No longer "atheist", Russia still oppresses non-official religions

[spidergoat]

Just as the government has tightened control over political life, so, too, has it intruded in matters of faith. The Kremlin’s surrogates in many areas have turned the Russian Orthodox Church into a de facto official religion, warding off other Christian denominations that seem to offer the most significant competition for worshipers. They have all but banned proselytizing by Protestants and discouraged Protestant worship through a variety of harassing measures, according to dozens of interviews with government officials and religious leaders across Russia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/world/europe/24church.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin​

Proof that atheism wasn't the cause of the former Soviet Union's oppression of non-official ideologies.

 

[S.A.M.]

In fact, that is proof that it was.

 

[lightgigantic]

:roflmao:

 

[spidergoat]

Huh? Now they have an official religion, and they are still oppressing people of faith.

 

[S.A.M.]

And they had an official anti-religion and they were doing it, then too. :shrug:

 

[(Q)]

And they had an official anti-religion and they were doing it, then too.

They have great many "anti-this and anti-that" with communism doctrine. What makes religion so special?

 

[Cris]

Communism was all about zero competition. In that regard religions offered competition to government.

The new regime is still very fragile and sensitive to alternatives and needs to control any potential adversaries to its power. I suspect they are also frightened of the USA paradigm were it is almost impossible to be elected unless one professes to be religious, although in some European countries it is the reverse.

I don't think atheism was ever a particular intentional movement in the USSR, it was just that religious power was seen as a threat. The concept that atheism was a force in the USSR seems more a result of false USA perceptions because of long term theistic conditioning.

 

[draqon]

this is all a lie, Russia has no "official religion" it favors all religions the same. there are about 2 million muslim in Russia for example. Much more orthodox christians obviously.

 

[lightgigantic]

(extremist ideology + ethnic animosity) x diabolical disregard for human life = repression, misery, and murder on a massive scale

 

[iceaura]

Funny how all those tenth generation hardcore theists beating up on rival theisms turned into atheists in about three years, kept on being atheists and beating up on the same theisms plus one for a generation or two, and then in 1990 switched back to being theists and started beating up on the same rival theisms they used to beat up on.

Remarkably flexible core belief systems, these Russians have.

It's almost like the atheism never happened. Except for the women in medical school, sewer systems, electricity, things like that, of course.

 

[Norsefire]

Russia is almost entirely atheist. The major theist countries really would be the US, Latin America, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, somewhat the UK but not really, Ireland, Switzerland, etc, and the Mid east

 

[spidergoat]

Approximately 100 million [Russian] citizens consider themselves Russian Orthodox Christians what is 70% of population[5];also according to a poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 63% of respondents considered themselves Russian Orthodox, 5% of respondents considered themselves Muslim and less than 1% considered themselves either Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant or Jewish.[6] Another 12% said they believe in God, but did not practice any religion, and 16% said they are non-believers.[6]

[It's just wikipedia, but hey]

 

[lightgigantic]

Funny how all those tenth generation hardcore theists beating up on rival theisms turned into atheists in about three years, kept on being atheists and beating up on the same theisms plus one for a generation or two, and then in 1990 switched back to being theists and started beating up on the same rival theisms they used to beat up on.

Remarkably flexible core belief systems, these Russians have.

It's almost like the atheism never happened. Except for the women in medical school, sewer systems, electricity, things like that, of course.

yes
perhaps we should examine the khmer rogue for a more refreshing perspective ....

 

[S.A.M.]

I don't think atheism was ever a particular intentional movement in the USSR, it was just that religious power was seen as a threat.

Duh!

 

[draqon]

(extremist ideology + ethnic animosity) x diabolical disregard for human life = repression, misery, and murder on a massive scale

all that is not existent in now Russia

 

[lightgigantic]

all that is not existent in now Russia

lol
yeah right

 

[draqon]

lol
yeah right

that just stupid...first of all Kazakhstan is not Russia anymore. Second of all what the **ck are Hindu doing in Kazakhstan there are no such thing...that just stupid. And I am sure the real reason these people are escorted out of this house is because they have not payed for taxes, tax evasion practice is common.

 

[lightgigantic]

that just stupid...first of all Kazakhstan is not Russia anymore. Second of all what the **ck are Hindu doing in Kazakhstan there are no such thing...that just stupid. And I am sure the real reason these people are escorted out of this house is because they have not payed for taxes, tax evasion practice is common.

well thats certainly very cosmopolitan of you

and as for the surety of the real reason .....

Kazakhstan Government states: “The Inter-Agency Commission considers this dispute to be a civil case and not a religious one”

ISKCON:

* 07/09/ 2006: The commission was established in the capital by Religious Committee of Ministry of Justice to deal with the “land issues” of ISKCON in Kazakhstan.
* Commission originated from Department of Ministry; the Commission had no power to change court rulings and the conflict in general.
* Muslim and Russian Orthodox Church were invited by government to be members of the Commission despite the objections of Human Rights observers and ISKCON.
* The chairman of the Commission refused ISKCON’s lawyers permission to participate in the work of the Commission. Only after long and heated discussions were the lawyers allowed to participate.
* 01/10/2006: The Commission arrived at the ISKCON Community.
* Among appointed members only the Chairman and General Prosecutor’s officer were present.
* The local Hakimat brought 4 Kazakh television channels and bussed in unrelated villagers to scream in front of the cameras. The area of the entire farm was surrounded by a police division. The chairman of the Commission said this was done with his approval.
* 02/10/2006: A concluding meeting of the Commission took place in Karasai District Hakimat. The final statement of the chairman of the Commission read: “There has been an investigation and there is no sign of religious discrimination.”
* There has never been a dialogue established between members of the Commission and ISKCON.
* Members of the Commission appointed in Astana were not present at the sessions in Karasai District.
* Consequently the final decision was made without members of the Commission developing their case. It was done singlehandedly by the chairman of the Commission and the plaintiffs, which was not fair at all.
* The Commission didn’t take into consideration the opinion of the Human Rights observers, who considered the case to be one of religious discrimination.
* Observing the work of the Commission from the time it was established, the Human Rights observers considered the Commission itself to be an obvious demonstration of the religious discrimination.

 

[draqon]

it is a civil case, I agree w/ the government

 

[lightgigantic]

it is a civil case, I agree w/ the government

and it just so happens that the civil laws have been manipulated ... by government officials - basically officials insist that the property must be registered by a certain date and simultaneously refuse to accept the application ... (good ol national identity dies hard, eh?)