wfn.org | Hungary: New Restrictions for Church Registration

["Christian B. Schäffler" <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

March 5, 1999
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Hungary: New Restrictions Proposed for Church 
Registration

Pecel, Hungary, 05.03.1999   [APD/ANR] New legislation 
proposed to restrict church registration was debated on 
Hungary's Duna TV on February 16. Because of the 
extremely liberal current law, approximately 100 new 
organisations have registered as churches in Hungary, 
including a number of societies practising naturopathy, 
organised for business reasons. Representing the Seventh-
day Adventist Church in the TV broadcast was Jozsef 
Szilvasi president of the Church in Hungary.

Jozsef Lajer, the vice-president of the Committee for 
Minorities and Human Rights of the Hungarian Parliament 
argued for stricter controls.
"The conditions of establishing churches should be 
tightened in Hungary," said Lajer. "At present a new 
church can be established with as little as 100 members 
which can then benefit from the special tax exemptions the 
Hungarian laws grant for churches, after having been 
registered at the Court of the Capital."

During the discussion Szilvasi commented that "The 
present Constitution of the country does not make it 
possible for any bodies of the State to investigate the 
beliefs and teachings of the churches.  Therefore, it would 
be extremely difficult to differentiate between genuine 
churches and counterfeit churches that do not represent 
sincere religion.  To execute this suggestion would also be 
very difficult, for either judges should be sent to study 
theology or theologians should become legal experts."

Hare Krishna, representative, expressed his fears 
concerning the formal criteria of the planned law, 
according to which a religious organisation applying for 
registration would need to prove a minimum membership 
of 10,000 or 100 years of history in the country. 

Szilvasi commented that this limitation does not affect the 
Seventh-day Adventist Church, for the world church - at 
present having 10.3 million members - had first applied for 
permission to work in the country in 1898.  

"Although at that time permission was denied by the 
authorities, the documents in the National Archives 
officially prove that the history of our church in Hungary 
goes back to more than 100 years," said Szilvasi. "So the 
church is not in direct danger in connection with the 
planned amendments of the law.  Furthermore, already 
existing churches cannot be outlawed, but thinking about 
the persecutions we have suffered in the past, we are very 
sensitive to all suggestions that tend to curb religious 
liberty."

Lajer informed the members of the church in Hungary that 
the amendment of the law would not endanger a 
community having such a long history as the Seventh-day 
Adventist Church.  [99/06/03]