Is Modern Armenia (2016) a Secular Country?

[Petros Agapetos]

Importance of Religion in Europe (including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia)

During 2008–2009, a Gallup poll asked in several countries the question "Is religion important in your daily life?"

The table and map below shows percentage of people who answered "Yes" to the question.

Estonia 16%

Sweden 17%

Denmark 19%

Norway 21%

Czechia 21%

United Kingdom 27%

Finland 28%

France 30%

The Netherlands 33%

Belgium 33%

Bulgaria 34%

Russia 34%

Belarus 34%

Luxembourg 39%

Hungary 39%

Albania 39%

Latvia 39%

Germany 40%

Switzerland 41%

Lithuania 42%

Ukraine 46%

Slovenia 47%

Slovakia 47%

Spain 49%

Azerbaijan 50%

Serbia 54%

Ireland 54%

Austria 55%

Croatia 70%

Montenegro 71%

Greece 71%

Portugal 72%

Italy 72%

Moldova 72%

Armenia 73%

Poland 75%

Cyprus 75%

Macedonia 76%

Bosnia and Herzegovina 77%

Georgia 81%

Turkey 82%

Romania 84%

Malta 86%

Kosovo 90%

[magyar_lány]

Armenians are religious but secular. This is my impression.

[Petros Agapetos]

You may have to wait quite long.

Are there few Armenians on this forum?
Or do they not actively participate?
Or do you think they might find secularism objectionable?

[Petros Agapetos]

Armenians are religious but secular. This is my impression.

The constitution of the Armenian Republic is modeled on the French one, which is very laic (secular), and our penal code is based on that of Italy.

[Petros Agapetos]

I wonder whether Armenia is compatible with the values of secular humanism:

As a philosophy, Humanism is usually defined based on something like the following tenets:

1. Reason, evidence, and the scientific method are the best methods of finding solutions to problems and answers to questions, rather than faith.

2. In consequence of the preceding point, rejection of metaphysics and absolute morality.

3. Fulfillment, growth, and creativity are emphasized for both the individual and mankind in general.

4. An emphasis on making this life the best it can be for everyone, since humanists (especially those who include the word "secular") tend to believe that this life is the only one a person gets.

5. A search for a good system of individual, social, and political ethics.

6. An ultimate goal of building a better world for ourselves and our descendants by working together.

7. Mainstream religions are out of date and do not adequately address contemporary problems.

8. Support for democracy, a secular society and human rights.

9. Actions are judged based on their likely consequences (consequentialism).

10. Support for artistic and creative endeavors.

11. Negotiation is to be preferred over violence.

12. Some more recent manifestos call for a "planetary humanism", including environmentalism, having our concerns transcend national and ethnic boundaries,
progressive policies such as universal (global) education, anti-discrimination and anti-intolerance of minorities, economic security and health care.

These points are not a dogma or creed. It is not necessary to agree with every idea or every part of any Humanist manifesto to be a Humanist. There is some controversy as to how broadly should Humanism is defined. Some Humanists prefer a simple broad definition and others use a more detailed narrow description.

[Bezprym]

Are there few Armenians on this forum?
Or do they not actively participate?
Or do you think they might find secularism objectionable?

The only Armenian who sometimes visits the forum (mostly Chatbox) is Armenian_Bishop, but I think he doesn't live in Armenia.

[Petros Agapetos]

Freedom of Religion in Armenia

The Constitution as amended in December 2005 provides for freedom of religion; however, the law places some restrictions on the religious freedom of adherents of minority religious groups, and there were some restrictions in practice. The Armenian (Apostolic) Church, which has formal legal status as the national church, enjoys some privileges not available to other religious groups. Some denominations reported occasional discrimination by mid- or low-level government officials but found high-level officials to be tolerant. Jehovah's Witnesses reported that judges sentenced them to longer prison terms for evasion of alternative military service than in the past, although the sentences were still within the range allowed by law. Societal attitudes toward some minority religious groups were ambivalent, and there were reports of societal discrimination directed against members of these groups.

[Petros Agapetos]

Religion in Armenia

Approximately 98% of the population is ethnic Armenian. As a result of Soviet-era policies, the number of active religious practitioners is relatively low, but the link between Armenian ethnicity and the Armenian Church is strong. An estimated 90 percent of citizens nominally belong to the Armenian Church, an independent Eastern Christian denomination with its spiritual center at the Etchmiadzin cathedral and monastery. The head of the church is Catholicos Garegin (Karekin) II.

There are small communities of other religious groups. There was no reliable census data on religious minorities, and estimates from congregants varied significantly. The Catholic Church, both Roman and Mekhitarist (Armenian Uniate), estimated 120,000 followers. The Jehovah's Witnesses estimated their membership at 9,000. Groups that constitute less than 5 percent of the population include Yezidis, an ethnic Kurd cultural group whose religion includes elements derived from Zoroastrianism, Islam, and animism; unspecified "charismatic" Christians; the Armenian Evangelical Church; Molokans, an ethnic Russian pacifist Christian group that split from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th-century; Baptists; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons); Orthodox Christians; Seventh-day Adventists; Pentecostals; Jews; and Baha'is. Levels of membership in minority religious groups remained relatively unchanged. There was no estimate of the number of atheists.

