The Amendment of the Religious Registration Law and Its Impact on Freedom of Religion in the Slovak Republic
Absztrakt :
Church registration represents a legitimate instrument of surveillance over religious
groups. In the Slovak Republic, registered churches are funded directly out of the State budget and
dispose of a wide range of other financial, as well as non-financial benefits. Slovakia has recently
tightened up the already strict registration criterion of a number of supporters. According to the
currently effective legislation, a church or religious society applying for registration must provide
evidence of having over 50,000 members. The main aim of this article is to analyse the impact of the
new Slovak legislation on the freedom of religion with a focus on assessment of whether the range
of rights and duties for registered churches are the same as for not registered ones and whether this
measure is in conformity with human rights standards applied in the European Union, as well as the
Council of Europe.
