Russian Orthodox Church Not Content with U.S. Department of State Report on Religious Freedom in Russia

The U.S. Department of State report on religious freedom in Russia for 2010 lacks objectivity and analytical depth, the Russian Church believes according to Interfax-religion.

“I’d like to wish that in the future the report will have a truly equal, friendly attitude to various religious organizations and will avoid selectiveness so that religious situation is reflected more fully,” deputy head of the synodal Department for External Church Relations Hegumen Philipp (Ryabykh) said in his interview with Interfax-Religion.

According to him, American reporters need to present different points of view in their document “not only claims of religious minorities to the state or to the religious organizations of the majority but the opinion of the Russian Church as well.”

“Freedoms of other parts of the society, security, preservation of original national, spiritual, and cultural tradition fade from this background. The report considers it least of all,” he said.

According to the priest, the situation with religious education is covered “absolutely tendentiously” and information that the Russian Church urged to stop Darwinism in schools is presented in “a negative way.”

“It’s worth mentioning that in the past the United States gave an opportunity to priests on Radio Freedom to expose scientific dogmas of the Soviet system and Darwinism in particular,” the interviewee of the agency said.

The report is critical about the fact that the Russian Church has more opportunities to reach the society and cooperates with the state, but even “the reporters say that about hundred million Russians call themselves Orthodox.” The priest believes it is impossible to cooperate with religious minorities to the same degree as “it will be out of proportions to their presence in the society and infringe rights of the citizens who adhere to the religion of majority.”

The report expresses concerns over the growth of the Russian Church's political influence and it is presented as a violation of religious freedom. It points out to the cooperation with the United Russia Party, other political parties and institutes of the country.

The Department of State believes that another example of religious freedom violation is the fact that Christmas is a state holiday and the new memorial date – Day of Russia’s Baptism – was introduced in the calendar and the Day of Slavic Scripture and Culture is widely celebrated. However, it only vaguely mentions that main Islamic feasts are officially celebrated in some Russian regions.

RISU previously pubished the report on religious freedom in Ukraine