For 75 years under the Soviet system, the Kyrgyz Republic was officially an atheist state. Experiencing ethnic tensions, political and economic woes since independence, Krygyzstan is now a parliamentary republic, though still retains many hallmarks of Soviet Russification. The population of Kyrgyzstan was estimated of 5.72 million (2013). Over 80 per cent are counted as Sunni Muslims; 15 percent Christians, mostly Russian Orthodox; the remaining 5 percent covering a range of other beliefs. The country’s large ethnic Uzbek community (up to 40 percent of the population of southern Kyrgyzstan) mostly adheres to the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam.
| Constitution and government |
Education and children’s rights |
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals |
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Constitution and government
Education and children’s rights
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Countries: Belgium, Brazil, Central African Republic, Chile, Congo, Republic of the, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Guinea-Bissau, Japan, Kenya, Kosovo, Mexico, Mongolia, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, South Africa, South Sudan, Taiwan, Ukraine
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Countries: Barbados, Bolivia, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cuba, Gabon, Grenada, Guyana, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lesotho, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Comoros, Croatia, Egypt, Eritrea, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zimbabwe
No formal discrimination in education
Countries: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Congo, Republic of the, Djibouti, Ethiopia, France, Iceland, India, Japan, Korea, Republic of, Mali, Mexico, Mozambique, Nauru, Netherlands, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, United States of America, Uruguay
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Countries: Andorra, Angola, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bhutan, Bolivia, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar, Montenegro, Namibia, South Sudan, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam
Religious courts or tribunals rule directly on some family or ‘moral’ matters; it is legally an opt-in system, but the possibility of social coercion is very clear
No religious tribunals of concern, secular groups operate freely, individuals are not persecuted by the state
Countries: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, Congo, Republic of the, Dominica, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Ghana, Guatemala, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Republic of, Kosovo, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palau, Poland, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Serbia, Sweden, Taiwan, Uruguay, Venezuela
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Countries: Austria, Barbados, Bhutan, Botswana, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Lithuania, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, South Africa, South Sudan, Suriname, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Vanuatu, Viet Nam
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Countries: Belgium, Botswana, Costa Rica, Dominica, Estonia, France, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palau, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United States of America, Uruguay
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand
Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition
No condition holds in this strand
Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition
No condition holds in this strand
Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition
Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious
This condition is unusual in that it is applied in cases where there is some social discrimination, but it is not pervasive or nationwide. This condition is applied when there is sufficient background evidence to warrant the assertion that discrimination is not anomalous but widespread, and this condition may be applied for example even where if there is no legislative discrimination or where the non-religious may have legal recourse against such discrimination. However, societal discrimination (i.e. discrimination by peers, as opposed to state or legal discrimination) is not easily measured, and for this reason the Report does not currently have similar more severe boundary conditions to capture higher levels of social discrimination per se. In principle these may be introduced in future. However, we consider that countries with actual higher levels of social discrimination against the non-religious will generally already meet other higher level (more severe) boundary conditions under this thematic strand.
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief
Applied when overriding acts of oppression by the State are extreme, to the extent that the question of freedom of thought and expression is almost redundant, because all human rights and freedoms are quashed by authorities.
The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
Countries: Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Comoros, Eritrea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates
There is systematic religious privilege
Countries: Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Bahrain, Belize, Botswana, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Latvia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malta, Moldova, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Togo, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Zambia, Zimbabwe
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
There is state funding of at least some religious schools
Countries: Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belize, Brunei Darussalam, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Fiji, Finland, Gambia, Germany, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kosovo, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Switzerland, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe
State-funded schools offer religious or ideological instruction with no secular or humanist alternative, but it is optional
Countries: Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Italy, Kenya, Kiribati, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, New Zealand, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela
Expression of non-religious views is severely persecuted, or is rendered almost impossible by severe social stigma, or is highly likely to be met with hatred or violence
The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Countries: Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Egypt, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Macedonia, Malaysia, Niger, Samoa, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Uganda
Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, China, Ethiopia, Gambia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritania, North Korea, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
Expression of core humanist principles on democracy, freedom or human rights is severely restricted
Countries: Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Honduras, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Laos, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Russia, Samoa, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Zambia
Expression of core humanist principles on democracy, freedom or human rights is somewhat restricted
Countries: Armenia, Benin, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Republic of the, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, India, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Myanmar (Burma), Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Venezuela, Zimbabwe
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
Countries: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, India, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Republic of, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vanuatu
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state
State legislation is partly derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Countries: Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Comoros, Egypt, Gambia, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Tanzania, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
This condition is applied where there are miscellaneous indicators that organs of the state offer various forms of support for a religion, or to religion in general over non-religious worldviews, suggesting a preference for those beliefs, or that the organs of that religion are privileged.
Countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe
Official symbolic deference to religion
Countries: Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Dominica, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kiribati, Korea, Republic of, Latvia, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Swaziland, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vanuatu
Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety
This condition highlights countries where schools subject children to fundamentalist religious instruction with no real opportunity to question fundamentalist tenets, or where lessons routinely encourage hatred (for example religious or ethnic hatred). The wording “significant number of schools” is not given a rigid quantification (sometimes the worst-offending schools are unregistered, illegal, or otherwise uncounted); however the condition is not applied in cases where only a small number of schools meet the description and may be anomalous, as opposed to being indicative of a widespread problem.
Religious schools have powers to discriminate in admissions or employment
Countries: Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Ecuador, Eritrea, Estonia, Finland, Gambia, Germany, Haiti, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Philippines, Sri Lanka, Uganda, United Kingdom
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the nonreligious
Systemic religious privilege results in significant social discrimination
Countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gambia, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nigeria, Oman, Palestine, Paraguay, Qatar, Russia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zimbabwe
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
Countries: Bangladesh, Comoros, Egypt, Haiti, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nigeria, Palestine, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Turkey
‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence
Criticism of religion is restricted in law or a de facto ‘blasphemy’ law is in effect
Countries: Australia, Austria, Barbados, Brazil, Ethiopia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Montenegro, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, South Africa, Spain, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Vanuatu
Concerns that secular or religious authorities interfere in specifically religious freedoms
Countries: Angola, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Congo, Republic of the, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Germany, Ghana, Haiti, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Nepal, North Korea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Serbia, Singapore, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zambia
State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
There is an established church or state religion
Countries: Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Finland, Georgia, Haiti, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritania, Monaco, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Tunisia, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Yemen, Zambia
Anomalous discrimination by local or provincial authorities, or overseas territories
Countries: Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Dominica, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Guinea, India, Jamaica, Malawi, Malaysia, Micronesia, Mongolia, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
Countries: Argentina, Armenia, Belize, Botswana, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, China, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Guinea, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Oman, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Switzerland, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Togo, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
Countries: Afghanistan, Brunei Darussalam, Egypt, Gambia, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan
Government authorities push a socially conservative, religiously or ideologically inspired agenda, without regard to the rights of those with progressive views
Countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Brunei Darussalam, Burundi, China, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates
Discriminatory prominence is given to religious bodies, traditions or leaders
Countries: Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kiribati, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tonga, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Zambia, Zimbabwe
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
‘Blasphemy’ is outlawed or criticism of religion is restricted and punishable with a prison sentence
Countries: Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Comoros, Cyprus, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Gambia, Germany, Grenada, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Legal or constitutional provisions exclude non-religious views from freedom of belief
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
Countries: Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Maldives, Morocco, North Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
Countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
Religious groups control some public or social services
Countries: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Denmark, Eritrea, Germany, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, Switzerland, Tanzania, Tunisia, United Kingdom
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
Countries: Afghanistan, Brunei Darussalam, Comoros, Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
Countries: Argentina, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Haiti, Italy, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Rwanda, Samoa, Sweden, Switzerland
Religious control over family law or legislation on moral matters
Countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
Countries: Brunei Darussalam, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom
This condition may apply if specifically religious education, religious materials, or specific religious denominations are so tightly controlled that children are in fact over-protected from exposure to religion and are likely unable to explore or construct their own worldview in accordance with their evolving capacities. This condition helps us to classify states (perhaps with secular constitutions) which have criminalized specifically religious beliefs or practices. This condition is not applied if the restricted beliefs or practices are found to be outlawed due to their being of an extremist variety. While this condition does not directly reflect discrimination against non-religious persons or non-religious ideas, it does represent an overall threat to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; such restrictions could spill over to affect non-religious beliefs later; and they pose a risk of backlash against over-zealous secular authorities or even against non-religious individuals by association.
