The block in the post: will the regions be able to refuse the creation of religious organizations

The Moscow Patriarchate did not support the legislative initiative of the People's Council of Dagestan, which proposed coordinating the registration of religious organizations with the regional authorities. Izvestia got acquainted with the position of the Russian Orthodox Church: The Russian Orthodox Church called the amendments unconstitutional, violating the principles of separation of religious organizations from the state and equality of such associations. Now the decision on their registration is being made by the Ministry of Justice. The proposal of the Dagestan authorities was supported by the heads of 23 subjects and more than 20 regional governments, but there were also eight negative reviews. And in several regions, the heads came out in favor, while the governments opposed it. About how the discussion is developing and what are the chances that the initiative will be accepted, see the Izvestia article.

How to register religious organizations

The legislative amendment of the People's Council of Dagestan, which presupposes the coordination of the registration of religious organizations with the authorities of the regions, violates the constitutional principle of equality of religious associations (Article 14 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation), according to the legal department of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. Izvestia got acquainted with his position.

Currently, religious organizations are registered by the Ministry of Justice or its territorial administrations. The bill, which was submitted to the State Duma by the authorities of Dagestan in December 2024, supplements the law on freedom of conscience and religious associations with a new paragraph. It obliges to coordinate the decision on registration with the authorized executive authority of the region, and the approval procedure should be established by the Department of the Ministry of Justice in this subject.

In an explanatory note to the bill, the authors of the initiative stated that this measure would minimize the registration of religious organizations whose goals and activities contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

This legislative amendment cannot be supported, said Abbess Xenia (Chernega), head of the legal department of the Moscow Patriarchate. She noted that the initiative also violates the constitutional principle of separation of religious associations from the state (Article 14 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).

— This legislative initiative contains an attempt to revive the institution of "commissioners for religious affairs" that existed in Soviet times, in this case at the level of the subjects of the Russian Federation, — says Abbess Xenia. — Such actions can lead to the creation of tension in the sphere of state-confessional relations at the regional level.

A similar position is contained in the government's response — it, like the Russian Orthodox Church, notes that the initiative does not comply with the Constitution, but appeals to another article, the 71st.

"The projected changes do not comply with the provisions of its paragraph, according to which civil legislation is under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation," the conclusion says.

The State Duma Committee on the Development of Civil Society, Public and religious associations (which is specialized for this bill) told Izvestia that they were "working on this bill taking into account the feedback received."

"Consultations are currently underway with the authors of the initiative," they said.

Why don't the regions agree with each other

Izvestia also reviewed more than 60 reviews of the document, which came from the regions. The heads of 23 subjects supported the draft law of the People's Council of Dagestan without comment. At the same time, more than 20 local governments have agreed to the initiative to coordinate the registration of religious organizations at the regional level.

The amendments were opposed by six governors (Murmansk, Leningrad, Pskov, Ulyanovsk, Vladimir regions, Kamchatka Territory), as well as two regional governments — the LPR and the Ryazan region.

At the same time, disagreements arose even at the level of one region: for example, the governor of the Ryazan region supported the bill, while the regional Duma opposed it. A similar situation has arisen in the Luhansk People's Republic.

The changes violate the competence of the federal agency, the Ministry of Justice, according to Vladimir Solodov, Governor of the Kamchatka Territory.

"The current legal regulation in the field of registration of religious organizations is sufficient now," he said in his review, stating that the Ministry of Justice has every opportunity to study information about religious organizations and their activities. And in special cases, he appoints a religious expert examination, which examines in detail the fundamentals of faith and practice.

The Governor of the Leningrad Region, Alexander Drozdenko, called on the authors to finalize the submitted bill. According to him, he cannot support the changes in the current version, since now, for example, there is no data in the explanatory note that would indicate the problems of the current legal regulation.

Alexander Drozdenko also believes that the norm on regional coordination does not comply with current legislation.: regional authorities do not have the authority to legally regulate the registration of legal entities.

Why are the amendments needed?

Dagestan needed the initiative to control the religious landscapes of the republic, political analyst Dmitry Zhuravlev believes.

"They want to decide which religions or denominations will increase their presence and which ones will decrease," he said. — In this case, the region is trying to expand its powers.

The expert stressed that it is in order to avoid local excesses that the decision on registration of religious organizations is made by the federal body and its territorial administrations.

"Dagestan does not act based on global issues, trying to strengthen its interests," he believes. — This is an acute issue for the North Caucasus, as the interests of clans often become a priority. The Republic is multinational and has its own clan structure.

With its initiative, the republic wants to declare that it knows the situation "on earth" better, says political scientist Konstantin Kalachev.

—The regions of the North Caucasus are striving to expand their rights to strengthen their identity," the expert believes. — However, it is important to take into account that in Dagestan there is an increased risk of spreading destructive interpretations of Islam.

The provisions of the initiative are extremely contradictory in their essence, Artyom Kirka, associate professor of the Department of Public Administration and Political Technologies at the State University of Management, told Izvestia.

"On the one hand, he proposes a lifetime ban on the creation of religious and religious educational associations for persons previously recognized as extremists or terrorists, and this is absolutely understandable and logical," he recalled another amendment to the bill. — But the proposal for mandatory coordination with the regional authorities of newly created religious organizations is quite controversial both from the point of view of the legislation of the Russian Federation and in the political and cultural context.

In his opinion, statements based on interfaith relations, which are periodically recorded in the regions, demonstrate the lack of readiness of society for such innovations.