Albania

[ref][/ref]Albania is a constitutionally secular country, while the religious demographic of the country has a Muslim majority (56.7%) there is also a strong Albanian Orthodox (6.8%) and Roman Catholic (10%) population, according to the 2011 census. The same census data lists 2.5% of the population as atheist, a further 16.2% of the population did not specify, leading some to speculate that the number of non-believers is higher than recorded.[ref]https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/al.html; http://www.gazetatema.net/2011/10/21/sot-mbyllet-censusi-dyshimet-mbeten/ (in Albanian)[/ref] A UNDP study conducted in 2018, indicates that only 37% of Albanians consider themselves to be practising.[ref]https://www.al.undp.org/content/albania/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2018/04/25/undp-albania-study-on-religious-tolerance-reveals-that-religious-tolerance-is-broadly-valued-and-supported-by-albanian-citizens.html[/ref]

The Constitution and legal system along with a secular education system protects universal human rights. However there are agreements with religious groups in place that provide a number of privileges to those groups including tax-exemption status.

Constitution and government Education and children’s rights Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
Official symbolic deference to religion
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
No formal discrimination in education
No religious tribunals of concern, secular groups operate freely, individuals are not persecuted by the state
Constitution and government
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
Official symbolic deference to religion
Education and children’s rights
No formal discrimination in education
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
No religious tribunals of concern, secular groups operate freely, individuals are not persecuted by the state
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
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

Countries: Kazakhstan

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
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Andorra

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

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.

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

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

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

Countries: Bulgaria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda

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

Countries: Bahrain, Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait

‘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

Countries: Iran

State legislation is partly derived from religious law or by religious authorities
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, 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

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
Anomalous discrimination by local or provincial authorities, or overseas territories
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
Government authorities push a socially conservative, religiously or ideologically inspired agenda, without regard to the rights of those with progressive views
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
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

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
 
Systemic Discrimination
Mostly Satisfactory
Free and Equal
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

The preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania[ref]https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/3/2/41888.pdf[/ref] sets the tone for the rights that follow stating:

“[w]e, the people of Albania, proud and aware of our history, with responsibility for the future, and with faith in God and/or other universal values with determination to build a social and democratic state based on the rule of law, and to guarantee the fundamental human rights and freedoms, with a spirit of religious coexistence and tolerance, with a pledge to protect human dignity and personhood, as well as for the prosperity of the whole nation, for peace, well-being, culture and social solidarity, with the centuries-old aspiration of the Albanian people for national identity and unity, with a deep conviction that justice, peace, harmony and cooperation between nations are among the highest values of humanity…”

However, while the Constitution protects religious communities and confirms the neutrality of the state with regards questions of beliefs and conscience it doesn’t explicitly protect non-religious communities. It makes explicitly clear that the equality and independence of religious communities is to be respected by the state and by each other, this statement specifically identifies religious communities and mentions nothing of the non-religious.

Article 10(2), however, says that, “[t]he state is neutral in questions of belief and conscience, and also, it guarantees the freedom of their expression in public life.” Which seems to imply that the expression of any belief is constitutionally protected, religious or otherwise.

Article 10(5) states that, “[r]elations between the state and religious communities are regulated on the basis of agreements entered into between their representatives and the Council of Ministers. These agreements are ratified by the Assembly.” As such, the government has distinct agreements with the Sunni Muslim and Bektashi (a form of Shia Sufism) communities, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and the Evangelical Brotherhood of Albania (VUSH), a Protestant umbrella organization. These bilateral agreements codify arrangements pertaining to official recognition, property restitution, tax exemptions on income, donations and religious property, and exemption from submitting accounting records for religious activities. The law stipulates the government will give financial support to faith communities, but the government’s agreement with the VUSH under the law does not specifically designate it to receive such funding.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/albania/[/ref]

Subsequent articles enshrine the rights to freedom of conscience and religion (Article 24), freedom of expression (Article 22), association (Article 46) and assembly (Article 47).

Several articles of the Criminal Code prohibit “acts against religious freedom”, including obstructing an individual’s ability to practise a religion (Article 133), obstructing activities of a religious organization (Article 131) or wilfully destroying objects of worship (Article 132).[ref]https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-STD(2010)047-e[/ref] The offences carry penalties of up to three years in prison or a fine.

