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Volume 1999 | Issue 2 Article 5

5-1-1999 in : A General View Roman Podoprigora

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Recommended Citation Roman Podoprigora, Religion in Kazakhstan: A General View, 1999 BYU L. Rev. 581 (1999). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/lawreview/vol1999/iss2/5

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Religion in Kazakhstan: A General View

Rom an Podoprigora*

I. INTRODUCTION The Repu blic of Kazak hstan is one of the largest states in Asia. With respect to religion, Kazakh stan is often regarded as part of the Moslem world, a lth ough t his is debat able. Kazakhstan can hardly be called a Moslem country; it is neith er purely Asian nor European; it is a place where East and West are closely intermingled . Th is factor in flu en ces va riou s processes which take place in this country, including those affect in g r eligion . It is necessary to note that Kazakhstan has never been a country affect ed by p articu la rly s trong r eligiou s s en tim en ts or powerful religious forces. Religious orga nizations have a lways been ra th er passive and do not claim a ny political r ole in the state. In contrast to those in neighbor in g countries , r eligiou s groups in Kaza kh stan gener ally do not str ive to exercise th eir influence upon political or social events. The vast m ajority of religiou s organizations in Kazakhstan pursue their own practical aims and try n ot to go beyond the limit s of their legal activities. Some occasional attempts by Islamic fundamentalists to become more politically active have been quickly stopped by the state. The religious situation in Kazakhstan has changed ra dically since the collapse of the Communist system. Today there is growth in religious freedom tha t would have been im possible under the Soviet regime. Some examples include: rapid growth in the number of believers1 and religious organiza tion s; 2 cre-

* Head of Administr at ive La w Depa rt men t, H igher Law S chool “Adilet,” Almaty, Kazakhstan. 1. It is difficult to give an accurate est ima te on th e nu mber of believers in Kazakhstan due to th e lack of av ai la ble sou rce s of in form at ion . E xis ti ng sociol ogica l re sear ch indicates tha t about 35-40% of the people in Kazakhstan consider themselves believers, ab out 15-20% of whom consider th ems elves d eeply r eligious people. See Ur oven religioznosti i religioznye orientatsii v Kazakhstane [Level of Religiousness and Religi ous Orientations in Kazakhstan], ALMATY, 199 6, a t 7 ; Religioznaya situatsiya v Cen tra ln o-Azi ats kom region e [Religious S itu ati on i n t he C ent ral -Asi an Reg ion ],

581 D:\ 1999-2\ FINAL\ POD-FIN.WPD Ja n. 8, 2001

582 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1999 ation of certain conditions for believer s to sat isfy their religiou s needs;3 legalization of previously banned religiou s organ izations;4 absen ce of state con trol over all r eligiou s orga niza tion s and individual believers;5 rise of n ew religiou s orga niza tion s (nontraditional for Kazakhstan) including many foreign religious organ izat ion s; 6 an d growth of Islamic fundamentalism. The relationships between the state and religious orga niza tion s have also chan ged greatly. The former attitu de of stubborn and active opp osition aga in st all r eligiou s orga niza tion s which was characteristic of the Soviet period has been replaced with an attitude of mutual respect and cooperation .7 In general, the religious situation in Kazakhstan can be chara cterized as calm . Throughout the period of political

