Tag: Religion Law

Vietnam: Church told to take down Christmas nativity scene

December 19, 2017 Vietnam Catholics, Ho Chi Minh City, Human rights, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, Religion Law, Religious freedom, Vietnam

St Joseph's Cathedral in Vietnam's capital Hanoi also faced challenges over ownership of the land next to the church which led to protests in 2008. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

One of the highlights at this time of year for the citizens of Communist Vietnam is to go to see often highly elaborate temporary ‘constructions’ showing the Nativity scene of Christ’s birth which local Christians build onto their churches or homes. There are, for instance, whole streets of such scenes . . . Read More

Kazakhstan’s new restrictions to ‘flagrantly’ violate religious rights

December 1, 2017 Kazakhstan Azerbaijan, Censorship, Central Asia, Children, Education, Human rights, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Religion Law, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

At the facility of one of the presbyterian Churches in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is set to pass a new set of restrictions on freedom of religion or belief that violate international human rights obligations, according to regional news service Forum 18. The proposed amendments to Kazakhstan’s religion law are currently with the Prime Minister and are expected to be signed into law . . . Read More

Kazakhstan: more Baptists fined ‘for unregistered meeting’

November 28, 2017 Kazakhstan Baptists, Kazakhstan, Religion Law

Kazakhstan's Parliament building in the capital Astana. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Baptists in Ekibastuz, north-eastern Kazakhstan, have been fined for holding meetings not registered with the authorities, reports regional news agency Forum 18. Officials raided the Baptists’ church during a Sunday service on 29 October and detained most of those present. Twenty church members were later fined under Administrative Offences’ Article . . . Read More

Vietnam’s religion policy and practice – contradictions continue

November 23, 2017 Vietnam Binh Phuoc, Catholics, Central Highlands, Communism, Evangelical Church of Vietnam, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Protestants, Religion Law, Religious freedom, Vietnam

Optimists are hard to find ahead of Vietnam’s impending introduction of its new Law on Belief and Religion, scheduled to come into effect on 1 January, 2018. Vietnam’s Catholic and Evangelical leaders, as well as Buddhists and Caodaists, say the main benefit of the law, two years in the making, . . . Read More

The ‘remarkable religious transformation’ of Vietnam’s Hmong

November 16, 2017 Vietnam Central Highlands, Converts, Hmong, Religion Law, Vietnam

Christianity started spreading among the Hmong in the highlands of northwest and central Vietnam in the late 1980s through a Hmong-language Christian radio program broadcast from Manila and has led to “a remarkable religious transformation … in the past three decades”, according to academic Seb Rumsby, writing for The Diplomat. Among . . . Read More

Algeria: ‘unjust law’ still denying churches their ‘right to worship’

October 19, 2017 Algeria Algeria, Algiers, Mâatkas, Protestant Church of Algeria, Religion Law, Tizi Ouzou

Churches in northern Algeria continue to clash with the authorities over permission to hold services in non-religious buildings. Authorities in Tizi Ouzou province – 100km east of the capital, Algiers – have said a 2006 law that regulates non-Muslim worship is breached by churches meeting in houses meant only for . . . Read More

Kazakhstan proposes further restrictions on religion

October 11, 2017 Kazakhstan Censorship, Central Asia, Jehovah's Witnesses, Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Religion Law

The Presidential Palace, the official work place of Kazakhstan's president, in the capital Astana. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Kazakhstan has drafted amendments to its religion laws that will further tighten restrictions on religious freedoms, reports regional news agency Forum 18. The changes focus on the religious freedom of children and parents and could reach parliament for ratification as early as December. The latest October draft states that one . . . Read More

New arrest of Vietnamese Christian rights activist

February 8, 2017 Vietnam Communism, Nguyen Van Oai, Religion Law, Vietnam

Vietnamese Christian rights activist Nguyen Van Oai was arrested last month for “resisting officials on duty” and violating his probation. Police arrested Van Oai on 19 January and accused him of breaking his probation terms when he left his locality for a fishing trip, according to the website of the . . . Read More

Vietnam Religion Law causes concerns

January 20, 2017 Vietnam Cambodia, Central Highlands, Montagnards, Refugees, Religion Law, Religious freedom, Vietnam

Vietnam’s new Law on Belief and Religion is causing concern among Christians, particularly in rural areas, reports The Diplomat. The legislation, passed in November last year, has been widely criticised by rights groups, who say the government is trying to exert greater control over religious practice in the country. Human . . . Read More

Vietnam’s Law on Belief and Religion ‘deeply flawed’

December 6, 2016 Vietnam Religion Law, Religious freedom, Southeast Asia

Pierre Nguyễn Văn Nhơn (centre), Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi, takes part in a procession in January 2015. Vietnam’s National Assembly finally ratified (on 18 Nov.) its Law on Belief and Religion amid extensive criticism from parliamentarians, human rights and religious groups, who deem it to be . . . Read More

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