Christianity in Tajikistan

Christianity is a minority religion in the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan. 
The World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, Volume 1, states the Russian Orthodox Church as the largest Church. The Lutheran Church has one congregation in Dushanbe and smaller groups in few other places. The World Christian Encyclopedia states here are some members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. There are about 3000 Evangelicals. There are only around 2,500 Roman Catholics in Tajikistan.}
There are at least five registered organizations of Baptists. 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. There generally is harmony between Christians and Muslims. A pastor of a Protestant congregation in Chkalovsk complained, that the town procuracy prevented members from attending services in her home. 
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 ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) International accused of proselytising by authorities. 
== See also ==
*Roman Catholicism in Tajikistan
== References ==
*www.elca.org
*www.state.gov
*www.persecution.com.au
*www.clv-server.de (in German)
*Targeting Christians in Central Asia by Jeni Mitchell
Tajikistan
Category:Christianity in Tajikistan