Belarus - VOM

Belarus became an independent state in 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Despite independence, the nation is still struggling to find a national identity.

Religion: Christian 78.70%, non-Religious/other 20.20%, Jewish 1%, and Muslim 0.10%

Ideological Influence: Remaining communist influence

Head of State: President Aleksandr Lukashenko

Persecution: In November 2002, a repressive new religion law came into effect. According to the new law, all unregistered religious activity, communities with fewer than 20 members and any religious activity in private homes (apart from occasional, small-scale meetings) are considered illegal. Religious communities that do not have a registered umbrella body will not be able to invite foreign citizens for religious work, and all religious literature will be subject to censorship. In addition, all religious organizations will have to be re-registered within two years. The Full Gospel Union Church denomination, a developing Protestant movement in Belarus, was constantly under attack by the government in 2005, which sought to shut down the operations of its 60 churches. Using their flawed legal system to confiscate property legally belonging to a Full Gospel Union Church in Minsk, authorities launched an organized campaign of harassment and oppression to restrict the growth of Christianity. A network of Baptist churches was also ordered to disband. Baptists in the Brast region complained of increased persecution in 2004. Pastors were fined, and the Justice Ministry ordered a network of unregistered Baptist churches disbanded. The personal property of two Baptists was confiscated, and the pay of another docked after they sang hymns and distributed Bibles during an Easter visit to a hospital.

Missionary Opportunity: Christian literature needs to be made more available. However, the JESUS film has been seen by most of the population in the Belarusian or Russian language.