Jehovah's Witnesses Facing Tough Days Ahead for Breaking Russian Law

[Skwim]

"Yesterday, Russia’s new anti-terrorism laws, which restrict Christians from evangelizing outside of their churches, went into effect.

The “Yarovaya package” requires missionaries to have permits, makes house churches illegal, and limits religious activity to registered church buildings, among other restrictions. Individuals who disobey could be fined up to $780, while organizations could be fined more than $15,000."
source



"Authorities have focused largely on literature produced by the Jehovah's Witnesses, with regional officials claiming that it violates Russian law by “portraying other religions in a negative light,” or for trying to persuade Russian men to avoid compulsory military service.

More than 80 Jehovah's Witness publications are currently banned in Russia."
source



"President Putin has signed amendments imposing harsh restrictions on sharing beliefs, including where and who may share them, and increased "extremism" punishments, introduced with alleged "anti-terrorism" changes. There are widespread Russian protests against the suddenly-introduced changes, and may be a Constitutional Court challenge.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed into law legislation on so-called "missionary activity", further restricting the public expression of freedom of religion and belief, including in the media and online, Forum 18 notes. The amendment - which has been rapidly introduced - caused widespread protests, but was signed on 6 July and the signing was made public at Moscow lunchtime on 7 July. It was published on the presidential website that day and comes into force on 20 July.

Against international human rights obligations, the amendments to the Religion Law restrict those who can share beliefs to people with permission from members of state-registered religious groups and organisations. This excludes people from groups which have chosen to operate without state permission, such as certain Baptist congregations. The amendments also bar even informal sharing of beliefs, for example responding to questions or comments, by individuals acting on their own behalf (see below).

The amendments also restrict the beliefs that can be shared, specifies a restricted list of places where beliefs may be shared, and explicitly bans any beliefs from being shared in residential buildings, or on another association's property without permission. An allegedly "anti-terrorist" part of the amendments bars the conversion of residential property to religious use.

Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses – who often do not have their own permanent buildings – are the main belief communities fined or threatened with fines for organising or conducting meetings for worship which have not been specifically approved by the local authorities.

The new Chapter 24 of the Religion Law states: "For the purposes of this federal law, missionary activity is recognised as the activity of a religious association, aimed at disseminating information about its beliefs among people who are not participants (members, followers) in that religious association, with the purpose of involving these people as participants (members, followers). It is carried out directly by religious associations or by citizens and/or legal entities authorised by them, publicly, with the help of the media, the internet or other lawful means."
source​

 

[Deeje]

"Yesterday, Russia’s new anti-terrorism laws, which restrict Christians from evangelizing outside of their churches, went into effect.

The “Yarovaya package” requires missionaries to have permits, makes house churches illegal, and limits religious activity to registered church buildings, among other restrictions. Individuals who disobey could be fined up to $780, while organizations could be fined more than $15,000."
source

Thank you for the link......

Russia's Ban on Evangelism Is Now in Effect
Yesterday, Russia’s new anti-terrorism laws, which restrict Christians from evangelizing outside of their churches, went into effect.


The “Yarovaya package” requires missionaries to have permits, makes house churches illegal, and limits religious activity to registered church buildings, among other restrictions. Individuals who disobey could be fined up to $780, while organizations could be fined more than $15,000.


Forum 18 offers an analysis of the laws and their ramifications for Protestants and other non-Orthodox believers. World Watch Monitor compiled the worried reactions of Russian evangelical leaders and concerned observers.


The new laws will “create conditions for the repression of all Christians,” wrote Russia’s Baptist Council of Churches in an open letter. “Any person who mentions their religious view or reflections out loud or puts them in writing, without the relevant documents, could be accused of ‘illegal missionary activity.’”


Requiring a permit to evangelize is “not only absurd and offensive, but also creates the basis for mass persecution of believers for violating these provisions,” read another open letter signed by Protestant Churches of Russia leader Sergei Ryakhovsky among other signatories. The law is “the most draconian anti-religion bill to be proposed in Russia since Nikita Khrushchev promised to eliminate Christianity in the Soviet Union.”


The Yarovaya laws also earned censure from those outside Russia. The European Evangelical Alliance stated it was “extremely concerned” about how the law “greatly restricts religious freedom, and urged Christians to “pray that this new law unites Christians in new ways” and “pray that this time of trial will be used by the Lord to strengthen and grow his church.”


The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said it “strongly condemns” the measures, which commission chair Thomas J. Reese said would “make it easier for Russian authorities to repress religious communities, stifle peaceful dissent, and detain and imprison people.”


