Freedom of religion in Georgia
Encyclopedia
Freedom of religion in Georgia
is provided for by the country's constitution
, and the government generally respects this right in practice.
The government generally do not interfere with traditional religious groups; however, there is growing suspicion of non-traditional religious groups.
provides for freedom of religion, and the Government respects this right in practice. The Constitution
recognizes the special role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the country's history, but also stipulates the independence of the Church from the State.
There are no laws regarding the registration of religious organizations. Religious groups that perform Humanitarian service may be registered as charitable organizations, although religious and other organizations may perform Humanitarian service without registration.
During the Soviet era, the Georgian Orthodox Church largely was suppressed, as were many other religious institutions; many churches were destroyed or turned into museums, concert halls, and other secular establishments. As a result of new policies regarding religion implemented by the Soviet Government in the late 1980s, the present Patriarch began reconsecrating churches formerly closed throughout the country. The Church remains very active in the restoration of these religious facilities and lobbies the Government for the return of properties that were held by the Church before the Bolshevik Revolution. (Church authorities have claimed that 20 to 30% of the land at one time belonged to the Church.)
On March 30, 2001, Parliament amended the Constitution to allow for ultimate adoption of a concordat
between the Church and the State, supported by the Church, which would define relations between the two. While a final concordat draft had not been completed by mid-2001, earlier versions covered several controversial topics, including transfer to the Church of ownership of church treasures expropriated during the Soviet period and currently held in state museums and repositories; government compensation to the Church for moral and material damage inflicted by the Soviets; and government assistance in establishing after-school Orthodox religious courses in educational institutions and Orthodox chaplaincies in the military and in prisons. The prospect of such a concordat has raised concerns among nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that believe that it would discriminate against religious minorities. However, parliamentary leaders have indicated that prior to adoption, the final concordat draft will be sent to the Council of Europe
, European Parliament
, and European Union
for informal expert analysis, to ensure that it accords with European norms and the country's international legal obligations.
the Georgian government being under pressure from Orthodox Church refused to sign an other
agreement between the Vatican
and the Georgian government over envisaging guarantees of religious freedom and legal rights for Catholics in Georgia. In September 2003, former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze
made a last minute decision not to sign this agreement with the Vatican after a protest rally took place in Tbilisi
, provoked from and backed by the Georgian Orthodox Church. As a result, Archbishop
Jean-Louis Tauran, then Secretary for the Holy See's Relations with Foreign States, who arrived in Tbilisi to sign this agreement, had to leave Georgia empty-handed.
(GPB) television program, Sakartvelos Didi Ateuli (საქართველოს დიდი ათეული; "Best Georgians" or "Great Ten Georgians") — a show which invited viewers to pick Georgia's top historical personages through polling by telephone, text messaging, and the Internet. Officials of the Georgian Orthodox Church publicly objected to the inclusion of both religious and secular figures in the competition (the January 2009 short list of 50 candidates included 13 saints), as well as to the idea of having viewers put saints in rank order. The issue may have been compounded by the general practice within Orthodox Christianity of recognizing many monarchs and other prominent secular individuals as being saints.
On January 16, the regular airing of Didi Ateuli was replaced by a debate between church representatives, their supporters, and opponents of the church's position. During the show, the chairman of the GPB board of trustees, Levan Gakheladze, announced that a divided board had voted to suspend the show pending further consideration. Comments from trustees and critics revealed deep divisions between supporters and opponents of the church's stance — some decrying church interference, others saying they could not ignore insistences from church leaders, and one board member stating that "The opinion of [Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II] is more important for me than the law."
On January 22, GPB announced that Didi Ateuli would proceed, with both saints and secular figures retained in the competition, but that the final list of ten would not be ranked but would be announced in alphabetical order. The final published list did, however, show the vote totals. A statement released by the Georgian Orthodox Church attempted to downplay the controversy as "artificial", suggesting that "someone wants to portray the Church as a censor" in order to dissuade church officials from speaking out on future issues.
The Georgian Orthodox Church withdrew its membership from the World Council of Churches
in 1997 in order to appease clerics strongly opposed to some of the Council's requirements and methods of operation and thereby avert a schism within the Church. Simultaneously, the Orthodox Church also withdrew from the Conference of European Churches.
