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A Brief Historical and Legal Description of Religious Liberty
After more than 50 years of Soviet rule, Lithuania declared its independence in 1990,1 being recognized by the United States and the Soviet Union in September, 1991. It also became a member of the United Nations at that time.2 It currently has a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral legislature. Throughout its history, Lithuania has been under foreign domination and thus has a limited tradition of self-rule. “Absorbed” by the Poles in the 15th Century, Lithuania subsequently was ruled by Russia and Prussia.3 Tsarist attempts to “russify” the area led to a Lithuanian nationalist movement supported by the Catholic Church in the 19th Century.4 Amidst international turmoil, the Lithuanian National Council declared Lithuania’s independence in February, 19185. Under the Hitler-Stalin Pact, Stalin implemented a plan of “sovietization” and incorporated Lithuania into the Soviet Union.6 When glasnost and peristroika became official Soviet policy in the late 1980s, the Lithuanian nationalist movement resurged.7 In 1990, after holding their first free elections, Lithuania tried to declare independence.8 The Soviet Union deployed troops and occupied the country.9 Only after the failed Communist coups in Russia did Lithuania gain sovereignty.
The Soviet Constitution allowed “freedom of belief” for all citizens. As Hank Johnston states, in Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective, restrictions during Soviet rule “occurred behind a facade of religious freedom” in fact, “[t]he campaign against Catholicism in Lithuania was intense. . . . since WWII, Lithuanians have borne the brunt of anti-religious and atheistic campaigns waged by the Communist Party.”10 The State recognized the role of the family in transmitting religion, and organized “Summer Youth Days” to break up religious socialization by the family; nevertheless, in 1978, more than 70% of Lithuanian Youth were religious communicants.11 Before independence, the Church spread information through the Lithuanian Catholic Chronicle, for which various Church members were sentenced to jail by Lithuanian courts.12
The present Government recognizes no State religion and places no restrictions on freedom of religion. The Government funds several Jewish schools, a cultural center and a museum in Vilnius.13 It has worked to restore and maintain Jewish cemeteries and “memorials that testify to the Jewish community’s cultural life and tragic past in Lithuania.”14 In 1994 the Prime Minister publically apologized for the involvement of several hundred Lithuanians in the Nazis’ extermination programs.15 In 1992, the government introduced religious instruction into Lithuanian schools, but gave parents the right to enroll their children in secular “ethics” classes as an alternative.16
Lithuania is a regionally and religiously homogeneous nation which is almost wholly Catholic.17 The Catholic Church has the most adherents of any organized religion in the country, and its clergy are the most visible religious figures in public life. Almost 80% of present inhabitants are of Lithuanian ethnic origin, about 9% are Russian, and more than 7% are Polish.18 There are 41 Russian Orthodox Churches and 47 Old Believers churches that serve the spiritual needs of the ethnic Russian community.19 Despite homogeneity there are tensions concerning the human rights of Russian and Polish minorities.20
Lithuania ratified the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees freedom of religion on May 14, 1993. It is also an associate partner in the Western European Union and joined the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which respects the freedoms of speech, press, assembly and religion.21
Constitutional Provisions and Legislation Relating to Religion
The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania was passed on October 25, 1992. Article 2 vests supreme power in the people and Article 20 prohibits the arbitrary arrest or detention of all persons. The Lithuanian Constitution gives its citizens a great amount of freedom. These freedoms include the right to worship, the right to vote, the right to travel, and the right to assemble peacefully.
These rights, however, may be curtailed under Article 145 which allows the government to restrict the right of privacy (Article 22), the right of entering into a home with the owner’s consent (Article 24), the right of free speech (Article 25), the right to travel (Article 32), the right to form groups (Article 35) and the right to assemble (Article 36).22
The following articles relate directly to freedom of religion:
Article 26: Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion shall not be restricted.Every person shall have the right to freely choose any religion or faith and, either individually or with others, in public or in private, to manifest his or her religion or faith in worship, observance, practice or teaching.
No person may coerce another person or be subject to coercion to adopt or profess any religion or faith.
A person’s freedom to profess and propagate his or her religion or faith may be subject only to those limitations prescribed by law and only when such restrictions are necessary to protect the safety of society, public order, a person’s health or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
Parents and legal guardians shall have the liberty to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.
Article 27: A person’s convictions, professed religion or faith may justify neither the commission or a crime nor the violation of law.
Article 28: While exercising their rights and freedoms, persons must observe the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, and must not impair the rights and interests of other people.