PANORAMA, Nov. 11, 1997. No resear ch was done on t he n um ber of believers in Kazakhstan during the Soviet period. In 1987, the num ber of believers in the USS R was est imat ed at 10-20% of th e tot al popu lat ion. See Konstan tin Kh archev, Garantii svobod y [Gu ara nt ees of Freed om ], N AUKA I REL IGI YA, 1987, #11, at 23. 2. In 1990, ther e were 676 religious or gan izat ions in Kaza kh sta n. See Artur Artemieve, Atheizm religiya, lichnost [Atheism, Religion Personality], ALMA-ATA, 1990 at 50. I n 1 996, th er e we re ab out 3,00 0 r eligi ous orga niz at ions includin g 1,5 03 w hi ch were regis ter ed by t he s ta te bodies. S ee YUR IDI CH ES KAYA GAZETA, Dec. 16, 1998. 3. Believers have received more rights under the new legislation. Many prohibitions of ri tu al ist ic, m iss ion ar y, a nd cha ri table activit ies; religious tea ching; conducting of re ligious me et in gs a nd confe re nce s; organizing of religious associations; and the like have been eliminated. 4. Some organizat ions wh ich wer e proh ibited u nder th e Soviet r egime h ave been recently registered. Examples include th e Jeh ovah’s Witnesses and several Baptist, Advent ist, a nd P ent ecosta l churches. 5. Religious organizations and believers today are relatively free from state control in compa rison with th e Soviet period. Special permission from the sta te to cond uct religious meet ings or conferen ces or to const ru ct religious buildin gs is not requ ired. Religious orga nizat ions can act wit hout official registra tion. Th e officials cannot dismiss th e mem bers of the execu tive bodies of the r eligiou s or gan iza tion s or forbid missionary activity in Kazakhstan. None of these activities were possible during the Soviet period. 6. There ar e m an y nont ra dit iona l re ligiou s organizations in Kazakhstan: Presbyterian and Charismatic churches, Hare Krishna, Un ifica ti on C hu rch , Ch ur ch of Scientology, etc. Some of them were create d after t he growing activity of foreign missionaries. 7. Pr esen tly, the sta te provides mat eria ls, as well as fina ncial a nd ot her aid to religious organizations in the construction, restoration, and maintenance of religious buildings. It finances the organ izing of pilgrimages and gives them a rticles of religious significance. In turn, religious organizations help the s tat e in charita ble, elucidative, and medical activities. D:\ 1999-2\ FINAL\ POD-FIN.WPD Ja n. 8, 2001

581] RELIGION IN KAZAKHSTAN 583 independence in Kazakhstan, there have been no noteworthy conflict s n or any ot her nega tive eve nts on religiou s grounds . The legal fou nda tion for the exis ten ce of a ctivity for religiou s organizations has changed as well. Several regulatory documents legalizin g va riou s r eligiou s a ctivities wer e recently approved and passed in to la w. R egist er ed religiou s orga niza tion s are n ow r ecogn ized a s lega l en tit ies and ca n take part in lega l tr an sactions. Religious organizations have expanded righ ts a nd m ay n ow particip ate in civil n egot ia tion s on th eir own behalf; in many r espects t hey d o not differ from other legal organizations.8

II. SHORTCOMINGS IN THE LEGAL FOUNDATION Everything mentioned above can be referred to as the general social a nd ju ridica l sph er es of religiou s or ga niza tion s’ functioning. But upon closer examination of religious issues, there are at least seven shortcomings that are not evident at first sight. In the future, these shortcomings may present a consider able problem that could influence the develop men t of the religious situation in Kazakhstan. First, despite some positive changes in Kazakhstan’s religiou s legislat ion, ma ny troublesome questions rema in unanswered. Very often the la w r ega rds religiou s or ga niza tion s as commer cial enter prises, with all the consequences of this assumption. This assumption ignores the peculiarities inherent in the structure and management of religious organizations and handicaps the ve ry existen ce a nd p ractica l activity of these organizations. For example, in some cases religiou s orga niza tion s were required to have the same institutional st ructure a nd execu tive bodies as for -pr ofit orga niza tion s. Second, som e for eign religiou s or ganizations and missionaries from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Lebanon are operating in Kazakhstan. Most of them represent radical Moslem gr oups. They organize Moslem communities, send people to study at foreign religious centers, and cond uct religiou s s em inars, especially for students. As a

8. During th e Sov iet er a, r eligi ous organizations did n ot have t he righ t to be legal ent ities . The y could n ot own b uildin gs, lan d, or ot her prope rt y. All property of religious orga niza tions belon ged t o the st at e. Religiou s orga niza tions were e xtr emely limited in business activity and in civil negotiations. D:\ 1999-2\ FINAL\ POD-FIN.WPD Ja n. 8, 2001