State-funding of religious institutions or salaries, or discriminatory tax exemptions
Countries: Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bhutan, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chad, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Korea, Republic of, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Montenegro, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe
It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
Countries: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan
| Systemic Discrimination |
| Mostly Satisfactory |
| No Rating |
Constitution and government
Generally the constitution, laws and policies protect freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as freedom of opinion and expression. Apostasy and blasphemy are not outlawed. However, the existing legal base is somewhat underdeveloped and certain laws conflict with others, placing unnecessary restrictions on rights to freedom of religion, expression, education and association. In practice the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is restricted.
The constitution guarantees separation of the state and religion. However, in practice, maintenance of state-religion separation has been eroded citing in the face of modern challenges like religious fundamentalism, extremism, and possible threats of religious terrorism.
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on religion or belief, as well as the establishment of religious political parties and the pursuit of political goals by religious groups. It also forbids the establishment of any religion as a state or mandatory religion. However, on 6 May 2006, a decree recognized Islam and Russian Orthodoxy as traditional religious groups.
The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On the general military duty of citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic, on military and alternative service” permits substitution of military service for alternative service for citizens who are members of a registered religious organisation and whose dogma forbids the use of weapons and military service. While the upholding of the right to conscientious objection is in accordance with human rights law, the opt-out applies exclusively to members of registered religious organisations.
At the same time, in accordance with the Law “On the Status of Servicemen” the state and its bodies are under no obligation to meet the needs of the servicemen arising from their religious beliefs.
In September 2014, the State Committee on Religious Affairs (SCRA) made an attempt to tighten specifically religious freedoms, with draft amendment to the religion law, to the effect that religious organisations could only carry out activities at their legal address. The proposal was rejected by the government.
<hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/kyrgyzstan>
Education and children’s rights
The Religion Law allows public schools to teach religion courses that the state deems “mainstream”, largely Russian Orthodox or Muslim Board texts, if such lessons do not otherwise conflict with the country’s laws; but the same provision is not made for other religion or belief minority groups. The Religion Law also prohibits individual religious education or instruction, such as one-on‐one learning, officially in order to prevent individual missionary activity and proselytism. The 2011 Amendments to the Law “On Freedom Of Conscience And Religious Organisation” prohibits “persistent actions aimed at converting believers of one religion to another” (proselytism) as well as any illegal missionary activity.
There are also restrictions to travelling abroad for members of religious organisations, including schools. Thus, educational institutions are allowed to send people abroad for studying or training exclusively on the basis of agreements signed with foreign educational institutions, and only with approval from the government agency for religious affairs.
<missioneurasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ME_CHALLENGES-TO-FREEDOM_03-08-2016_FULL.pdf>
Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values
Freedoms of speech and press are guaranteed in the Kyrgyz constitution and in the nation’s laws, but observance of those rights is inconsistent. In particular, the government routinely suppresses and harasses Russian language and Uzbek language media, while allowing far greater freedom for Kyrgyz language media.
The Religious law allows for intrusive state controls (including examination of production, acquisition, transport, transfer, storage and distribution) on religious literature deemed “non-traditional” (that is, mainly literature other than Muslim Board and Russian Orthodox texts) as well as on any other printed, audio and visual materials concerning freedom of belief, thought and expression in line with the state programs on countering religious extremism, separatism and fundamentalism. For example, in September 2012 the Dutch film “I am Gay and Muslim” was banned.
According to the 2008 Religious law, it is also forbidden to distribute literature, printed, audio or video materials of a religious nature in public places. The Law permits the storage and use of religious materials only in places designated in the law, such as places of worship, libraries of religious educational institutions etc. Accordingly, individual believers have no right to keep or use religious literature in their homes, contrary to the Constitution Of the Kyrgyz Republic (Article 33).
In practice this regulation to a larger extent was aimed at religious minority groups, and could be disregarded in regards to the so called “traditional” religions: Muslim Board and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Registration of religious organisations
Any religious organisations not registered with the State Agency for Religious Affairs (SARA), including schools, are considered to be illegal and could be subjected to criminal penalties.
