The Republic of Uzbekistan is a sovereign democratic state.
Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Article 61: Religious organizations and associations are separated from the country and are equal before the law. The government does not interfere in the activities of religious associations.
Article 18: all citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan have equal rights and freedoms and are equal before the law without distinction of gender, race, nationality, language, religion, social origin, belief, personal and social status.
Article 31: Freedom of conscience is guaranteed for all. Everyone has the right to profess any religion or not to profess any religion. Unacceptable adherence to religious beliefs.
According to official data in Uzbekistan today there are 2,256 religious organizations, 16 religious denominations, of which 175 are Christian organizations, 8 Jewish communities, 6 Baha’i communities, 1 Krishna society, Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1 Buddhist temple, the Biblical Society of Uzbekistan
For citizens – all the conditions for the free conduct of their religious rites.
Believers freely attend mosques, churches, synagogues, hold fast, make pilgrimages.
Freedom of religion, guaranteed by law, created all the necessary conditions for 136 national and ethnic groups.
Tashkent Islamic Institute, 9 madrasas, Orthodox and Protestant seminaries are engaged in religious education in Uzbekistan.
Various religious holidays are celebrated freely. – “Kurban-khait” and “Ramadan-khait” – by Muslims, “Easter” and “Christmas” – by Christians, “Peysakh”, “Purim” and “Hanukkah” by the Jews. On religious days, representatives of different faiths mutually visit each other and take part in their celebration.
With the help of the leadership of the Republic of Uzbekistan, believers make pilgrimages to holy places every year — Muslims go to Mecca, Christians go to the Russian Federation, Greece and Israel, and Jews go to Israel.
During the years of independence, many mosques, churches and prayer houses, Orthodox churches in Tashkent, Samarkand and Navoi, the Catholic Church in Tashkent, the Armenian Church in Samarkand were restored and built.
The Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan is doing everything to ensure its citizens the guaranteed right to freedom of conscience. This provision is confirmed in the Helsinki Final Act of the Security and Co-operation Meeting in the OSCE Vienna and Copenhagen Documents on Human Dimension.
