Armenia

The Republic of Armenia is a democratic sovereign state in western Asia with a population of approximately 3 million people. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the country’s primary religious establishment with 94% of the population as adherents. In 301CE, Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its national religion, upon the conversion of its king.[ref]ttps://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/apostolics-evangelicals-and-neopagans-in-armenia/; https://brill.com/fileasset/downloads_products/36481_Sample_Article_Armenia.pdf[/ref]

Constitution and government Education and children’s rights Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination
There is systematic religious privilege
State-funding of religious institutions or salaries, or discriminatory tax exemptions
Religious schools have powers to discriminate in admissions or employment
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Discriminatory prominence is given to religious bodies, traditions or leaders
Expression of core humanist principles on democracy, freedom or human rights is somewhat restricted
Constitution and government
There is systematic religious privilege
State-funding of religious institutions or salaries, or discriminatory tax exemptions
Education and children’s rights
Religious schools have powers to discriminate in admissions or employment
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination
Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Discriminatory prominence is given to religious bodies, traditions or leaders
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
Expression of core humanist principles on democracy, freedom or human rights is somewhat restricted
Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
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Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand
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 condition holds in this strand
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Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious
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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.

Countries: Botswana, Greece, Serbia, United States of America

The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination
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Applied when the influence of religion on public life undermines others’ rights, such as SRHR, women’s rights, LGBTI+ rights.

May be applied when the influence is overt (i.e. when religious laws are applied to undermine others’ rights) or covert (i.e. where religious pressure groups exert influence to affect policy)

Countries: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Oman, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zambia

The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief
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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.

Countries: North Korea

Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
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
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment
The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence
‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
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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, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the nonreligious
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety
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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.

Countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
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
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom
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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.

Countries: China, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guyana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe

It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
Legend
 
Severe Discrimination
Systemic Discrimination
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

Article 41 of the Armenian Constitution provides for freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the right to practise, choose, and change religious belief; however, some laws and policies restrict this freedom.[ref]https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Armenia_2015.pdf?lang=en[/ref]

Article 17 of the Constitution establishes the separation of “religious organizations” and State. The Church is prohibited from participating in the “governing of the State.”[ref]https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/5744/file/Armenia_law_freedom_conscience_religious_orgs_1991_am2011_en.pdf[/ref]

However, the subsequent article in the Constitution gives official prominence to the Armenian Apostolic Church, stating that, “the Republic of Armenia shall recognize the exceptional mission of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, as the national church, in the spiritual life of the Armenian people, in the development of its national culture, and in the preservation of its national identity.”

Armenia’s Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations (1991) also recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church as the national Church of the Armenian people and “as an important bulwark for the edification of its spiritual life and national preservation,” while also reaffirming Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the right to freedom of religion or belief. Article 1 of this law guarantees to individuals the right to profess a religion, or none at all, while Article 3 prohibits compelling anyone to participate, or not to participate, in religious activities, including religious education.

The same law regulates religious organizations and the procedure for registration. It defines “religious organizations” using restrictive criteria. For example, in order to register, a religious organization must be “based on historically recognized holy scriptures “and its doctrines must “be part of international contemporary religious ecclesiastical communities.”

The law prohibits forced conversion and proselytisation in general. The prohibition applies to all religious groups, including the Armenian Apostolic Church.[ref]https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/5744/file/Armenia_law_freedom_conscience_religious_orgs_1991_am2011_en.pdf[/ref]

Religious privileges

The law grants privileges to the Armenian Apostolic Church not available to other religious groups. For example, the Church may have permanent representatives in hospitals, orphanages, boarding schools, military units, and places of detention, while other religious groups may have representatives in these places only upon request.[ref]https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/7241/file/Armenia_Law_State%20and%20Holy%20Apostolic%20Church_2007_en.pdf; https://brill.com/fileasset/downloads_products/36481_Sample_Article_Armenia.pdf[/ref] Humanist groups are not mentioned in having the right to make any such request.

The special status of the Armenian Apostolic Church is codified in the Law of the Republic of Armenia Regarding the Relationship Between The Republic of Armenia and the Holy Apostolic Armenian Church (2007). This law states, inter alia, that the State should provide financial assistance as part of the State budget towards “the protection and enrichment of cultural institutions which are the property of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church,” and that the income of the Church is exempt from taxation.[ref]https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/7241/file/Armenia_Law_State%20and%20Holy%20Apostolic%20Church_2007_en.pdf[/ref]

Education and children’s rights

The law mandates that public education be secular. However, courses in the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church are part of the public school curriculum and are taught by public school teachers.[ref]https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/7241/file/Armenia_Law_State%20and%20Holy%20Apostolic%20Church_2007_en.pdf[/ref] The Church has the right to participate in the development of the syllabus and textbooks for this course and to define the qualifications of its teachers. The Church may also nominate candidates to teach the course. The course on “Armenian Church History” is mandatory; students are not permitted to opt out of the course, and no alternatives are available to students of other religions or no religion. Critics say the law focuses more on inculcating Church doctrine than on teaching the history of the Church.[ref]https://brill.com/fileasset/downloads_products/36481_Sample_Article_Armenia.pdf[/ref] Public schools are required to display portraits of the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church alongside those of the president.[ref]https://www.azatutyun.am/a/1568168.html[/ref]

In addition, the Church has the legal right to “establish kindergarten (pre-school) institutions, elementary, secondary and high schools, specialty colleges and institutions of higher learning.” The law also grants the Armenian Apostolic Church the right to organize voluntary extracurricular religious classes in state educational institutions. Other religious groups may provide religious instruction to members only in their own facilities.[ref]https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/7241/file/Armenia_Law_State%20and%20Holy%20Apostolic%20Church_2007_en.pdf[/ref]

Family, community and society

LGBTI+ Rights

LGBTI+ people face discrimination, harassment, and physical violence. Gender identity and sexual orientation are not included in anti-discrimination or hate speech laws, which limits legal recourse for many crimes against LGBTI+ people.