584 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1999 rule, th ey act with out registration by the state bodies. Fortunately, at the present time, these groups have a spiritual rather than a ter rorist orien tation . Neve rthele ss , t he presen ce of these groups is a cause for anxiety, both for the state and the official Moslem Administration. The state is ver y t ough in su ch cases and implements measures to preve nt the spr ea d of radical in th e country. For example, the state uses the National Securit y Ser vice to control this kin d of activit y. Som et im es the gover nmen t does n ot pa y a tten tion to the law in these cases. Third, compared with local r eligious organiza tions, foreign religious orga niza tion s a re put in a more difficu lt pos it ion . Certain lim it ations a re est ablish ed for t he a ctivit y of foreign mission aries.9 Additionally, it is difficult for foreign citizens to register th eir religious organ izations if not founded by at least some local residents.10 Fourth, religiou s or ganizations are lim ited in their educational activity. Accor din g t o exist in g legis la tion , educational institutions can be orga nized on ly by r eligiou s centers (national or regional organiza tions). 11 Educational activity of any local church is prohibited. Fifth, due to the meager fin ancia l sit uation of most religiou s organizations, the problem of taxation is critical. Churches and other religious unions receive no tax breaks or concessions. Collect ion s from parishioners and profits from certain religiou s events are t ax fr ee; however , profit s fr om commercial activities such as selling religious books or items of worship are taxable. Religiou s organizat ions are allowed to organize enterprises or

9. Fore ign missionary activity is permitted only after accreditation by the state bodies. See POLOZHENIE O PORIAIDKE AKKREDITATSII INOSTRANYKH GRAZDAN I LITS BEZ GRAZH DANS TVA ZANIMAUSHIKHCIA MISSIONERSKOI DEIATELNOSTYU UTVERZHDENO POSTANOVLENIEM PRAVITE LSTVA RESPUBLIKI KAZAKHSTAN 21 SEN TIABR IA 1997 G. [GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS ON PROCEDURE FOR ACCREDITATION OF FOREIGN CITIZENS AND STATELESS PERSONS ENGAGED IN MISS ION ARY ACTIVITY], SOBRANIE AKTOV PRESIDEN TA I PRAVITE LSTVA RESPU BLIKI KAZAKHSTAN 1997, 43. 10. Actually, there are no such restrictions in th e law, bu t it ha ppen s in practice. As a rule, these problems can be solved. 11. See ST. 7, 9 ZAKON RESPU BLIKI KAZAKHSTAN 1992 G. “O SVOBODE VEROISPOVEDANIIA I RELIGIOZNYKH OB EDINENIIAKH” [LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF TAN “O N FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS,” ar t. 7, 9 ], VEDOMOSTI VERKHOVNOGO SOVET A RESPU BLIKI KAZAKHS TAN 1992, 4. D:\ 1999-2\ FINAL\ POD-FIN.WPD Ja n. 8, 2001

581] RELIGION IN KAZAKHSTAN 585 conduct bu siness, bu t are n ot exe mpt from paying taxes on profits from such activities. Sixth, there is no doubt that some organizat ions, callin g themselves “religious,” in fact present a serious danger to society. Some of these r eligious organiza tions are totalitarian sects. These sects often exercise psychological influence over th eir mem bers, demanding a bject obedience to their leaders and full abandonment of their pr operty a nd financia l m ea ns for the benefit of their commune. In Kazakhstan, unions such as the White Brotherhood or Aum-Senrike are not as popular as they were in the Ukraine or Russia, but they certainly appear in one form or another. Seventh, in Kaza kh stan th ere are approximately three thousand religious organizations of various denominations.12 Among th em, t he t wo most importan t r eligions are Islam a nd Russian Ort hodox Chr istian ity. The position of these gr oups differs greatly from that of other denominations in that they receive state support, have permanent contacts with state and loca l officia ls and bodies, and r eceive other miscellaneou s privileges. These t wo domin an t r eligious organiza tions try to create barriers to the emergence of other religiou s organiza tion s which they deem undesirable or dangerous. Among these, for example, are traditional and wide-spread Protestant churches in Kazakhstan, worshipers of Krishna, some new religious organ izat ions, and totalit ar ian sects. Moslem leadership is gr ea tly a la rmed wit h the spr ea d of Christianity am ong th e Kazak population. On the other hand, the Russian Or th odox leader ship is worried by th e growing in flu en ce of the Protestant churches and ot her religiou s associations. Moslem and Russian Orthodox leaders have managed to promote their in ter ests t hrough som e n ormative regu la tory and legisla tive acts of Parliament and s ome specific ch anges to the Con st it ution of the Republic. Under pressure from these organizations, certain constitutional and code pr ovisions h ave been adopted that create obstacles for other denomin ation s. For exa mple, t he Con st it ution of th e Republic of Kazakhstan states that activities of foreign religiou s associations on the territory

