| Revision as of 19:07, 23 July 2013 editRichwales (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Oversighters, Administrators18,012 edits →Legal and policy framework: separating the material about the GOC's opposition to legal status for other religions into a new paragraph← Previous edit | Revision as of 02:02, 25 July 2013 edit undoRichwales (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Oversighters, Administrators18,012 edits rearranging sectionsTag: nowiki addedNext edit → | ||
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| {{Status of religious freedom}} | {{Status of religious freedom}} | ||
| '''Freedom of religion in ]''' is provided for by the country's ], laws, and policies. In practice, the Georgian government generally respects religious freedom; however, the ] enjoys a privileged status in terms of legal and tax matters, involvement in public schools, and property disputes. There have been efforts by private citizens, local government officials, and local Georgian Orthodox Church leaders to harass and persecute members of minority religious groups and interfere with their worship activities, but despite calls for tolerance and respect for pluralism by President ] and Prime Minister ], the Georgian central government has not been successful in preventing such incidents.<ref name=IRL_2012>{{cite web | title=International Religious Freedom Report for 2012: Georgia | publisher=], Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor | url=http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=208316 | accessdate=21 July 2013}}</ref> | '''Freedom of religion in ]''' is provided for by the country's ], laws, and policies. In practice, the Georgian government generally respects religious freedom; however, the ] enjoys a privileged status in terms of legal and tax matters, involvement in public schools, and property disputes. There have been efforts by private citizens, local government officials, and local Georgian Orthodox Church leaders to harass and persecute members of minority religious groups and interfere with their worship activities, but despite calls for tolerance and respect for pluralism by President ] and Prime Minister ], the Georgian central government has not been successful in preventing such incidents.<ref name=IRL_2012>{{cite web | title=International Religious Freedom Report for 2012: Georgia | publisher=], Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor | url=http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=208316 | accessdate=21 July 2013}}</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | ==Legal and policy framework== | ||
| ⚫ | Article 9 of the ] provides for complete freedom of belief and religion. It also recognizes the "special role ... in the history of Georgia" of the |
||
| ⚫ | In July 2011, the Georgian parliament enacted a law allowing religious organizations to register as "legal entities of public law". Prior to this change, only the GOC held this status; all other religious groups were only allowed to register as "noncommercial legal entities of private law"—a status (similar to that of a charitable foundation or an ]) which some churches considered unacceptable and refused to apply for.<ref name=IRF_2007>{{cite web | title=International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Georgia | publisher=United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor | url=http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2007/90176.htm | accessdate=23 July 2013}}</ref><ref name=Forum18_Second_Class_Faiths>{{cite web | title=Georgia: Religious minorities still second-class faiths? | publisher=Forum 18 | date=25 November 2005 | accessdate=23 July 2013 | url=http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=696}}</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | The Georgian Orthodox Church has actively opposed efforts by other churches to obtain legal status comparable to that of the GOC. In 2003, an effort by the ] to negotiate its own concordat with Georgia failed after the government yielded to pressure from the GOC leadership and public demonstrations said to have been organized by the GOC.<ref name=Catholics>{{cite web | title=Georgia: Catholics fail to break Orthodox monopoly | publisher=] | date=25 September 2003 | accessdate=23 July 2013 | url=http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=144}}</ref> In 2011, the leadership of the GOC criticized the proposed law allowing other religious organizations to register as public legal entities and made an unsuccessful effort to influence the parliament not to adopt it, predicting that "the law will cause negative consequences soon, and the state will be responsible for it".<ref name=HRH_2011_new_law>{{cite web | title=Georgia adopts a new law on the status of religious organizations | publisher=Human Rights House Network | date=26 September 2011 | accessdate=21 July 2013 | url=http://humanrightshouse.org/noop/page.php?p=Articles/16973.html&d=1}}</ref> | ||
| ==Societal attitudes== | ==Societal attitudes== | ||
| Line 18: | Line 11: | ||
| The Muslim and Jewish communities report that they have encountered few societal problems. There is no pattern of ]. During his time as president, Eduard Shevardnadze made statements criticizing anti-Semitic acts.<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=43_j4vdkk5MC&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=%22The+Muslim+and+Jewish+communities+report+that+they+have+encountered+few+societal+problems.+There+is+no+pattern+of%22&source=bl&ots=1GAGsalgVI&sig=NMj1ebUo-H7UhwtSKjCO3XcWOEQ&hl=en&ei=EhwuTeWuNofrOdnCyKYK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22The%20Muslim%20and%20Jewish%20communities%20report%20that%20they%20have%20encountered%20few%20societal%20problems.%20There%20is%20no%20pattern%20of%22&f=false</ref> | The Muslim and Jewish communities report that they have encountered few societal problems. There is no pattern of ]. During his time as president, Eduard Shevardnadze made statements criticizing anti-Semitic acts.<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=43_j4vdkk5MC&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=%22The+Muslim+and+Jewish+communities+report+that+they+have+encountered+few+societal+problems.+There+is+no+pattern+of%22&source=bl&ots=1GAGsalgVI&sig=NMj1ebUo-H7UhwtSKjCO3XcWOEQ&hl=en&ei=EhwuTeWuNofrOdnCyKYK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22The%20Muslim%20and%20Jewish%20communities%20report%20that%20they%20have%20encountered%20few%20societal%20problems.%20There%20is%20no%20pattern%20of%22&f=false</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | ==Legal and policy framework== | ||
