RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE

IN THE REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA

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Background of Georgia: its history, religion and laws:

This essay discusses religious intolerance in the Republic of Georgia. It is unrelated to religious intolerance in the state of Georgia in the U.S. South.

The Republic of Georgia is located East of the Black Sea, West of Azerbaijan, North of Turkey and Armenia, and South of Russia. Christianity was introduced into Eastern Georgia circa 336 CE. It became the second state in the world to declare Christianity as its state religion; the first was Armenia. Starting in the 16^th century, the country was involved in a struggle between Persia and Turkey. In the 18^th century it became a vassal of Russia in exchange for protection from the Persians and Turks.

Georgia was annexed by the USSR in 1922. Individuals' religious beliefs in the USSR were influenced by three groups, which were pulling in three different directions: 

Georgia declared its independence in 1991. It joined the Council of Europe in 1999. "A number of separate Orthodox Christian minority communities, both lay and monastic," still exist in Georgia. They are in a state of great friction with the official Orthodox church that has occasionally caused violence. ₁₀

Georgia currently has a population of about five million people whose religious affiliations are approximately:

The Orthodox Church has a special status, including tax-exemptions not granted to other faiths. Baptists have been active in Georgia since the 19^th century. Jehovah's Witnesses have been actively proselytizing there since 1953; they have about 15,000 members in the country. Pentecostal and other Protestant faiths are also present. All are referred to as "nontraditional faiths."

The Georgian Constitution guarantees "complete freedom of religious belief and confessions as well as the independence of the church from the state." However, its concept of the separation of church and state differs greatly from the wall of separation maintained in the U.S. The Georgian constitution recognizes the "special importance of the Georgian Orthodox Church in Georgian history." On 2001-MAR-30, parliament amended the constitution to make room for a concordat between church and state that, when finalized, will probably give the Georgian Orthodox Church additional special privileges:

When the concordat is finalized, the church and state in Georgia will no longer be independent of each other.

The role of the Georgian Orthodox Church:

Many Georgians consider affiliation with Orthodox Christianity to be an essential factor in Georgian national identity. They see other Christian groups to be a threat to the traditional position of dominance of their church, and thus a threat to the nation as a whole. They object to the vigorous proselytism, "music and behavior which they do not associate with prayer or religion, and teachings which come across as blatant blasphemies." of other faith groups. ₁₀ Some feel that the practices of non-Orthodox Christians defile the Orthodox Church. The New York Times reports that the "Orthodox Church has become increasingly linked to nationalist causes, and some of its followers, and even some of its priests, have been implicated in the attacks on other faiths. Others have been openly critical. In [2002] June, Zurab Tskhovrebadze, a spokesman for the Georgian Patriarch, Ilya II, called the Jehovah's Witnesses 'a fifth column whose activities are directed against Georgia.' " ₁₂

In 2002-June, Bishop Levan Pirtskhalaishvili, secretary to Patriarch Ilya II, wrote to the owner of a stadium in Tbilisi suggesting that he not rent it to a Jehovah's Witnesses group for a gathering. He warned that such meetings arouse "...the just indignation of a very large portion of society." The gathering was canceled. ₁₃

Religious intolerance and violence in Georgia:

According to the New York Times, "In many of the former republics of the Soviet Union, including Russia, the birth of freedom has brought with it religious tensions, particularly between the predominant Orthodox churches and newly emergent religions and sects. But Georgia is unique in the intensity of the violence toward religious minorities, and in the evidence of official complicity in the attacks." ₁₂

The Republic of Georgia is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. These require the police and the rest of the government to protect individuals' freedom of religion, religious speech and religious assembly. They have ignored their responsibilities and have largely failed to investigate and prosecute those responsible for violent, religiously motivated, hate-crimes. As a result, these assaults are increasing in frequency and ferocity. In the area of religion, mob rule has taken over the country.

According to a 2001-AUG report Human Rights Watch: "Non-Orthodox Christian worshippers throughout Georgia have been the targets of at least eighty violent attacks by civilian groups in the past two years. The government has made no serious efforts to criminally investigate-let alone prosecute-the perpetrators, and in some cases, police themselves violently broke up prayer gatherings. Attacks have grown more frequent with the ensuing atmosphere of impunity. Assailants stalk worshippers on their way to or from prayer meetings, or break up prayer meetings in private homes. They beat congregants, at times inflicting serious injuries, ransack private homes, destroy property, and burn religious literature. The assailants target the victims because of their faith and seek to intimidate congregants into abandoning their religious practices." ₂

In 2001-OCT, the State Department's annual report on religious freedom said that religious freedom in Georgia were deteriorating. The report described attacks against Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists, members of the Assembly of God and members of the Hare Krishna sect. ₁₂

There are allegations that Vasili Mkalavishvili (aka Basili Mkalavishvili, and Father Basil) has led many of the attacks. He is an priest from Tbilisi who has been defrocked by the Georgian Orthodox Church. Most news sources identify him as a "ex-priest" or "defrocked priest." However, this is only part of the story. He is affiliated within one of the Orthodox Christian minority communities, where he is recognized as a priest.

He has been reported as saying that: "We are not beating anybody. There were a few times when we had to fight back."

"Human rights groups...[in Georgia] say Mkalavishvili's followers have staged scores of attacks during the past three years against Jehovah's Witnesses and members of the Assembly of God, Baptists and other non-Orthodox worshippers. Mobs have beaten worshippers, ransacked meeting halls and burned religious literature. At least 30 people have been injured in these rampages, some seriously. Some of the assaults, witnesses say, have been committed as police stood by and Georgian television news crews taped the violence, without intervening. Mkalavishvili - known here as Father Basili - has not been convicted of any charges connected with the attacks. He straightforwardly describes his goals. 'My aim is to stop these sects from going around and knocking on people's doors and forcing them to change the Orthodox doctrines of the Georgians, which have been here for centuries,' he says. He says he respects Georgia's constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. 'We don't prohibit freedom of religion. But they should not make any propaganda. They should keep to themselves.' " ₁₃

The local press widely reports that he accuses the Jehovah's Witnesses "of desecrating Orthodox churches, of being members of a suicide cult and encouraging followers to try to walk on water." ₁₃ We have been unable to find any reports of evidence that supports such allegations.

Recent developments:

Comments:

There are three institutions in Georgia who have the power to terminate these acts of violence against nontraditional believers: