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"It's open season" on minority faiths in Russia
Mr. Putin, tear down this law! For the first time, a religious group has been completely banned under Russia's restrictive 1997 religion law. Since that group is the Jehovah's Witnesses, many American evangelicals may shrug. But they shouldn't.

First, Jehovah's Witnesses have long been a bellwether for religious freedom, in this country and around the world. Without the Jehovah's Witness court victories here in the U.S., for example, religious organizations might have to seek licenses to solicit aid or even to worship. Evangelists might be forced to pay fees to hand out Bibles and tracts—and might be taxed even for giving them away. And school children would be forced to pledge allegiance to whatever the government wished.

"The Jehovah's Witnesses," Supreme Court Justice Harlan Stone once famously said, "ought to have an endowment in view of the aid which they give in solving the legal problems of civil liberties."

In this country, the Jehovah's Witnesses have been tremendously successful in expanding religious liberties. But in Russia, it's a different story. And as the state cracks down on the JWs, it looks like groups like the Baptists are next.

"Once you get a decision like this, it's open season," John Burns, the Canadian lawyer who represented the group at a Moscow appellate court, told The New York Times. He told the Associated Press, "Religious freedom has just turned back to where it was in Soviet times."

Forum 18, a Norway-based news agency monitoring religious freedom with a particular eye on the former Soviet Union, says Burns is right in saying the government won't stop with this group.

"It is notable that only unproven allegations and not proven court cases are cited in the claims made about the legality of Jehovah's Witness activity in Moscow," says Geraldine Fagan. "Many of the claims made about the Jehovah's Witnesses practices could also be made of other religious communities practices as well."

In fact, persecution of groups not recognized under the 1997 religion law—which only includes the Russian Orthodox Church, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism—is already widespread. Here's a sample of recent headlines from Russia Religion News, where Stetson University's Paul Steeves translates the Russian media:

• Orthodox charges against Catholics
• Government worker threatens Baptist evangelism
• Protestants complain about discrimination
• Russian justice ministry reviving soviet reporting system
• Protestants anxious about status in Russia
• Catholics not guilty as Orthodox charge
• Pagan sectarians appeal judicial liquidation

Steeves's site also includes a translation of the full text (part one | part two) of the Moscow appellate court's decision. The Jehovah's Witnesses say they'll appeal the case to the the European Court of Human Rights.

Namibia: The new Russia?
Back in the day, American Christians worried about Russian communism spreading to African countries. Now, perhaps, we should start worrying about some African countries' embracing Russian-style distinctions between official and "evil" religions.

Last week, Namibian President Sam Nujoma attacked what he called "misleading churches" in the country, and emphasized that the government only recognized Roman Catholic, Anglican, and African Methodist Episcopal, and two Lutheran churches.

That short list would exclude hundreds of thousands of other Christian believers in the country.

The Council of Churches in Namibia issued a statement that it "has received numerous complaints from our member churches who feel hurt because of not being recognized, while they are also of good standing in preaching the Christian gospel and are involved in nation building." The group then called for Nujoma to clarify his comments.

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June (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48