Hate speech and violence against LGBTI+ people, including by public officials, remains a serious issue. According to ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Europe 2021 country ranking, Armenia ranks 47th out of 49, in terms of respect for LGBTI+ rights amongst European countries.[ref]https://www.ilga-europe.org/rainboweurope/2021[/ref]

Since the government signed the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) in 2018, public debate around ratification has been polarised. With many claiming that the Convention aims to promote LGBTI+ “propaganda” and legitimize same-sex marriage (currently illegal).[ref]https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/armenia[/ref] Prominent conservative figures, including representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church, have criticized the Convention. The Church issued a statement to urge the government to refrain from ratifying the document, stating that “there are extremely concerning points in the Convention from the perspective of our national-spiritual identity and security” and that (in reference to gender transitioning), “Christian Orthodox understanding of human rights and freedoms rules out the distortion or modification of the Godly created identity of an individual.”[ref]https://armenpress.am/eng/news/982973.html?fbclid=IwAR2jFKXtbkURBNVnnJHaH7gXkX4THNbqijm3-cHBXYJaoDatRN_hPaIHkKA[/ref] Armenia has yet to ratify the Convention.[ref]https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=signatures-by-treaty&treatynum=210[/ref]

Access to safe abortion and societal attitude to women

Abortion in Armenia is legal on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, and in special circumstances between 12 weeks and 22 weeks. However, there is a three-day mandatory waiting period and counselling prior to abortion services, and healthcare providers are allowed to refuse services on the grounds of religious belief.[ref]https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WG/ReproductiveHealthRights/CSOs/womensresourcecenterarmenia/Submission%20to%20the%20WG%20on%20DAWG_SRHR_Armenia_WRCA%20.pdf[/ref] The Sexual Rights Initiative has been observed that, “the 3-days mandatory waiting period and arbitrary conscientious objections by doctors, continue to be major systemic barriers preventing women from accessing abortion services.”[ref]https://www.sexualrightsinitiative.com/fr/node/817[/ref]

In response to a very high rate of sex-selective abortions in the country, a law was introduced in 2016 which explicitly banned abortion for reasons of sex-selection. Local Women’s rights activists have protested the law, arguing that curbing abortion is not the anwer and instead of limiting the rights of women the government should deal with the cause: a society and culture in which the female is perceived as inferior and girls are devalued. Womens rights defenders have also warned that instead of curbing the practice, the law in reality just limits access to safe reproductive care and forces women into choosing riskier forms of abortion. There is concern that poorer women from rural areas cannot afford to travel to cities to have safe abortions, thus increasing the rate of unsafe abortion in the country.[ref]https://astra.org.pl/pdf/bulletin/ASTRA_CEE_Bulletin_172.pdf; https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/22/sex-selection-armenia-quandary; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/21/law-to-cut-sex-selective-abortions-in-armenia-putting-lives-at-risk; https://www.reuters.com/article/us-armenia-women-abortion/armenians-urged-to-value-their-women-as-abortions-of-girls-skew-population-idUSKBN1CE08P[/ref]

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

There are limits on press freedom. The authorities use informal pressure to maintain control over broadcast outlets, the chief source of news for most Armenians. State-run Armenian Public Television is the only station with nationwide coverage, and the owners of most private channels have close government ties.[ref]https://rsf.org/en/armenia[/ref]

Independent journalism has been subjected to increasing restrictions since September 2020, when the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan began. Under martial law, all public assemblies were banned, and a decree passed in October 2020 banned the publishing of information critical of the government, civil servants and local administrations.[ref]https://rsf.org/en/news/covering-nagorno-karabakh-war-getting-increasingly-dangerous-and-complex-reporters[/ref] Whilst restrictions on freedom of assembly and expression under martial law were lifted in December 2020, legislation has since been passed which has significantly increased the fines for defamation and insult in peace-time.[ref]http://www.parliament.am/drafts.php?sel=showdraft&DraftID=58647; http://www.parliament.am/drafts.php?sel=showdraft&DraftID=60996 [/ref] Civil society organizations have criticized the laws as stifling freedom of expression and independent media organizations’ ability to scrutinize politicians and other powerful public figures.[ref]https://freedomhouse.org/article/armenia-new-amendments-threaten-stifle-media-freedom-and-freedom-expression; https://globalvoices.org/2021/02/25/in-post-war-armenia-legislators-take-aim-at-press-freedom/[/ref]

Conscientious objection to military service

Every male citizen in Armenia must complete a compulsory two years of military service before the age of 27.[ref]https://www.ilex.am/en/2-ilex/244-military-service-in-armenia.html[/ref] Two decisions of the European Court of Human Rights forced a change in the government’s previous policy of penalizing conscientious objectors to military service. The first case, Bayatyan v. Armenia (2011), recognized conscientious objection as a fundamental right. In the second, Adyan and Others v. Armenia (2017), the ECtHR determined that conscientious objectors are entitled to an alternative service that is genuinely civilian in nature and that is not punitive.[ref]https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/armenia/recognize-right-to-conscientious-objection/[/ref]