| ⚫ | Article 9 of the ] provides for complete freedom of belief and religion. It also recognizes the "special role ... in the history of Georgia" of the Georgian Orthodox Church, but stipulates that the GOC shall be independent of the state.<ref name=Constitution>{{cite web | title=Constitution of Georgia (in English) | url=http://www.parliament.ge/files/68_1944_951190_CONSTIT_27_12.06.pdf | publisher=] | accessdate=23 July 2013}}</ref> A special ] (legal agreement) between the Georgian state and the GOC was ratified in 2002, giving the GOC a special legal status and rights not given to other religious groups—including legal immunity for the ], exemption from military service for GOC clergy, and a consultative role in education and other aspects of the government.<ref name=IRL_2012 /> | ||
| ⚫ | In July 2011, the Georgian parliament enacted a law allowing religious organizations to register as "legal entities of public law". Prior to this change, only the GOC held this status; all other religious groups were only allowed to register as "noncommercial legal entities of private law"—a status (similar to that of a charitable foundation or an ]) which some churches considered unacceptable and refused to apply for.<ref name=IRF_2007>{{cite web | title=International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Georgia | publisher=United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor | url=http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2007/90176.htm | accessdate=23 July 2013}}</ref><ref name=Forum18_Second_Class_Faiths>{{cite web | title=Georgia: Religious minorities still second-class faiths? | publisher=Forum 18 | date=25 November 2005 | accessdate=23 July 2013 | url=http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=696}}</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | The Georgian Orthodox Church has actively opposed efforts by other churches to obtain legal status comparable to that of the GOC. In 2003, an effort by the ] to negotiate its own concordat with Georgia failed after the government yielded to pressure from the GOC leadership and public demonstrations said to have been organized by the GOC.<ref name=Catholics>{{cite web | title=Georgia: Catholics fail to break Orthodox monopoly | publisher=] | date=25 September 2003 | accessdate=23 July 2013 | url=http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=144}}</ref> In 2011, the leadership of the GOC criticized the proposed law allowing other religious organizations to register as public legal entities and made an unsuccessful effort to influence the parliament not to adopt it, predicting that "the law will cause negative consequences soon, and the state will be responsible for it".<ref name=HRH_2011_new_law>{{cite web | title=Georgia adopts a new law on the status of religious organizations | publisher=Human Rights House Network | date=26 September 2011 | accessdate=21 July 2013 | url=http://humanrightshouse.org/noop/page.php?p=Articles/16973.html&d=1}}</ref> | ||
| ==Media controversies== | ==Media controversies== | ||
| ===''Best Georgians'' television program=== | ===''Best Georgians'' television program=== | ||
| A controversy arose in January 2009 over a ] (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 |
A controversy arose in January 2009 over a ] (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 common ] within Eastern Orthodox Christianity of recognizing many monarchs and other prominent secular individuals as being ]. | ||
| On 16 January 2009, 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 ]] is more important for me than the law."<ref>, civil.ge, January 17, 2009.</ref><ref>, BBC News, January 22, 2009.</ref> | On 16 January 2009, 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 <nowiki>]<nowiki>]</nowiki> is more important for me than the law."<ref>, civil.ge, January 17, 2009.</ref><ref>, BBC News, January 22, 2009.</ref> | ||
| On 22 January, 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 |
On 22 January, 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 GOC 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.<ref>, civil.ge, January 23, 2009.</ref> | ||
| ==="Father Hemorrhoids" videos=== | ==="Father Hemorrhoids" videos=== | ||
Revision as of 02:02, 25 July 2013
 | This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2010) |
Freedom of religion in Georgia is provided for by the country's constitution, laws, and policies. In practice, the Georgian government generally respects religious freedom; however, the Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys a privileged status in terms of legal and tax matters, involvement in public schools, and property disputes. There have been efforts by private citizens, local government officials, and local Georgian Orthodox Church leaders to harass and persecute members of minority religious groups and interfere with their worship activities, but despite calls for tolerance and respect for pluralism by President Mikheil Saakashvili and Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Georgian central government has not been successful in preventing such incidents.
