance throughout the country. U.S. embassy officials met regularly with the leaders of religious and ethnic minorities, representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and government officials to promote respect for religious freedom and human rights. (13). The Embassy continued projects to help the Islamic communities in Belgrade and Nis rebuild facilities that were heavily damaged in 2004. The Embassy counsels religious groups to report all incidents against their property or adherents to senior government officials as a way to counter response by local police. Embassy officials continue to urge senior government officials to speak out against incidents targeting ethnic minorities (including their places of worship and cemeteries) and to find and punish the perpetrators. Conclusion (14). By passing the 2006 religion law, Serbia guaranteed religious freedom is unattainable based on the classifications and restrictions put in place by the law. The Law on Churches and Religious Communities needs to be amended to comply with international human rights standards. Authorities must ensure that the rights of minority religious groups are respected and that attacks against their members and belongings/property are severely punished. Serbia has to continue to punish attacks on religious groups and promote freedom of religious equally. .