12. For additional statist ica l information regarding the n umber of believers, see Level of Religiousness and Religious Orientations in Kazakhstan, supra note 1, at 7. D:\ 1999-2\ FINAL\ POD-FIN.WPD Ja n. 8, 2001

586 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1999 of th e Republic, inclu ding t he a pp oin tmen t of religiou s associa tion leaders in the Republic by foreign religious centers, shall be carried out in coordination with the respective state 13 institutions of the Republic. Additionally, the Kazakhstan Civil Code states that missionary a ctivity of foreign citizens and stateless persons shall be perm itt ed only after th eir accreditation by local agencies.14 The issues en umerated above are only some of the many problems th at exist in the r eligious orga nizations’ activity. In realit y, ther e a re m any m ore proble ms. It is im por tant to stress the problem of the formation of religiou s or ga niza tion s a nd th eir stat e legaliza tion or registra tion, because this is essent ial for them to be able to function . All r eligiou s or ga niza tion s, as well as other organ izat ions, must be registered by the Ministry of J ust ice or it s r egional departmen ts t o rea p t he ben efit s of such status.15 On the one ha nd, there ar e no special difficulties in the establishment and r egist ration of the m ajorit y of loca l r eligiou s organizations. The procedure is not ver y com plica ted; in fact, to form such an organization, one needs to complete an application and provide a declara tion of ten local citizen s indicat ing t heir free will t o form a religiou s or ga niza tion .16 There is, h owever , a more com plica ted pr ocedure for the registration of churches which are part of national or foreign religiou s organiza tion s. The problem is that sometimes the existing legisla tion does n ot allow cer tain orga niza tion al for ms

13. See KONSTITUTSII RESPU BLIKI KAZAKHS TAN [CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHS TAN ] art . 5. 14. See ST. 109 GRAZHDANSKOGO KODE KSA RESPU BLIKI KAZAKHSTAN (OBSHAIA CHASTY), VEDOMOSTI VERCHOVNOGO SOVET A RESPU BLIKI KAZAKHS TAN 1994, PRILOZGENIE K #23-24 available in THE CIVIL CODE OF KAZAKHS TAN , art. 109 (W.E. Butler tr an s., 199 5). 15. See ST. 42 GRAZHDANSKKOGO KODE KSA RESPU BLIKI KAZAKHSTAN (OBSHAIA CHASTY), VEDOMOSTI VERCHOVNOGO SOVET A RESPUBLIKI KAZAKH STAN , 1994, PRILOZGENIE K #23-224 available in THE CIVIL CODE OF KAZAKHS TAN , supra note 14, art. 42; see also UKAZ PREZI DE NTA RESPU BLIKI KAZAKHSTAN IMEUSHII SILU ZAKONA 1995 G. “O GOSUDARSTVENNOI RE GISTRATSII YU RIDI CH ES KICH LITS V RESPUBLIKE KAZAKHS TAN ,” art . 4 [EDICT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHS TAN HAVING THE FORCE OF LAW “O N STATE REGISTRATION OF THE LEGAL ENTITIES”], VEDOMOSTI VERCHOVNOGO SOVET A RESPU BLIKI KAZAKHSTAN 1995, 3-4. 16. See ST. 10 ZAKON A RESPU BLIKI KAZAKHSTAN 1992 G. “O SVOBODE VEROISPOVEDANIIA I RELIGIIOZNYKH OB EDINENIIAKH,” art . 9 [LAW OF THE REPUBLI C OF KAZAKHS TAN “O N FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS”] VEDOMOSTI VERCHOVNOGO SOVET A RESPU BLIKI KAZAKHSTAN 1992, 4. D:\ 1999-2\ FINAL\ POD-FIN.WPD Ja n. 8, 2001

