Restriction of freedom of conscience: foreign tendencies and Russian realties

All possible configurations of mutual relationship between public authority and religious structures can be examined from the viewpoint of their amalgamation and state support of religion (e.g. theocratic and clerical countries) from the position of state neutrality to a negative identification of religion by the state (e.g. in case of persecution of believers or prohibition of religion). Various provisions of this spectrum can be considered ideal models which in practice of state construction and in definite historical situations can to some degree diverge from the theoretical concept. Despite the variety of forms of state confessional relations in different countries we can outline a number of global patterns in the development of the system "man-state-church". When considering the restriction tendencies connected with freedom of conscience on the part of state we can point out the following: 1. Restriction of the right to make one's choice in favor of any given doctrine or to change the belief system chosen earlier. Thus, many countries have the laws (even criminal ones) providing for liability or even criminal punishment for apostasy (conversion from one religion into another one) e.g. Mauritania, Ethiopia and Sudan. 2. Prohibition of the possibility to perform the acts of worship in any religion individually or together with other people or the prohibition of religion in general (e.g. the Constitution of Albania 1976) or separate religious doctrines (in China and Brunei). 3. The use of religious symbols in public life and religious holidays. Public use of religious symbols and attributes is often a matter of discussions 4. Introduction of liability for the defamation of religion. Many national legal systems provide for liability for the insult of religious feelings of believers and blasphemy (e.g. in Afghanistan, Andorra, Brazil, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Spain, Croatia, Poland, Portugal etc.). In Russia Article 5.26 of the Administrative Violations Code of the Russian Federation and Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provide for liability for the violation of right to freedom of conscience and religion. 5. Restrictions of the realization of believers' legal rights e.g. the right to active alternative civil service or peaceful distribution of religious views and missionary activity. Thus, we can state that over the last years religion has had an increasingly significant place in public life. This makes the public authority of each state determine its position both to religion itself and to the spiritual life of its citizens in general. Therefore, current legislation and law enforcement practice need corrections in the sphere of freedom of conscience and religion.

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