Article 29: ...A person may not have his rights restricted in any way, or be granted any privileges, on the basis of his or her sex, race, nationality, language, origin, social status, religion, convictions, or opinions.23
Article 36: Citizens may not be prohibited or hindered from assembling in unarmed peaceful meetings.24
Article 43: The State shall recognize traditional Lithuanian churches and religious organizations, as well as other churches and religious organizations provided that they have a basis in society and their teaching and rituals do not contradict morality or the law.
Churches and religious organizations recognized by the State shall have the rights of legal persons.
Churches and religious organizations recognized by the State shall freely proclaim the teaching of their faith, perform the rituals of their belief, and have houses of prayer, charity institutions, and educational institutions for the training of priests of their faith.
Churches and religious organizations shall function freely according to their canons and statutes.
The status of the churches and other religious organizations in the State shall be established by agreement or by law.
The teachings proclaimed by churches and other religious organizations, other religious activities, and houses of prayer may not be used for purposes which contradict the Constitution and the law.
There shall not be a State religion in Lithuania.25
The Constitution provides, in Chapter 8, for a Constitutional Court “to decide whether laws and other legal acts adopted by the Seimas [legislature] are in conformity with the Constitution and legal acts adopted by the President and the Government.”
Recent Reported Cases of Religious Intolerance
Because Lithuania is such a new country and because it is patently democratic, the media has not delved deeply into the issue of religious intolerance.
There is concern in Protestant groups regarding the proposed “Law of the Religious Associations to the Lithuanian Republic” which seeks to classify religions according to whether they are “established” or “unestablished.” These groups fear that if the law is enacted it will result in preferential treatment of larger and older religious communities, most notably the Catholic majority.26 The right to religious freedom law is recognized in Article 2 which states:
Everybody in the Lithuanian republic has the right to choose freely any religion or faith, to confess it on one’s own, with others publicly or privately, to perform rites, to practice faith and teach it. No one can compel another person nor be compelled to choose, confess, or not confess any kind of religion or faith.However, the proposed law recognizes only nine traditional religious associations in Lithuania: Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Evangelic-Lutherans, Evangelic-Reformers, Russian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox Old Believers, Jews, Muslims, Sunnis and Karaims. Other religious associations would be forced to apply to the legislature to gain state recognition and juridical personhood.27 The law would give a great amount of power to the State in classifying religions and could allow for legal religious discrimination. As of May 1995 the Bill was still under discussion.
ENDNOTES1 “Lithuania: Basic Facts,” Congressional Research Service (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, August 6, 1992): 1.2 ibid, 4.
3 ibid, 1.
4 ibid.
5 ibid.
6 ibid, 2.
7 ibid.
8 ibid.
9 Steven Woehrel, “The Baltic State: U.S. Policy Concerns,” Congressional Research Service (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, July 31, 1994):9.
10 Hank Johnston, “Religious Nationalist: Six Properties from Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union,” in Bronislaw Misztal and Anson Shupe, eds., Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishing, 1992): 72-73.
11 ibid, 72-73.
12 Michael Bourdeaux, “Faith and Reason,” Gazette Page (October 5, 1991): 33.
13 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993 (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, (1994): 958.
14 ibid.
15 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994 (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1995): 880.
16 U.S. Department of State (1993): 958.
17 ibid.
18 Rudolf Bernhardt and Henry G. Schermers, “Lithuanian Law and International Human Rights Standards,” Human Rights Law Journal, Vol. 13, No. 5-6 (June 6, 1992): 253.
19 The Old Believers are a schism from the Russian Orthodox Church who were excommunicated from the Church in 1667 when they refused to accept certain liturgical reforms, in F.L. Cross, ed., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 2d. ed. (London: Oxford University Press, 1974): 995.
20 “Lithuania: Basic Facts,” Congressional Research Service (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, August 6, 1992): 1.
21 ibid, 3-4.
22 Jeffri Jay Ruchti, “Lithuania,” in Albert P. Blaustein and Gisbert H. Flanz, eds., Constitutions of the Countries of the World (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1994): 27.
23 ibid, 4.
24 ibid, 5.
25 ibid, 7.
26 U.S. Department of State (1993): 958, and correspondence between The Word of Faith Bible Centre in Vilnius, and The Rutherford Institute (June 22,1994 -May 24,1995).
27 “The Law of Religious Associations of the Lithuanian Republic,” (June 7, 1993), trans. by “The Word of Faith” Bible Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania, 1.’
Source: Handbook on Religious Liberty Around the World, Pedro C. Moreno, Editor. Charlottesville, VA: The Rutherford Institute. This report is reprinted here by special arrangement with the Rutherford Institute and may not be reproduced or mirrored on another webside without written permission of the Rutherford Institute.
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