Yezidis are concentrated primarily in agricultural areas around Mount Aragats, northwest of the capital Yerevan. Armenian Catholics live mainly in the northern region, while most Jews, Mormons, Baha'is, and Orthodox Christians reside in Yerevan. In Yerevan there is also a small community of Muslims, including Kurds, Iranians, and temporary residents from the Middle East.
Foreign missionary groups are active in the country.

[Petros Agapetos]

Legal and policy framework

The Constitution as amended in 2005 provides for freedom of religion and the right to practice, choose, or change religious belief. It recognizes "the exclusive mission of the Armenian Church as a national church in the spiritual life, development of the national culture, and preservation of the national identity of the people of Armenia." The law places some restrictions on the religious freedom of religious groups other than the Armenian Church. The Law on Freedom of Conscience establishes the separation of church and state but grants the Armenian Church official status as the national church.

Extended negotiations between the Government and the Armenian Church resulted in a 2000 framework for the two sides to negotiate a concordat. The negotiations resulted in the signing of a law March 14, 2007, that codified the church's role.

The law establishes confessor-penitent confidentiality, makes the church's marriage rite legally binding, and assigns the church and the state joint responsibility to preserve national historic churches. The law does not grant the church tax-exempt status or establish any state funding for the church. The law formally recognizes the role that the Armenian Church already plays in society, since most citizens see the church as an integral part of national identity, history, and cultural heritage.

January 6, the day on which the Armenian Church celebrates Christmas, is a national holiday.
The law does not mandate registration of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including religious groups; however, only registered organizations have legal status. Only registered groups may publish newspapers or magazines, rent meeting places, broadcast programs on television or radio, or officially sponsor the visas of visitors, although there is no prohibition on individual members doing so. There were no reports of the Government refusing registration to religious groups that qualified for registration under the law. To qualify for registration, religious organizations must "be free from materialism and of a purely spiritual nature," and must subscribe to a doctrine based on "historically recognized holy scriptures." The Office of the State Registrar registers religious entities. The Department of Religious Affairs and National Minorities oversees religious affairs and performs a consultative role in the registration process. A religious organization must have at least 200 adult members to register. By the end of the reporting period, the Government had registered 63 religious organizations, including individual congregations within the same denomination.

According to the Department of Religious Affairs and National Minorities, some minority religious groups, including the Molokans and some Yezidi groups, have not sought registration. Although it was not registered as a religious facility, Yerevan's sole mosque was open for regular Friday prayers, and the Government did not restrict Muslims from praying there.

The Law on Education mandates that public schools offer a secular education but does not prohibit religious education in state schools. Only personnel authorized and trained by the Government may teach in public schools. Classes in religious history are part of the public school curriculum and are taught by teachers. The history of the Armenian Church is the basis of this curriculum; many schools teach about world religions in elementary school and the history of the Armenian Church in middle school. Religious groups may not provide religious instruction in schools, although registered groups may do so in private homes to children of their members. The use of public school buildings for religious "indoctrination" is illegal.

The law on alternative military service allows conscientious objectors, subject to government panel approval, to perform either noncombatant military or civilian service duties rather than serve as combat-trained military personnel. The law took effect in 2004 and applied to subsequent draftees and those serving prison terms for draft evasion. An amendment to the law on military service that took effect in January 2006 criminalizes evasion of alternative labor service. Conscientious objectors maintained, however, that military control of the alternative labor service amounted to unacceptable military service.
The military employs Armenian Church chaplains for each division, but no other religious groups are represented in the military chaplaincy. The Armenian Church runs a prison ministry program but does not have permanent representatives in prisons. The Armenian Evangelical Church has chaplains in seven prisons.

[Petros Agapetos]

As a philosophy, Humanism is usually defined based on something like the following tenets:

1. Reason, evidence, and the scientific method are the best methods of finding solutions to problems and answers to questions, rather than faith.
2. In consequence of the preceding point, rejection of metaphysics and absolute morality.
3. Fulfillment, growth, and creativity are emphasized for both the individual and mankind in general.
4. An emphasis on making this life the best it can be for everyone, since humanists (especially those who include the word "secular") tend to believe that this life is the only one a person gets.
5. A search for a good system of individual, social, and political ethics.
6. An ultimate goal of building a better world for ourselves and our descendants by working together.
7. Mainstream religions are out of date and do not adequately address contemporary problems.
8. Support for democracy, a secular society and human rights.
9. Actions are judged based on their likely consequences (consequentialism).
10. Support for artistic and creative endeavors.
11. Negotiation is to be preferred over violence.
12. Some more recent manifestos call for a "planetary humanism", including environmentalism, having our concerns transcend national and ethnic boundaries, progressive policies such as universal (global) education, anti-discrimination and anti-intolerance of minorities, economic security and health care.

These points are not a dogma or creed. It is not necessary to agree with every idea or every part of any Humanist manifesto to be a Humanist. There is some controversy as to how broadly should Humanism is defined. Some Humanists prefer a simple broad definition and others use a more detailed narrow description.