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Religion-related legislation and policies in Soviet and post-Soviet Georgia and their implications for religious minorities today

Authors

  • Tatiana Kopaleishvili
  • Jelle Creemers

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59484/CAJA8749

Keywords:

Georgia, religion, religious freedom, Soviet Union, SARI

Abstract

This article articulates similarities and differences regarding policies on religion and religious minorities in contemporary Georgia and the country’s early Soviet era. A comparison between developments in legislation and state apparatus shortly after 1921 and 1991 uncovers the policies and mechanisms limiting religious minorities in Georgia today, including the setting up of a State Agency for Religious Issues in 2014, as echoes of a painful past. In contrast to the Soviet regime, however, the main carrier of the dominant ideology responsible for this situation today is not the state itself, but the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Author Biographies

Tatiana Kopaleishvili

Tatiana Kopaleishvili is Guest Assistant Professor in Religious Studies and Missiology at the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven.

Jelle Creemers

Jelle Creemers is Professor in Religious Studies and Missiology at the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven.

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Published

2024-11-25

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