Some senior church leaders remain highly exclusionary and profess theirs as the "one true faith
". Some Protestant groups—especially evangelical groups—have been criticized by church officials and nationalist politicians as subversive. Eleven leaders of the Georgian Orthodox Church have argued that Christian missionaries should confine their activities to non-Christian areas.
The Muslim and Jewish communities report that they have encountered few societal problems. There is no pattern of anti-Semitism
. During his time as president, Eduard Shevardnadze made statements criticizing anti-Semitic acts.
protest group at the time of the Rose Revolution
and now a leading figure in the libertarian
Liberty Institute
, had been distributing videos that insulted Patriarch Ilia II. Tutberidze had not made the videos — they were claimed by an unknown "Father Hemorrhoids" (მამა ბუასილი, mama buasili) — but she had promoted them via her Facebook page. The Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested two people over the videos but later admitted there was no crime. Tutberidze remained defiant and later accused the church of co-operation with the KGB
under Soviet rule.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
is provided for by the country's constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
, and the government generally respects this right in practice.
The government generally do not interfere with traditional religious groups; however, there is growing suspicion of non-traditional religious groups.
Legal and policy framework
The ConstitutionConstitution of Georgia (country)
The Constitution of Georgia is the supreme law of Georgia. It was approved by the Parliament of Georgia on August 24 1995. It entered into force on October 17...
provides for freedom of religion, and the Government respects this right in practice. The Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
recognizes the special role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the country's history, but also stipulates the independence of the Church from the State.
There are no laws regarding the registration of religious organizations. Religious groups that perform Humanitarian service may be registered as charitable organizations, although religious and other organizations may perform Humanitarian service without registration.
During the Soviet era, the Georgian Orthodox Church largely was suppressed, as were many other religious institutions; many churches were destroyed or turned into museums, concert halls, and other secular establishments. As a result of new policies regarding religion implemented by the Soviet Government in the late 1980s, the present Patriarch began reconsecrating churches formerly closed throughout the country. The Church remains very active in the restoration of these religious facilities and lobbies the Government for the return of properties that were held by the Church before the Bolshevik Revolution. (Church authorities have claimed that 20 to 30% of the land at one time belonged to the Church.)
On March 30, 2001, Parliament amended the Constitution to allow for ultimate adoption of a concordat
Concordat of 2002
The Constitutional Agreement between the Georgian state and the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia , informally referred to as the Concordat, is an agreement between the Georgian Orthodox Church and the state that defines relations between the two entities...
between the Church and the State, supported by the Church, which would define relations between the two. While a final concordat draft had not been completed by mid-2001, earlier versions covered several controversial topics, including transfer to the Church of ownership of church treasures expropriated during the Soviet period and currently held in state museums and repositories; government compensation to the Church for moral and material damage inflicted by the Soviets; and government assistance in establishing after-school Orthodox religious courses in educational institutions and Orthodox chaplaincies in the military and in prisons. The prospect of such a concordat has raised concerns among nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that believe that it would discriminate against religious minorities. However, parliamentary leaders have indicated that prior to adoption, the final concordat draft will be sent to the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
, European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, and European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
for informal expert analysis, to ensure that it accords with European norms and the country's international legal obligations.
the Georgian government being under pressure from Orthodox Church refused to sign an other
agreement between the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
and the Georgian government over envisaging guarantees of religious freedom and legal rights for Catholics in Georgia. In September 2003, former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...
made a last minute decision not to sign this agreement with the Vatican after a protest rally took place in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, provoked from and backed by the Georgian Orthodox Church. As a result, Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Jean-Louis Tauran, then Secretary for the Holy See's Relations with Foreign States, who arrived in Tbilisi to sign this agreement, had to leave Georgia empty-handed.
Censorship in the media
A controversy arose in January 2009 over a Georgian Public BroadcastingGeorgian Public Broadcasting
Georgian Public Broadcasting is the national public broadcaster of Georgia. It started broadcasting radio in 1925, and Georgian TV started broadcasting in 1956. Today, 85% of the Georgian population receive the First Channel , and 55% receive the Second Channel...