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 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.
Legal and policy framework
Article 9 of the Constitution of Georgia provides for complete freedom of belief and religion. It also recognizes the "special role ... in the history of Georgia" of the Georgian Orthodox Church, but stipulates that the GOC shall be independent of the state. A special Concordat (legal agreement) between the Georgian state and the GOC was ratified in 2002, giving the GOC a special legal status and rights not given to other religious groups—including legal immunity for the Georgian Orthodox Patriarch, exemption from military service for GOC clergy, and a consultative role in education and other aspects of the government.
In July 2011, the Georgian parliament enacted a law allowing religious organizations to register as "legal entities of public law". Prior to this change, only the GOC held this status; all other religious groups were only allowed to register as "noncommercial legal entities of private law"—a status (similar to that of a charitable foundation or an NGO) which some churches considered unacceptable and refused to apply for.
The Georgian Orthodox Church has actively opposed efforts by other churches to obtain legal status comparable to that of the GOC. In 2003, an effort by the Roman Catholic Church to negotiate its own concordat with Georgia failed after the government yielded to pressure from the GOC leadership and public demonstrations said to have been organized by the GOC. In 2011, the leadership of the GOC criticized the proposed law allowing other religious organizations to register as public legal entities and made an unsuccessful effort to influence the parliament not to adopt it, predicting that "the law will cause negative consequences soon, and the state will be responsible for it".
Media controversies
Best Georgians television program
A controversy arose in January 2009 over a Georgian Public Broadcaster (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 common practice within Eastern Orthodox Christianity of recognizing many monarchs and other prominent secular individuals as being saints.
On 16 January 2009, 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 is more important for me than the law."
On 22 January, 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 GOC 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.
"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 Kmara protest group at the time of the Rose Revolution and now a leading figure in the conservative 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.
See also
 | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (February 2013) |
References
- ^ "International Religious Freedom Report for 2012: Georgia". United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- International Religious Freedom Report 2005 (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, State Department, United States of America.) http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51553.htm
- The WCC and the churches in Georgia: a chronology 1963-2004 (World Council of Churches, Jan. 1,2004) http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-programmes/justice-diakonia-and-responsibility-for-creation/ecumenical-solidarity/country-profile-georgia.html
- http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/13937.htm
- http://books.google.com/books?id=43_j4vdkk5MC&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=%22The+Muslim+and+Jewish+communities+report+that+they+have+encountered+few+societal+problems.+There+is+no+pattern+of%22&source=bl&ots=1GAGsalgVI&sig=NMj1ebUo-H7UhwtSKjCO3XcWOEQ&hl=en&ei=EhwuTeWuNofrOdnCyKYK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22The%20Muslim%20and%20Jewish%20communities%20report%20that%20they%20have%20encountered%20few%20societal%20problems.%20There%20is%20no%20pattern%20of%22&f=false
- "Constitution of Georgia (in English)" (PDF). Parliament of Georgia. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- "International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Georgia". United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- "Georgia: Religious minorities still second-class faiths?". Forum 18. 25 November 2005. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- "Georgia: Catholics fail to break Orthodox monopoly". Forum 18. 25 September 2003. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- "Georgia adopts a new law on the status of religious organizations". Human Rights House Network. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- "Public TV Show in Limbo after Church Meddling", civil.ge, January 17, 2009.
- "Georgia TV show sparks holy row", BBC News, January 22, 2009.
- "Public TV Changes Show Format to Allay Controversy", civil.ge, January 23, 2009.
- "BBC Monitoring report of Kavkasia broadcast"
- "Georgia: Free-Speech Debate Swirls in Tbilisi over Patriarch Parody", Eurasianet.org, November 1, 2009.
- "Tea Tutberidze and allies launch new attack on Catholicos Patriarch"
External links
- "International Religious Freedom Report 2006 - Georgia". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2006-10-08.
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