In this section, we proceed from the idea of Russia as a de jure secular society, in accordance with its Constitution, and a de facto predominantly secular society. At the same time, Russia has undertaken an obligation to respect freedom of conscience and religious diversity. Our news and publications focus on the ways the constitutional principles of freedom of conscience, state secularism, and equality of religions are observed or fail to be observed.
We pay closest attention to religious discrimination or emerging privileges for particular religious organizations, any forms of pressure against religious movements or anti-religious statements, and practices such as applying laws against missionary work or “insulting the religious feelings of believers.”
We monitor conflicts arising between the authorities and religious movements, between religious organizations and other associations of citizens, and among various religious movements and groups. We are also interested in attempts by the state to interfere in religious life and attempts by religious organizations to participate in politics.
Of course, we also monitor the legislative framework regulating the activities of religious groups and organizations in Russia, as well as the specifics of its application.
Our project is not aimed at supporting any particular political, religious, or social group. The information we provide is intended for journalists, sociologists of religion, and religious scholars, and may be of interest to believers and all people interested in the state of religious freedom in Russia.
The “Reports and Analyses” subsection features analytical articles by our authors, as well as periodic and other reports.
In the “Conference Papers and Other Documents” subsection, we publish selected conference papers and other relevant documents.
Due to resource limitations, we cannot translate all news items into English. Therefore, the “News Releases” subsection contains only a selection of the non-current news.