581] RELIGION IN KAZAKHSTAN 587 which correspond to the canonical traditions of the religiou s union.17 Because of this fact, length y negotiat ions wit h t he parties are often r equired to find a compromise. As a result , the majority of such organizations do not ha ve legal en tit y righ ts because they are not formed on the initiative of their individual members, but by the order of a superior administrative body within the church. On the other hand, state admin istra tive officials have every righ t to declin e t he r egist ration of any r eligiou s or ga niza tion on any pretext. Th e registra tion may be declin ed for a va riet y of reasons, such as finding insignificant mistakes in the registration document s or imposing upon a registrant the officials’ own idea s about religious organ izat ional structure. Sometimes the Ministry of J ust ice h as u nofficial instructions not to regist er cert ain religious organizations. In Kazakhstan such instructions have b een give n rega rding t he r egist ration of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Korean Protestant Churches, severa l Moslem orga niza tion s w hich do n ot belon g t o the Religiou s Moslem Adm inistration of Kazakhstan, the Abroad, and others. When such unofficial instructions have been given, it is practically impossible to register a religiou s or ga niza tion . Religiou s organizat ions have n ever tr ied to subm it a disput able matter or illegal action to the courts; therefore it is not possible to give an exa mple of such a case. As a rule, su ch orga niza tion s either agree to all the demands of t he official in order to be r egist ered, or they are forced to stop th eir a ctivity in Kazakhstan or contin ue workin g without registration,18 thus losing the rights of legal entity status.

III. CONCLUSION In recent years, believers in Kazakhstan have received some long-awaited rights. Never th eless, it is too early to say that

17. For example, a re ligious un ion ma y h av e a ru le r equ ir in g a loca l ch ur ch t o be founded by individuals. However, legislation requires that the church(es) must be created by t he re ligiou s u nion . 18. It is necessary to note that in Kaza kh st an , in cont ra st to n onr eligi ous nongovernmental orga niz at ions wh ich a re not all owed to w ork without registration, there is no ban on nonregistered religious organizations’ activities. However, the unavailability of re gist ra tion dep rives re ligiou s or gan iza tion s of many rights and advantages. D:\ 1999-2\ FINAL\ POD-FIN.WPD Ja n. 8, 2001

588 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [1999 religiou s freedom and fr eedom of association ha ve been fully realized. Realization of these freedoms would require amendments in legisla tion, serious cha nges in the everyday practice of local authorities, and changes in the relationships between state officials and religious leadership. There are two main directions in which the r eligiou s situa tion in Kazakhstan might develop. First, Kazakhstan may exp er ien ce a strengthen ing of governmental control over religious organizations and the creation of different condition s for va riou s r eligiou s s tructures which would lead t o increased lim it ation s of religious freedom. Alternatively, the improvement of legislation and pra ctice in religious areas, as a result of new experiences acquired after the collapse of the Soviet system, may crea te new opport un ities for religious organizations and believers. Unfortunately, the first altern ative is most likely to be realized. The evidence for this conclusion can be found in ma ny articles in newspapers and in statements of politicians and religiou s lea ders of the t radition al r eligiou s or ga niza tion s w hich insist on limitin g religiou s activity in Kaza khstan , especially for new religious organizations. Moreover, the government is currently prepa rin g am endments to existin g law which contain discrimin atory pr ovis ion s r ela ted to man y religious organizations. Thus, while Kazakhstan has ma de some positive changes since the dissolution of the Communist regime, nontraditional and foreign religious organ izat ions will likely continue t o experience limitations on religious activities.