The Palace of Independence is the seat of the president of the Republic of Belarus. An archive photo
MINSK, 4 January (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has signed a law amending laws on religious organizations, BelTA learned from the press service of the head of state.
The document lays out new approaches to how the state and religious organizations should interact. In particular, the document has toughened the requirements for setting up a national religious association: such an association should have religious communities in all the regions of the country and in Minsk.
In line with the document, a religious association shall have a bigger number of religious communities to get a status of a national religious association. Moreover, at least one of such communities shall have been operating for at least 30 years.
Religious organizations shall be able to create structures to provide social services to the elderly, people with disabilities, rehabilitation for people dependent on psychoactive substances, as well as services to orphanages run by monasteries in agreement with a respective regional executive committee or the Minsk City Council.
Religious organizations shall undertake re-registration within a year after the law comes into force.
