Ministry of Culture Does Not Insist on New Wording of Law on Religious Organizations

The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine supported the proposal of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations as to the inadvisability of passing a new wording of the Law “On the Freedom of Consience and Religious Organizations,” reported the Institute for Religious Freedom.

The statement was made by the First Deputy Minister of Culture Yurii Bohutskyi at the session of the working group preparing bills in the area of freedom of worship on February 9.

The official reminded that the Council of Europe does not require of Ukraine exactly a new wording of the law. Therefore, the Ministry of Ukraine agreed with the proposals of the churches and religious organizations as to the elaboration of alterations to the laws in the area of activity of religious organizations, namely, the laws on state registration of legal persons, on education, on restitution of the former church property, on moratorium on privatization of religious buildings, etc.

According to Bohutskyi, this approach is also supported by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

The session of the working group was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Culture, Secretariat of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations and the Institute for Religious Freedom.