Pressure Increasing Against Churches

This week, various reports have come out of Kazakhstan, demonstrating increasing pressure against unregistered religious groups in the country.  For churches who understood the suffering and oppression under the former Soviet Union, government registration means government control.  As a result, a significant number of Baptist churches refuse to register with the government.  However, authorities regularly fine those involved in such churches. Citing a belief that they need not justify their faith in God, some have refused to pay the fines levied against them. For Aleksei Boiko in the Nurinsk district, this has meant confiscation of property equivalent to the value of his fine.  In another case, according to a January 25 report from Forum 18, tax officials brought criminal charges against Andrei Lerner in December for refusing to pay a fine.

The industrial city ofTemirtau

Kazakh believers are also concerned about an incident that took place on January 18 when, according to a January 20 report from Forum 18, schoolchildren in the town of Temirtau in central Kazakhstan were forced to fill out a questionnaire about their religious beliefs and church attendance.  While no reason for the questionnaire was given, there are concerns that there may be ties to a directive given in late 2004 in the neighbouring Akmola region.  There, school directors were instructed to draw up a list of those students who attended houses of prayer and Sunday schools and to make those students attend "educational work."

The increasing pressure on unregistered Kazakh Christians may possibly be related to a bill on extremism presently before Kazakhstan's parliament. While not defining "extremism," the draft legislation refers to the word "religious" ten times.

Continue to pray for Christians in Kazakhstan.  Pray for the mind of Christ for those who must deal with these situations.

For more information on the challenges facing Christians in Kazakhstan, click here.