(GPB) television program, Sakartvelos Didi Ateuli (საქართველოს დიდი ათეული; "Best Georgians" or "Great Ten Georgians") — a show which invited viewers to pick Georgia's top historical personages through polling by telephone, text messaging, and the Internet. Officials of the Georgian Orthodox Church publicly objected to the inclusion of both religious and secular figures in the competition (the January 2009 short list of 50 candidates included 13 saints), as well as to the idea of having viewers put saints in rank order. The issue may have been compounded by the general practice within Orthodox Christianity of recognizing many monarchs and other prominent secular individuals as being saints.
On January 16, the regular airing of Didi Ateuli was replaced by a debate between church representatives, their supporters, and opponents of the church's position. During the show, the chairman of the GPB board of trustees, Levan Gakheladze, announced that a divided board had voted to suspend the show pending further consideration. Comments from trustees and critics revealed deep divisions between supporters and opponents of the church's stance — some decrying church interference, others saying they could not ignore insistences from church leaders, and one board member stating that "The opinion of [Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II] is more important for me than the law."
On January 22, GPB announced that Didi Ateuli would proceed, with both saints and secular figures retained in the competition, but that the final list of ten would not be ranked but would be announced in alphabetical order. The final published list did, however, show the vote totals. A statement released by the Georgian Orthodox Church attempted to downplay the controversy as "artificial", suggesting that "someone wants to portray the Church as a censor" in order to dissuade church officials from speaking out on future issues.
Societal attitudes
According to a report issued in 2005 by the United States Department of State, the public's attitude towards religion is ambivalent. Although many residents are not particularly observant, the link between Georgian Orthodoxy and Georgian ethnic and national identity is strong. It stated, in addition, that "Despite their tolerance toward minority religious groups traditional to the country—including Catholics, Armenian Apostolic Christians, Jews, and Muslims—citizens remain very apprehensive about Protestants and other nontraditional religions, which they see as taking advantage of the populace's economic hardship by gaining membership through handing out economic assistance to converts."The Georgian Orthodox Church withdrew its membership from the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
in 1997 in order to appease clerics strongly opposed to some of the Council's requirements and methods of operation and thereby avert a schism within the Church. Simultaneously, the Orthodox Church also withdrew from the Conference of European Churches.
Some senior church leaders remain highly exclusionary and profess theirs as the "one true faith
One true faith
The concept of a one true faith, one true religion, or one true church, stem from the concept of the One True God asserted by believers in a monotheistic view of God...
". Some Protestant groups—especially evangelical groups—have been criticized by church officials and nationalist politicians as subversive. Eleven leaders of the Georgian Orthodox Church have argued that Christian missionaries should confine their activities to non-Christian areas.
The Muslim and Jewish communities report that they have encountered few societal problems. There is no pattern of anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
. During his time as president, Eduard Shevardnadze made statements criticizing anti-Semitic acts.
"Father Hemorrhoids" videos
In the autumn of 2009 there were street demonstrations and other signs of public anger after it was discovered that Tea Tutberidze, a former activist in the KmaraKmara
Kmara is a civic resistance movement in the republic of Georgia which undermined the government of Eduard Shevardnadze. After international observers condemned his government's conduct of the November 2003 parliamentary elections, Kmara led the protests which precipitated his downfall in what...
protest group at the time of the Rose Revolution
Rose Revolution
The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...
and now a leading figure in the libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
Liberty Institute
Liberty Institute
The Liberty Institute is a conservative Christian advocacy and legal defense organization in Texas, USA founded in 1972 under the name Free Market Foundation. -Overview:It was founded in 1997 by a Texas coordinator from the Rutherford Institute...
, had been distributing videos that insulted Patriarch Ilia II. Tutberidze had not made the videos — they were claimed by an unknown "Father Hemorrhoids" (მამა ბუასილი, mama buasili) — but she had promoted them via her Facebook page. The Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested two people over the videos but later admitted there was no crime. Tutberidze remained defiant and later accused the church of co-operation with the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
under Soviet rule.