COUNTRIES

In Kazakhstan, religious symbols have become the corporate marketing tools. Experts, interviewed by CABAR.asia, specify several reasons why it happens in the secular state.

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Is it the ideological revolution, tribute to the fashion, a way to get married, or a paid flash mob?  These are the motives behind the new phenomenon in Kazakhstan social media: girls with many followers on Instagram, so-called insta celebrities, started wearing hijabs. CABAR.asia is figuring out what or who could stay behind the ‘mass veiling.” (more…)

The problem of Kazakhstan, as well as other ex-Soviet countries, is the assurance that religion a priori carries threat, in particular, to the political structure and cultural identity, experts say. Therefore, religion laws contain provisions that discriminate against religious people. (more…)

Uralsk still has a community of Old Believers of the Russian Orthodox Church. The parish officially has 50 parishioners, yet fewer people attend church services.  Believers repair their church that was built in 1888 at their own cost, observe traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, which existed until the 17^th century and thank authorities of Kazakhstan for not oppressing them. (more…)

Schoolgirls wearing hijabs and headscarves have divided the society of Kazakhstan. Some call the ban on wearing religious head covering the oppression of girls. Others believe this ban is a normal practice in a secular state. Still others develop the model of a headscarf acceptable for schools. (more…)

Since 2011, religious associations in Kazakhstan have been forced to choose: either register or stop existing. Representatives of the authorities believe that registration will stop radical ideas from spreading. But human rights defenders see it as an excessive control by the state over law-abiding citizens. (more…)

Bagatoz Temirbayeva is known as pastor Batagoz to her parish. She has worked as pastor with the Evangelical  Christian Centre “Presviterianstvo” (Presbyterianism) or simply put, the Presbyterian church in Kokshetau, for 15 years already. How the daughter of the Soviet faith fighter has become the preacher, how female pastors are treated, and the difference between men’s and women’s sermons are described in the material by CABAR.asia. (more…)

Usually, Kazakhstanis “inherit” religious beliefs. If parents are Muslim, their children will also practice Islam. If adults are Catholics, their children will follow their path, too. But there are those who choose religion “not by inheritance.” (more…)

In 2022, the ministry of education detected over a hundred children who do not attend school because of religious beliefs of their parents. But even the agency admits that the figure could be much higher in fact. (more…)

Religious preachers of Kazakhstan use social media actively to expand their audience. (more…)