Religious Freedom Summary* (1997)


The Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, in practice the law imposed growing restrictions on religious freedom, in particular on the religious freedom of adherents of faiths other than the Armenian Apostolic Church (the Armenian Orthodox Church).

The 1991 law on freedom of conscience establishes the separation of church and state, but grants the Armenian Apostolic Church special status. The law forbids "proselytizing" (undefined in the law) except by the Apostolic Church, and requires all religious denominations and organizations to register with the state Council on Religious Affairs. Petitioning organizations must "be free from materialism and of a purely spiritual nature," and must subscribe to a doctrine based on "historically recognized holy scriptures."

A presidential decree issued in 1993 supplemented the 1991 law and strengthened the position of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The decree enjoins the Council on Religious Affairs to investigate the activities of the representatives of registered religious organizations and to ban missionaries who engage in activities contrary to their status. No action was taken against missionaries in 1997.

In June Parliament passed legislation amending the religion law. The legislation tightened registration requirements for other denominations by raising from 50 to 200 adult members the minimum number required for registration. It also tightened funding restrictions so that foreign-based churches may not be supported by funds from their headquarters outside Armenia (a provision that seriously affects the activities of several substantial denominations). The legislation also mandated that religious organizations except the Apostolic Church need prior permission from the state Council on Religious Affairs to engage in religious activities in public places, travel abroad, or to invite foreign guests to Armenia. The President, however, returned the law to Parliament with a recommendation that these objectionable aspects be deleted. In September Parliament voted to drop most of the items that the President recommended for deletion. However, Parliament confirmed the increase in the membership requirement and the ban on outside funding. All "foreign" (i.e. non-Apostolic) denominations are now required to reregister within 6 months of the law's entry into force. The President signed the law in September. So far religious groups have reported no adverse consequences from the new law.

Fifteen religious denominations and an assortment of smaller religious associations were registered in 1997 under the old law, including Catholics, Protestants, Russian Orthodox, Mormons, and others. According to the law, a religious organization refused registration cannot publish a newspaper or magazine, rent a meeting place, have its own program on television or radio, or officially sponsor the visas of visitors. The Council on Religious Affairs continued to deny registration to Jehovah's Witnesses on the grounds that the group does not permit military service. As of September, 14 Jehovah's Witnesses were in prison, including 4 who had already served 1- to 3-year sentences for refusing military service and upon release were retried and convicted by a military tribunal for desertion, even though they had never entered the military. Seven Jehovah's Witnesses were in pretrial detention, and seven others were reportedly in hiding to escape prosecution for refusing military service. A large quantity of Jehovah's Witnesses literature was seized in April, on the grounds that it could not be imported legally in the absence of registration.

Despite a government pledge to apprehend those, allegedly "Yerkrapah" members, who staged a series of destructive attacks against a dozen religious groups in 1995, the authorities took no steps in 1997 to bring the perpetrators to justice (see Section 5).

*Source: County Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997, U.S. Department of State