More than three-quarters of Americans want the next US president to “be committed to addressing the persecution that some Christians face around the world,” according to a poll released this week by Open Doors.


However, how Russia’s new laws will be applied is “a very huge question mark,” Slavic Gospel Association communications manager Joel Griffith told Mission Network News. “Pray that the law will not be enforced or interpreted as strictly as it is written.”


If strictly enforced, the laws could “stop missionary activity to anybody but representatives, registered organizations, and groups,” he said. “It would require every missionary to have documents with specific information proving connections to a registered religious group.”


While the new laws leave the door for Russian evangelism still open, it’s “only slightly ajar” as Russian evangelical churches will soon be “behind a new ‘Iron Curtain,’” stated Mission Eurasia president Sergey Rakhuba in the ministry’s official reaction.


“We don’t know yet how these laws will be implemented, but it is already clear that they are achieving their goal of creating an atmosphere of fear and suspicion within society, while allowing the government to restrict freedom in violation of the Constitution and international norms,” he wrote. “Believers will soon need to make a very important choice: whether to obey God or these new Russian ‘laws.’”


The requirement to practice religion only in registered places of worship creates a Catch-22 for Russian Protestants, who are often blocked by the state from obtaining property on which to build those houses of worship, Pentecostal Union deputy bishop Konstantin Bendas told Forum 18.


Lawyers are preparing an appeal to Russia’s Constitutional Court, Forum 18 reported. The new law directly contradicts the right to “manifest … religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, and teaching,” both in public and private, that is outlined in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, of which Russia is a participating state.


Russia’s previous religion law, passed in 1997, didn’t limit the public sharing of beliefs; however, some regions imposed local laws restricting evangelism, according to Forum 18. A 2012 law criminalized “offending religious feelings” in Russia, but few were prosecuted.


The current law was proposed in June and passed quickly, even though Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodo stated twice—in May and in February—that sufficient regulation of religion already existed.


Russia’s Protestant churches are concerned but not panicked, reports independent journalist and Russian Evangelical Alliance consultant William Yoder. With more than 1,000 Protestant house churches meeting in Moscow alone, cracking down to the letter of the law will not be easy. He wrote:


Russian evangelicals have many decades of experience in dealing with a non-sympathetic state. There have also been frequent run-ins with the state since the mid-1990s. In fact, Belarus has had restrictive legislation very similar to the “Yarovaya Laws” in force since November 2002. Despite occasional incidents, non-registered Baptists and Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to meet there and Minsk’s highly-visible and Charismatic “New Life” congregation keeps on meeting—illegally—in a rebuilt cow barn. Humanitarian work and evangelistic efforts continue.


Far-flung Russia will hardly be more “successful” regarding implementation of its new laws. Konstantin Bendas, deputy head bishop of the “Associated Russian Union of Christians of Evangelical-Pentecostal Faith” (ROSKhVE), notes that over a thousand Pentecostal house groups are meeting alone in Moscow. Yet, sadly, a complex legislation of repression is now in place and could be put into practice if ever the need arises. That “need” would arise as a result of greatly-heightened East-West tensions—tensions which are also very much contingent upon Western behaviour. Western citizens can do something about this.


"Let's wait and see what actually happens in terms of implementation on the ground. There is often a temptation in these situations to immediately fear the worst,” Release International chief executive Paul Robinson said, according to the Evangelical Alliance UK. “But, having said that, we need to pray for Russian brothers and sisters now, as it's possible the doors may well be closing on the freedoms the church in Russia currently enjoys.”

Certainly not confined to Jehovah's Witnesses. Anti-terrorist laws? Since when are JW's terrorists? or even extremists?
Our peaceful stand in obedience to Jesus' command is no threat to anyone.

 

[Deeje]

This one too....

Russia Calls for National Ban on Jehovah's Witnesses

"The Russian Justice Ministry has formally petitioned the country's Supreme Court to ban the Jehovah's Witnesses from operating within Russia.

Officials are calling for the religious group to be disbanded for being an “extremist organization.”

The move would see Russia's 175,000 Jehovah's Witnesses unable to legally meet or distribute literature.

The group has already been banned from working in eight separate Russian regions.

The latest decision targets the group's central headquarters near St. Petersburg, which was issued an official warning to halt “extremist activity” in early 2016.

The group’s final appeal against the warning was rejected in January 2017, allowing authorities to call for the group's overall closure.

