Religion and change in central and eastern Europe
Recommendation 1556 (2002)*
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1. The Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe has frequently had occasion to consider questions relating to
the preservation and development of traditional religious cultures, and ways of
creating the conditions needed for them to interact and develop successfully
together. In Resolution 885 (1987) on the Jewish Contribution to European
culture, Recommendation 1162 (1991) on the contribution of Islamic civilisation to European culture, and Recommendation 1291
(1996) on Yiddish culture, the Assembly expressed its sense of the need to
safeguard and develop
2. The Assembly has also persistently
expressed its awareness of the need to ensure or restore harmonious relations
between religious institutions and states. This is an essential part of
securing such basic human rights as freedom of conscience and religion,
religious tolerance and the protection of individuals and communities against
all forms of religious persecution. These issues are specifically dealt with in
Resolution 916 (1989) on redundant religious buildings, Recommendation 1202
(1993) on religious tolerance in a democratic society, Recommendation 1222
(1993) on the fight against racism, xenophobia and intolerance, Recommendation
1396 (1999) on religion and democracy, and Recommendation 1412 (1999) on the
illegal activities of sects.
3. The collapse of communism has given
religious institutions in central and eastern Europe
an opportunity if not responsibility to renew their social potential and focus
on their basic, historical tasks (e.g. the spiritual education of the
individual, the ethical improvement of society, and charitable, cultural,
educational and other projects).
4. More recently, socio-religious
developments in the post-communist countries have been marked by the emergence
of fundamentalist and extremist tendencies, active attempts to make religious
slogans and religious organisations part of a process
of military, political, and ethnic mobilisation in
the service of militant nationalism and chauvinism, and the politicisation
of religious life.
5. The emergence of independent states has
encouraged certain national Orthodox churches to seek independence for themselves or
transfer their allegiance - aspirations which are sometimes strongly resisted
by the Orthodox centres to which they were previously
subject. This has led to a worsening of relations between Churches and, in some
cases, Governments. It is important to exclude all possibility of governmental
interference in questions of dogma, church organisation
and canon law.
6. The new religious freedom and the
removal of barriers to the dissemination of ideas and beliefs, including
religious beliefs, have forced the Churches of central and eastern
Europe to face religious differences.
Weakened in the past and never having functioned in a climate of
political, cultural and religious pluralism, the traditional churches of the
region now find themselves in conflict with newly- arrived foreign missionaries
and new religious movements. So far, the problem remains unsolved of striking a
balance between on the one hand the principles of democracy and human rights,
of freedom of conscience and religion, and on the other the preservation of
national cultural, ethnic and religious identity, .
7. The disappearance of the “Iron Curtain”
has made the religious and cultural divide in
8. The Assembly accordingly recommends that
the Committee of Ministers call on the governments of the member states, the
European Union, and also the authorities and organisations
concerned:
Legal guarantees and their
observance
i. to promote conformity of national
legislation with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, paying special attention to Article 9, which states that
religious freedoms shall be subject only to limitations prescribed by law and
necessary in a democratic society, and to the ruling of the European Court of
Human Rights (1983) that restrictions on human rights must be motivated by a
“pressing social need”, and be “proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued”;
ii. to guarantee all churches, religious
associations, centres and communities the status of
legal entities, if their activity does not violate human rights or
international law and in particular to press the Government of the Republic of
Moldova to register the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia
according to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights of 13 December
2001;
iii. to take effective action to guarantee
the freedom of religious minorities, especially in central and eastern Europe,
with special emphasis on protecting them against discrimination or persecution
by religious majorities or other groups practising
aggressive nationalism and chauvinism;
iv. to activate
the normal procedures provided for in national law in all cases where religious
freedoms are proved to be abused in a manner harmful to the community, or to
the rights, freedoms and health of
individuals;
v. to guarantee to religious
institutions, the assets of which were nationalised
in the past, restitution of such assets within a certain time or, in cases
where this is impossible, fair compensation; due care must be taken to prevent privatisation of nationalised
church property;
vi. to offer to mediate between
conflicting parties, in cases where the latter accept this, for the purpose of
settling disputes, while taking care to ensure that government bodies do not interfere
in dogma or other internal religious matters;
vii. to ask the European Convention to
include European religious traditions into the Preamble of the future European
Constitution, as the foundation of human dignity and human rights and of the
ethical roots of European identity;
Culture, education and exchange
viii. to devise
communication strategies and to develop the necessary activities in the field
of cultural exchange, making people in different countries mutually aware of
their cultural achievements;
ix. to co-operate with the church
authorities in identifying and sharing their responsibilities, such as in maintaining historic buildings and in
religious education, and in promoting joint discussion of the major social,
moral, ethical and cultural issues which modern societies face;
x. to include information on
xi. to support
the activities of non-governmental organisations
working to strengthen mutual understanding between religious groups, and
protect the religious cultural heritage;
xii. to take action
to secure equal access to the media, education and culture for representatives
of all religious traditions;
xiii. to encourage the setting-up of special centres to promote interconfessional
relations, and also the exchange of exhibitions and fairs, centred
on cultural heritage, masterpieces of religious art and books, and helping
people to familiarise themselves with Europe’s
various religious cultures.
xiv. to promote
exchange programmes to give students, research
workers and artists a full picture of the ethical, moral and cultural values of
xv. to encourage the development of cultural
itineraries in Europe and linking Europe with neighbouring
countries so as to reflect and develop past perspectives and new possibilities
of cultural communication.
xvi. to provide
public libraries with publications, which detail the cultural achievements and
beliefs of the various religious traditions;
xvii. to promote
scientific research aimed at uncovering the shared roots of
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[*]. Assembly debate on