Kazakhstan

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE 7th THE CONGRESS OF WORLD AND TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS

Currently, representatives of 130 ethnic groups and 18 religious denominations live in Kazakhstan, including Muslims, Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and Buddhists. There are many mosques and temples operating and being built all over the country, which are actively visited by believers.

Religious freedoms in Kazakhstan are guaranteed by article 14 of the country's Constitution, which prohibits any discrimination on religious grounds, and article 19 which guarantees that everyone "has the right to determine and indicate or not indicate their national, party and religious affiliation".

According to Gallup research, the level of religiosity of the population of Kazakhstan is the lowest in the Central Asian region - 43 percent. Nevertheless, some representatives of the international and human rights communities (the US State Department, ODIHR, etc.) have repeatedly voiced unjustified criticism concerning the state of religious freedoms in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

However, according to the latest United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reports, there has been notable progress in establishing religious freedom in Kazakhstan. Thus, the document notes that in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to these indicators, Kazakhstan ranks 4th among 14 countries (In comparison, Russia ranks 13th ,Uzbekistan 12th and Kyrgyzstan 11th).

On September 14-15, Nur-Sultan will host one of the most significant international events of the year - the 7th the Congress of World and Traditional Religions, during which the visit of the head of the Catholic Church and the Vatican state (Pope Francis), as well as 130 delegations from 60 countries of the world is expected. We can openly say that this platform is unique, where the first clergy of the world, ex-heads of state, representatives of international and public organizations and world media gather.

The six Congresses of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana, held in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018, were attended by leaders and prominent representatives of the clergy from Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism and other traditional religions.

A rich and constructive conversation on the spiritual rapprochement of religious communities is held at the dialogue platforms of the Congress, as a result of which joint final documents of the inter-religious summit were adopted - Declarations and Appeals addressed to citizens, peoples and governments of the countries of the world.

The planned event of world significance, where Kazakhstan acts as a state committed to the ideas of tolerance, openness, mutual respect and trust between government officials and religious associations of the country, testifies to the high trust on the part of the leaders of international denominations and recognition of Kazakhstan as a crossroads of many world religions.

On June 28-30 of this year in Washington DC, at the Second Summit on Religious Freedom, the head of the "Union of Evangelical Christians of Kazakhstan" Yuri Shamaev delivered a speech, which debunked the existing negative myths about the religious environment in Kazakhstan.

In his speech, the religious figure noted the openness to dialogue, as well as the trusting attitude on the part of state structures towards the religious environment, which is reflected in the wide opportunities opening up for followers of all faiths and religions to meet their needs.

As an example, he shared the positive experience of the participation of the Union of Evangelical Christians of Kazakhstan in joint charitable activities with the authorities to help socially vulnerable segments of the population. Since 2021, the humanitarian organization has allocated funding in the amount of more than 10 million tenge (approximately USD 22,200).

In response to questions from the American audience, Yuri Shumaev stated that there is no persecution of Protestants in Kazakhstan. He also explained that the measures taken to ensure public security by the Kazakh law enforcement agencies apply to all citizens regardless of religion, nationality and gender.

After listening to the report of the Kazakh religious figure, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) representatives stressed the importance of his theses and supported the initiative of the Union in building a dialogue between the state and the religious community.

In general, the events that are taking place in Kazakhstan contribute to the formation of an objective opinion of the international human rights environment about the positive inter-faith situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the preservation of inter-ethnic harmony in the religious environment.