"Of course we're upset by this decision," said Yaroslav Sivulskiy, a spokesperson for the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. "Religious experts and rights activists agree: this is a sad day for human rights." He said that the group could try to set up smaller, regional branches to bypass any state ban If the authorities' bid to close the organization was successful. "We are worried that history could repeat itself and that we could face the same persecution as in the Soviet Union," he said. "Both my father and my mother spent time in camps in Siberia [for being Jehovah's Witnesses.]"

Authorities have focused largely on literature produced by the Jehovah's Witnesses, with regional officials claiming that it violates Russian law by “portraying other religions in a negative light,” or for trying to persuade Russian men to avoid compulsory military service.

More than 80 Jehovah's Witness publications are currently banned in Russia."

I would love to see what content they consider "extremist" in books about God, Jesus and paradise. Seriously, this is outright persecution, but not the first time we have been targets in Russia.

 

[Jumi]

It's hard to call JWs a terrorist organization. They have received a lot of bad press in my country last year due to things inside their religion as well as apostates, but I've never heard of a JW attacking people. I believe the situation is almost identical to Hare Krishnas.

 

[Deeje]

It's hard to call JWs a terrorist organization. They have received a lot of bad press in my country last year due to things inside their religion as well as apostates, but I've never heard of a JW attacking people. I believe the situation is almost identical to Hare Krishnas.

Its hateful men with big sticks beating up on defenseless law-abiding people for no good reason.....other than they can.

We won't take up arms to do harm to anyone at all, so how can they call us "extremists" or link us to "terrorist" activity?

Its all about abuse of power and violation of human rights, as far as I can see. Russia has no time for people it can't control apparently.

Can you tell me what things "inside" our religion were published as causes for concern?
I know that apostates will bad mouth us because they have an axe to grind, but I can think of nothing in our activities that need banning. We do nothing more than Jesus Christ himself did....and taught his disciples to do.

 

[Jumi]

We won't take up arms to do harm to anyone at all, so how can they call us "extremists" or link us to "terrorist" activity?

I agree with you here.

Can you tell me what things "inside" our religion were published as causes for concern?
I know that apostates will bad mouth us because they have an axe to grind, but I can think of nothing in our activities that need banning. We do nothing more than Jesus Christ himself did....and taught his disciples to do.

It might be some bad apples here locally, I don't know internationally about the organization. Corruption in the organization here, shunning apostates by banning contact with their families and some cases where cases requiring court were handled within the organization instead of "Earthly justice".

 

[Nietzsche]

I do not like Jehovah's Witnessism(man you guys need a better name). I disagree with basically everything about it, and I would be ecstatic if it were to disappear from the earth because I think it's harmful.

But. I'm not going to say it should be banned. That's...no. If you want to get rid of it, you win the war of ideas, not this Nazi-esque attempt at censorship.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Russia continues its descent into authoritarian madness. This is a violation of freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

 

[YmirGF]

I do not like Jehovah's Witnessism(man you guys need a better name). I disagree with basically everything about it, and I would be ecstatic if it were to disappear from the earth because I think it's harmful.

But. I'm not going to say it should be banned. That's...no. If you want to get rid of it, you win the war of ideas, not this Nazi-esque attempt at censorship.

Agreed. There isn't much to like about the Jehovah's Witness sect but banning it is a tad over the top. Heck, having them turn tail and run down my driveway, as fast as their legs can carry them, is a time honored sport at Chez Ymir.

 

[Vinayaka]

I totally agree with banning proselytizing, but actually banning worship is overkill. If the JWs could have just stuck to the buildings they own, and their own worship, that may have been allowed to stay. But since proselytizing is core to their belief, its so hard.

Yes there should be freedom of speech, but also freedom from speech.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Yes there should be freedom of speech, but also freedom from speech.

There is. Just tell them you're not interested. You're not being forced to listen to them. They're not supposed to bother you after that.

 

[YmirGF]

There is. Just tell them you're not interested. You're not being forced to listen to them. They're not supposed to bother you after that.

While true, I've have never found that JW's I have encountered are all that interested in anything I had to say. They usually just ran away...

It's sort of like, "When was the last time you had a heartwarming meaningful discussion with a Scientologist?"

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

I may have missed it - having just woken up - but is it actually being banned? Or is Russia saying "You can't proselytize." Two different things, in my opinion.

 

[Skwim]

I may have missed it - having just woken up - but is it actually being banned? Or is Russia saying "You can't proselytize." Two different things, in my opinion.

Deeje neglected to provide a link to his quote in post #3, which is Here, a Moscow Times page that does indeed say "Russia Calls for National Ban on Jehovah's Witnesses," However, according to the sites I quoted from (post 2) the action appears to be restrictions rather than a ban. So

,

.

