Christianity is a minority religion in
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
.
Denominations
The
World Christian Encyclopedia
''World Christian Encyclopedia'' is a reference work, with its third edition published by Edinburgh University Press in November 2019. The ''WCE'' is known for providing membership statistics for major world religions and Christian denominatio ...
, Second edition, Volume 1, states the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
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, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
as the largest Church. The
Lutheran Church
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
has one congregation in
Dushanbe
Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...
and smaller groups in few other places. The World Christian Encyclopedia also mentions the presence of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church. There are about 3000 Evangelicals. There are around 300
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
s in Tajikistan.
There are at least five registered organizations of
Baptists
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul com ...
. There is at least one congregation of Korean Protestants. There are foreign Christian missions in Tajikistan. In the constitution, freedom of religion is mentioned. Religious communities must be registered by the Committee on Religious Affairs under the Council of Ministers. It is legal to distribute Christian literature.
Restriction
In early 2009 Tajikistan enacted a new law on religious practice which essentially limits worship to state-sanctioned forms. The new law imposes censorship on religious literature and restricts performing rituals to state-approved venues. It makes it harder for new religious communities to get registration. This law has been used to ban the Christian aid group.
Discrimination
In recent years, several incidents of violence and discrimination against the Christian minority have been reported. These included the bombing of a Christian church in Dushanbe in 2000, killing 10 and wounding many more. According to reports, some of the surviving victims later faced harassment by the police. In 2012, a young man dressed as
Father Frost was stabbed to death in Dushanbe by a crowd shouting "You infidel!".
The murder was motivated by religious hatred, according to the Tajik police.
In spite of opposition in relation to conversion from Islam to Christianity, a 2015 study estimates some 2,600 Christians with Muslim backgrounds reside in the country.
See also
*
Roman Catholicism in Tajikistan
*
Religion in Tajikistan
Islam, the predominant religion throughout Central Asia, was brought to the region by the Arabs in the 7th century. Since that time, Islam has become an integral part of Tajik culture. Tajikistan is a secular country, but the post-Soviet era has s ...
References
www.elca.orgwww.persecution.com.auwww.clv-server.de
(in German)
Targeting Christians in Central Asia by Jeni Mitchell
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