Faith in Chains: Analysis of the Religious and Political Situation in Belarus (original) (raw)
Related papers
The paper describes and analyzes dynamics of the religious revival in Belarus after the fall of communism, current state policies towards religion and religious organizations, legal norms, institutions and mechanisms to restrict freedom of religion or belief with the focus on particular problems.
Religious sphere: Prayer for Belarus, Prayer for Lukashenko?
2016
In 2015, the government continued to pursue its policy of sustainable control of the religious sphere, mainly through the legal and bureaucratic regime. Cases of pressure in the form of repressions were rare; they concerned small unregistered communities and had no wide response. The beginning on the year witnessed a deterioration of relations with the Roman Catholic Church, caused by public officials’ sharp attacks on the leadership of the religious community. The Orthodox Church expands its pro-Russian and militaristic ideas, primarily associated with Church youth policy – the military-patriotic clubs and the festival At ‘Stalin Line’; active personnel reformatting goes on. A religious-hued show named ‘Prayer for Belarus’ became the main mobilization event of an inert presidential election campaign. Trends: • The harassment of unregistered religious communities with the participation of ideological departments occurs mainly in the Eastern regions of Belarus; • The pro-religious ce...
The article deals with reflection on justice and peace in Christian framework in the contexts of Belarusian peaceful protests of 2020. It presents ecumenical theological and social activities of the group "Christian Vision" in a journey of justice and peace in the situation of growing repressions and oppression. The group unites ordained ministers, theologians, and Christian activists of the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Anglican, and Evangelical churches and its mission is to empower Christians and churches to become a prophetic voice in the society and to contribute to the democratic process, restoration of the rule of law, justice and genuine peace, as well as to facilitate national dialogue and understanding.