 

[Debater Slayer]

This is unfortunate news, even if the move is unsurprising coming from the authoritarian Russian government. People should be free to practice and preach any ideology they want as long as they don't harm or incite violence against anyone.

I hope the Russian Jehovah's Witness population get support from other communities so that their persecution doesn't pass so easily. Russia is definitely capable of increasing and has previously increased its crackdown on certain communities (like LGBT ones).

 

[Vinayaka]

There is. Just tell them you're not interested. You're not being forced to listen to them. They're not supposed to bother you after that.

I have a sign on my door that works. But before I put up the sign, we'd get knocks on the door when Mom was trying to put a baby to sleep, at meal times, during my daily rituals, and more. It's annoying at least, and something many of us would much rather do without. However, other than a couple of cases, the sign has worked well.

Mormons live across my back fence, and we get along marvelously.

 

[Vinayaka]

It's hard to call JWs a terrorist organization. They have received a lot of bad press in my country last year due to things inside their religion as well as apostates, but I've never heard of a JW attacking people. I believe the situation is almost identical to Hare Krishnas.

Although the government attempted to ban 'The Bhagavad Gita as it Is' the main ISKCON (Hare Krishna) book, it failed in court.

Bhagavad Gita trial in Russia - Wikipedia

 

[idav]

"Yesterday, Russia’s new anti-terrorism laws, which restrict Christians from evangelizing outside of their churches, went into effect.

The “Yarovaya package” requires missionaries to have permits, makes house churches illegal, and limits religious activity to registered church buildings, among other restrictions. Individuals who disobey could be fined up to $780, while organizations could be fined more than $15,000."
source



"Authorities have focused largely on literature produced by the Jehovah's Witnesses, with regional officials claiming that it violates Russian law by “portraying other religions in a negative light,” or for trying to persuade Russian men to avoid compulsory military service.

More than 80 Jehovah's Witness publications are currently banned in Russia."
source



"President Putin has signed amendments imposing harsh restrictions on sharing beliefs, including where and who may share them, and increased "extremism" punishments, introduced with alleged "anti-terrorism" changes. There are widespread Russian protests against the suddenly-introduced changes, and may be a Constitutional Court challenge.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed into law legislation on so-called "missionary activity", further restricting the public expression of freedom of religion and belief, including in the media and online, Forum 18 notes. The amendment - which has been rapidly introduced - caused widespread protests, but was signed on 6 July and the signing was made public at Moscow lunchtime on 7 July. It was published on the presidential website that day and comes into force on 20 July.

Against international human rights obligations, the amendments to the Religion Law restrict those who can share beliefs to people with permission from members of state-registered religious groups and organisations. This excludes people from groups which have chosen to operate without state permission, such as certain Baptist congregations. The amendments also bar even informal sharing of beliefs, for example responding to questions or comments, by individuals acting on their own behalf (see below).

The amendments also restrict the beliefs that can be shared, specifies a restricted list of places where beliefs may be shared, and explicitly bans any beliefs from being shared in residential buildings, or on another association's property without permission. An allegedly "anti-terrorist" part of the amendments bars the conversion of residential property to religious use.

Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses – who often do not have their own permanent buildings – are the main belief communities fined or threatened with fines for organising or conducting meetings for worship which have not been specifically approved by the local authorities.

The new Chapter 24 of the Religion Law states: "For the purposes of this federal law, missionary activity is recognised as the activity of a religious association, aimed at disseminating information about its beliefs among people who are not participants (members, followers) in that religious association, with the purpose of involving these people as participants (members, followers). It is carried out directly by religious associations or by citizens and/or legal entities authorised by them, publicly, with the help of the media, the internet or other lawful means."
source​

Should it only be ok to share opinions if your non-religiious. That's an authoritarian travesty, in the name of "anti-terrorism" of course, almost funny if it weren't tragic.

 

[Jedster]

Although the government attempted to ban 'The Bhagavad Gita as it Is' the main ISKCON (Hare Krishna) book, it failed in court.


Bhagavad Gita trial in Russia - Wikipedia

It seems from the article that they were trying to ban only Iskon's version of the BG .
In another thread someone mentioned that the Bagavad Gita is a 'long book'. I couldn't figure out why since the first version I ever had (Penguin)was without anyone's comment or bias and is not at all long.
I think many people only know Iskon's version which is long and think this is THE version.

 

[savagewind]

The belief of Jehovah's Witnesses that if YOU do not become like them God will have you killed should be banned, in my opinion.

They will say it is what the Bible really teaches.......no! It is not!