At the same time, there exist several legal restrictions to registration. In order to register a religious organisation is obliged to provide full list of all potential members (minimum 200 persons), including their personal details and information (place of work, source of income, etc). An organisation has to prove it has created religious communities in nine regions of the Kyrgyz Republic prior to registration. This also contrary to the Article 4 of the current Law On Religion, which prohibits official registration of a person’s stance on religion or their affiliation with any religious group. It also means that in effect a religious group must operate unlawfully until it is large enough to register, a paradox which can be taken advantage of to selectively deny registration: in 2006 the Karakulja church was officially denied registration on the grounds that it operated for several years without official registration.
Kyrgyz religious authorities have refused to re-register the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, because of its alleged “threat to religious security” in the country, since it is controversial and does not comply with Sharia law. NSC secret police stated they were a “dangerous movement and against traditional Islam”.
<forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=1650>.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim community continues to suffer from attacks on its members. Former Chief Mufti Zhalilov publicly demanded that people: “totally boycott Ahmadis and isolate them from society by: not marrying them; not allowing them to be buried in cemeteries; and not employing them”.
<forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2150>
In 2011 the State Commission for Religious Affairs refused to extend registration to missionary work of Kang Hyun Min (Kang Hyongmin), the pastor of Evangelical Christian Church “Grace”.
In 2012 religious community “Tenirchilik”, which represents local paganism, was also rejected in registration. The community was accused in criticising and insulting Islam. Moreover, it was stated that adepts of the religion lack tolerance, and demonstrate aggression and humiliation of other religions.
<vesti.kg>
The state also sometimes voids previously registered religious organisations. In 2016 the court revoked registration of the Jehovah’s Witnesses community in four cities, officially on the basis that its activities may destabilise the local community.
Unregistered religious organisations and their members are frequently subjected to assaults and raids. In spring, 2012 in an urban type settlement Toktogul, Jalal-Abad region local residents attacked a building belonging to the Jehovah’s Witnesses community.
Religious control
The state has tightened religious freedom by increasing control over the semi-autonomous Muslim Board. The Muslim Board was instructed to select the Mufti, imams, regional imams, religious judges, and Council of Ulema members only from the Hanafi school of Islam officially deemed “traditional” for Kyrgyzstan’s Muslims.
On February 15, 2007, independently operated Channel 5 TV broadcast a program that portrayed the Church of Jesus Christ as being possibly associated with devil worship. The pastor provided a rebuttal to the program, but producers never aired it. Channel 5 producers aired opinions in support of the program’s message presented by representatives of the “traditional religious groups” (Islam and Russian Orthodoxy).
Persecution of the religious
On August 6, 2006, the special forces of the National Security Service (SNB) shot and killed three persons, including Mukhammadrafiq Kamalov, imam of the largest mosque in Kara-Suu. Immediately following the incident, government officials stated that the three were affiliated with the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and were killed in the course of an antiterrorism operation. Kamalov’s family and observers, including the ombudsman for human rights, denied security officials’ allegations about the possible involvement of the imam in religious extremist groups.
In November 2015, a provincial court in Osh doubled the five-year prison term for “inciting religious hatred” previously imposed on the son of Mukhammadrafiq Kamalov Rashot Kamalov, who is also a popular ethnic Uzbek imam, Rashot Kamalov accused local police of extracting numerous bribes <United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Annual Report 2015 (USCIRF)>. Rashot Kamalov was briefly detained in early 2011, but under pressure from his Kara-Suu supporters he was released. <eurasianet.org/node/72116> On 22 December 2015 Yunusjan Abdujalilov, an Ahmadi Muslim, was murdered in front of his home in the village of Kashkar Kyshtak in Osh Region.
In October 2015, two Jehovah’s Witnesses, Nadezhda Sergienko and Oksana Koriakina were freed from 31 months of house arrest on charges of alleged witchcraft in apparent reprisal for their community’s registration application. In February 2016, however, the Supreme Court returned their case to Osh for a new trial <forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2155&printer=Y>
Members of local communities, mainly in rural areas, often do not allow persons of non‐Islamic faith to be buried in the family cemetery, even if the deceased was indigenous to the area.’ In general, negative images of non-Muslim clergy is often created and disseminated by the local media, sometimes their lives could be threatened.
