Church urges barriers against religious extremism from abroad

The state should be entitled to intervene in religious affairs in order to safeguard against the expansion of external religious extremism, Russian Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin has said.

“Today only a blind person can’t see that there are religious communities that deserve support, but there are also phenomena no less dangerous than Nazism and Fascism, which are banned in many countries. And this reality should be adequately addressed,” said Chaplin, the head of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations, as cited by Interfax.

He believes that the principle of state neutrality on religion has been superceded and is no longer compatible with real life.      Read Full