Protestant churches feel the heat in Kazakhstan

Police arrest a group of young people for an unsanctioned religious meeting.
(Image, caption courtesy Christian Aid)

Kazakhstan (CAM) ― Is religious freedom a reality in Kazakhstan? The answer depends on who you ask.

While the constitution of this Central Asian country provides for freedom to worship, in truth it is adherents of traditionally recognized faiths and denominations who enjoy that privilege.

Ironically, says Christian Aid Mission, more restrictive laws were enacted to stem the tide of growing Islamic radicalism in Kazakhstan. In the process, intense government scrutiny of all minority religious groups has led to persecution of Christians, particularly evangelicals.

A law passed in 2011 requires churches and religious organizations to apply for state registration. The process is not that simple, however, as official registration is restricted to groups of 50 people or more. Most Christian congregations in Kazakhstan are small and meet in private homes.

To comply with the new regulations, a group of believers can only gather for worship or prayer in a state-approved location, such as a church building. Since the purchase or construction of building costs anywhere from $12,000 to $18,000 on average, congregations find themselves facing a great dilemma.

Even believers who are members of government-sanctioned churches sometimes encounter harassment from local authorities and have to prove their case in court.

The crackdown has resulted in arrests, steep fines, and imprisonment. According to the Forum 18 News Service Web site, fines were imposed on at least 62 Council of Churches Baptists since the start of 2013. The denomination refuses to pay the fines on principle, considering them in violation of human rights.

In response, the government has reportedly imposed a new set of restrictions on the Baptist churches, banning the members from traveling outside of the country until the fines are satisfied.

The following report was taken verbatim from a Christian Aid-assisted ministry in Kazakhstan. It reveals the extreme measures taken by local authorities to try to stamp out unregistered churches.

On March 31 in a town in eastern Kazakhstan, nine Christians (mainly elderly people) gathered to celebrate Easter, to pray, communicate, and have some tea. After a while, seven police officers came into the apartment. They brought two drunken men with them as witnesses.

Without presenting any documents, the police began to take a video and do a search of the apartment. The senior captain offered to take the Christians to the police station for questioning, but the Christians refused, demanding a good reason for why they should. The answer was that they were engaged in unregistered religious activities.

On April 3, this group of Christians was called to the police station. After police kept them in the office from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., they were given the interrogation report to sign. The report stated they were engaged in illegal religious activities and storage and sale of drugs. Some of the elderly people signed the report without reading it. But after one woman pointed out the information about drugs, all of them refused to sign it. The authorities threatened to place the group in jail overnight. The Christians sent a statement to the regional prosecutor’s office, including a copy of the document that accused them of storage and sale of drugs.

An administrative court proceeding took place April 18, where four of the Kazakhs were each fined $577 to be paid within one month. The next day, a trial was held for three more of the Christians. Two were fined a penalty of $577 each, and the other individual was fined $1154. Two more people are in the hospital at the present time and haven’t been given a summons to the court. The total sum of fines was $4616.

Before the “law of religious activity,” this small group of Christians was without any need of registration. With the introduction of new rules, the legal features were established. They applied for registration a couple of times since September of last year and were rejected because there were less than 50 people.

Despite opposition, the Kazakh churches continue to grow. About 25% of the country’s population is Christian, most of whom are from the accepted Russian Orthodox denomination. Protestants, making up 0.8%, are viewed with suspicion as dangerous sects that may pose a threat to the government.

Christian Aid assists ministries in Kazakhstan that have planted more than 120 churches and comprise some 12,000 believers. Donors have also provided funding for a Bible school that graduates over 100 students each year and an orphanage that provides compassionate care in the name of Christ to some 300 youngsters.

President praises country's religious freedom; law introduced to punish faith-sharing

Kazakhstan (MNN) ― There's an interesting back-and-forth battle in Kazakhstan.

Forum 18 News says early last week, the country's president claimed Kazakhstan respects religious freedom. But within 48 hours, there were heavy fines against Protestant Christians who celebrated Easter Sunday.

According to Forum 18, the raid brought one elderly member under enough stress to trigger a heart attack. This person told Forum 18 that police "have decided to use fear to separate us from God, something they can never achieve. They cannot ban me from my Christian faith."

By the end of the week, says Joel Griffith of Slavic Gospel Association, a new law was in the works.

"Reportedly, it introduces a new maximum penalty for those who share their faith, or witness," Griffith explains.

"If that actually comes into law, that really is of great concern."

Under the proposed law--alluded to in a separate Forum 18 article--those who share the Gospel openly could be imprisoned for up to four months.

"It does certainly seem that some storm clouds are on the horizon," says Griffith. "Even if there isn't an official code that's been voted on by Parliament right now…, the [Agency of Religious Affairs] seems to be taking quite a bit of authority on itself and trying to put pressure on religious groups."

In the scope of Central Asian history, Kazakhstan's current state of affairs is nothing out of the ordinary. Griffith says it reminds him of their days under Soviet rule.

"Officially, they had freedom of worship and freedom of religion in their constitution," he says. "But in practice, they didn't have it. People were arrested; people were sent to the gulag."

At this time of great persecution, SGA began a prayer movement for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

"We prayed and prayed and prayed about that, and miraculously in the late 1980s the Berlin Wall came down," Griffith recalls. "And then in 1991, the entire Soviet Union broke apart, and each of those 15 nations became independent."

Griffith says the Gospel enjoyed great freedom as Kazakhstan took its first steps of independence.

"But we've seen backtracking on that in recent years," says Griffith. "This is just certainly more evidence of that."

As was the case in Kazakhstan's Soviet days, Griffith says the most important thing to do is pray.

"The Lord answered prayers during that time, and the door was opened for the Gospel there like never before," he states. "Well, now we're beginning to see the doors close again. The most important ministry we can do for them is intercessory prayer."