Official attitudes towards the non-religious

Reports indicate that official attitudes towards the non-religious have become increasingly negative, with the derogatory slur “pafe” (translating to “infidel”) being used by high-level politicians against their opponents, as was the case in May 2020 when the current Prime Minister Rama banned public prayer in public squares during Eid al-Fitr.[ref]https://www.rd.al/2020/05/rama-ndaloi-faljen-ne-sheshe-reagon-berisha-nje-akt-prej-narkodiktatori-ateist-kerkon-te-dale-mbi-zotin/; https://fjala.al/2020/05/07/rama-ja-ku-ndryshon-sali-berisha-nga-gramoz-ruci/[/ref] Anecdotal evidence suggests that the term “atheist” tends to be used by politicians as a pejorative term to reference totalitarian communism.[ref]The Republic of Albania was previously ruled by Marxist-Leninist government between 1946-1992. During this period, religious groups suffered persecution and out-right bans.[/ref]

Education and children’s rights

According to the Ministry of Education, public schools are secular and the law prohibits ideological and religious indoctrination. While religious education is not permitted, the law does permit the teaching of the history of religion or comparative religions as part of a humanities curriculum.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/albania/[/ref] In 2016, the state began a pilot program to teach public school students the history of religion with the purposes of countering extremism.[ref]https://balkaninsight.com/2016/04/12/religion-in-public-schools-sparks-debates-in-albania-04-11-2016/[/ref] The program subsequently stalled.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/albania/[/ref]

Religious groups, including Muslims and Catholic and Orthodox Christian, run numerous state-licensed private schools. These private schools may teach religion, but their curricula must comply with national education standards.

Family, community and society

Registration of Religious Groups

The government does not require registration or licensing of religious groups; however, a state committee maintains records on foreign religious organizations that solicit its assistance.

Registration grants religious groups the right to hold bank accounts and own property, as well as some level of tax-exempt status. The four traditional religious communities signed agreements with the government in 2008 granting them wider tax exemptions and other privileges.

(It remains unclear whether similar advantages could be obtained by specifically secular worldview organizations.)

Discrimination

According to Amnesty International, “Although pervasive, gender-based discrimination at work, including sexual harassment, remained greatly underreported.[…] Only 19% of women owned property due to poor implementation of the property registration law and a patriarchal tradition that favours male inheritance.”[ref]https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/albania/report-albania/; https://eca.unwomen.org/en/where-we-are/albania[/ref]

Further, members of the LGBTQ+ community are reported to conceal their sexual identities in order to escape ostracism and discrimination.[ref]https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/albania/report-albania/[/ref]

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

While the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, Albania lacks strong, independent media. Most media outlets are seen as proxies for one or other of the two main political parties. Reporters have little job security and are vulnerable to lawsuits, intimidation, and even physical attacks by those facing media scrutiny. Journalists critical of the government have experienced official harassment, physical attacks, death threats, and other forms of intimidation.

In the same year, an international delegation of media freedom organizations concluded that media freedom was declining in the republic, citing physical attacks, public officials’ use of derogatory language and smear campaigns against journalists, and proposed draconian legislation.[ref]https://www.article19.org/resources/albania-preliminary-findings-of-joint-freedom-of-expression-mission/[/ref]

2019 saw the government propose new restrictions to media freedom, especially as it pertains to the digital sphere.[ref]https://www.article19.org/resources/albania-government-must-withdraw-anti-defamation-legislation-introducing-state-regulation-of-online-media-outlets/[/ref] The package of legislation was subsequently vetoed by the president, however, there are reports that the government is seeking to overturn his decision.[ref]https://rsf.org/en/albania[/ref]

Media freedom during COVID-19

According to Reporters Without Borders’ 2020 World Press Freedom Index:[ref]https://rsf.org/en/albania[/ref]

“As the coronavirus crisis broke out in March 2020, Prime Minister Edi Rama called on citizens to protect themselves against, among other things, the media. Physicals attacks and defamation cases increasingly filed by officials against journalists continue to maintain the climate of insecurity and intimidation. This – in combination with the denigrating language of politicians – turns reporters into possible targets of aggression.”