Bible Church Kingdom United

Many of the problems among traditional religious groups stem from disputes over property. The Roman Catholic and Armenian Apostolic Churches have been unable to secure the return of their churches and other facilities that were closed during the Soviet period, many of which later were given to the Georgian Orthodox Church by the State. A prominent Armenian church in Tbilisi remains closed and the Roman Catholic and Armenian Apostolic Churches, as well as Protestant denominations, have had difficulty obtaining permission to construct new churches, reportedly in part as a result of pressure from the Georgian Orthodox Church. Georgian Orthodox Church authorities have accused Armenian believers of purposely altering some existing Georgian churches so that they would be mistaken for Armenian churches. The Catholic Church successfully completed the construction of a new church in Batumi in 2000. ... [Read More]

China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)

The increase in the number of Christians resulted in a corresponding increase in the demand for Bibles, which were available for purchase at most officially recognized churches. However, foreign experts confirmed reports of chronic shortages of Bibles, primarily due to limited print runs at the one government-approved publisher and logistical problems in disseminating Bibles to rural areas. The situation has improved in recent years. Customs officials continued to monitor for the "smuggling" of Bibles and other religious materials into the country. Hong Kong resident Li Guangqiang (Lai Kwong-keung), arrested in July 2001 for smuggling Bibles into the mainland, was sentenced on January 28 to 2 years in prison. He was released in early February on medical parole. Two Chinese men arrested with Li, Yu Zhudi and Lin Xifu, were sentenced to 3 years in jail. There were also credible reports that the authorities sometimes confiscated Bibles in raids on house churches. ... [Read More]

Russia

On June 25, President Putin stated publicly that secular authorities would do everything in their power to help improve relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican. Some of the country's highest-level officials attended the Orthodox Christmas service at Christ the Savior Cathedral.The President, who has openly spoken of his belief in God, acknowledged Orthodox Easter, Rosh Hashanah, Ramadan, and the Buddhist New Year with greetings to representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist communities, respectively. Orthodox Christmas, January 7, is observed as a national holiday. Restrictions on Religious Freedom Critics continue to identify several aspects of the 1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience as providing a basis for actions that restrict religious freedom. They criticize in particu ... [Read More]

China (includes Hong Kong and Macau)

(Note: The Tibetan Autonomous Region  (TAR) is discussed in a separate annex at the end of this report.) The Constitution provides for freedom of religious belief and the freedom not to believe; however, the Government seeks to restrict religious practice to government-sanctioned organizations and registered places of worship and to control the growth and scope of the activity of religious groups.  Membership in many faiths is growing rapidly; however, while the Government generally does not seek to suppress this growth outright, it tries to control and regulate religious groups to prevent the rise of groups or sources of authority outside the control of the Government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and cracks down on groups that it perceives to pose a threat.  ... [Read More]

Outline of American Literature - Chapter I

The great model of writing, belief, and conduct was theBible, in an authorized English translation that was alreadyoutdated when it came out. The age of the Bible, so much olderthan the Roman church, made it authoritative to Puritan eyes. ...

Like most Puritans, they interpreted the Bible literally.They read and acted on the text of the Second Book of Corinthians-- "Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord."Despairing of purifying the Church of England from within,"Separatists" formed underground "covenanted" churches that sworeloyalty to the group instead of the king. Seen as traitors to theking as well as heretics damned to hell, they were oftenpersecuted. Their separation took them ultimately to the NewWorld. ... [Read More]

Russia

According to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), there were 21,664 registered religious organizations as of January 1. The figures show an increase of approximately 1,000 registered organizations since 2002 and more than 5,000 since 1997. The MOJ recorded the number of registered religious groups as follows: Russian Orthodox Church--11,525 groups, Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church--41, Russian Orthodox Church Abroad--45, True Orthodox Church--24, Russian Orthodox Free Church--16, Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kiev Patriarchate)--11, Old Believers--284 (divided among 4 groups), Roman Catholic--248, Greek Catholic--5, Armenian Apostolic--60, Muslim—3,537, Buddhist--192, Jewish--267 (divided among Orthodox and Reform groups), Baptist--979, Pentecostal--1,467, Seventh-day Adventist--646, other evangelical and charismatic groups--134, Lutheran--219 (divided among 4 groups), Apostolic--81, Methodist--105, Reformist--5, Presbyterian--176, Anglican--1, Jehovah's Witnesses--386, Mennonite ... [Read More]

Turkey

In May a Diyarbakir court acquitted Ahmet Guvener, pastor of the Diyarbakir Evangelical Church, in the opening hearing of his trial on multiple charges of operating an "illegal" church. The prosecutor told the court that Guvener's actions no longer constituted a crime due to international law and recent Turkish legal reforms. The church has faced repeated, arbitrary legal challenges, including many relating to zoning regulations, by the Government since its 1994 opening. In May, a local board charged with protecting cultural and historic sites rejected an application by the church to have its property zoned as a place of worship. The board stated that the church did not meet zoning regulations requiring that places of worship be situated on at least 2,500 square meters of property. Church members maintained that only one of 175 mosques in Diyarbakir met that standard. ... [Read More]

International Religious Freedom Report 2002: China (includes Hong Kong and Macau)

The increase in the number of Christians in the country has resulted in a corresponding increase in the demand for Bibles. One printing company, a joint venture with an overseas Christian organization, has printed 25 million Bibles since its founding in 1987, including Bibles in Braille and minority languages, such as Korean, Jingbo, Lisu, Lahu, Miao, and Yao. Although Bibles can be purchased at some bookstores, they cannot be ordered directly from publishing houses by individuals. However, they were available for purchase at most officially recognized churches, at which many house church members buy their Bibles without incident. Nonetheless, some underground Christians hesitated to buy Bibles at official churches because such transactions sometimes involve receipts that identify the purchaser. Foreign experts confirm reports of chronic shortages of Bibles in rural areas, mostly due to logistical problems in dissemination. The situation has improved ... [Read More]