36 SSC

State Secretariat
for Religious Affairs

State Secretariat for Religious Affairs
State
and
Religion
in
Romania
2nd Edition
Revised and Added
translated by
Della L. Marcus
Bucharest
2019
2
State and Religion in Romania
© 2019 State Secretariat for Religious Affairs

web: www.culte.gov.ro
e-mail: corespondenta@culte.ro
tel.: +40.21.318.81.53; +40.21.318.81.54
fax.: +40.21.318.81.51; +40.21.318.81.60
Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României

State and Religion in Romania / Secretariatul de Stat pentru Culte.–Bucureşti:
Litera, 2019
ISBN 978-606-33-3759-8
I. Secretariatul de Stat pentru Culte (Bucureşti)
2
CONTENT
Introduction......................................................................................................................5
1. What is the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs?.....................................................9
2. Short Institutional History.........................................................................................15
3. Evolution of the Religious Affiliation Structure........................................................27
4. What Church-State relations exist in democratic countries?....................................39
5. Publicly Debated Issues.............................................................................................97
6. Religious organizations...............................................................................................127
7. Legislation Relating to Religious Life.......................................................................165
Annexes........................................................................................................................ 211
Glossary........................................................................................................................217
Translator’s note............................................................................................................219
Bibliography.................................................................................................................221
4
IntroducTION
This book is an overview by the State Secretariat for Religious
Affairs of several issues being debated in connection with the status
of religion in society, and specifically of those religions recognized by
the Romanian State. The relationship between the State and recog-
nized religions, especially with the Romanian Orthodox Church, has
become the focus of some public figures, politicians, and the media.
Through our activities, including the publication of this work, we wish
to contribute to a balanced debate based on concrete data, legisla-
tion, and an understanding of the historic evolution of the relation-
ship between the State and faith organizations in our country. We are
talking about constitutive elements of national identity, whose com-
plexity requires an objective approach, as an essential condition for
civil, argument-driven debate.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs knows how to

carry out its mission as principal institution through which the
Romanian State defines, articulates, and puts into practice pub-
lic policies having to do with religious life in Romania, and wish-
es to facilitate an honest dialogue, open to all interested parties.
This book, compiled by the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs
in collaboration with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs through
the Romanian Embassies in the North Atlantic region, the
National Institute for Statistics, and the National Authority for the
Restitution of Properties, makes available to the public a series of
data and information that will provide a deeper understanding of
the relationship between the State and the various religions from
a historic perspective and within a European context.
This book is intended to be a working instrument for po-

litical decision-makers, the diplomatic corps, civil servants di-
rectly involved with such matters, as well as religious leaders.
Moreover, this volume is destined for researchers who are con-
cerned with the Romanian religious phenomenon, and for civil
society players who are directly interested in the improvement
of the functioning of the Romanian political and judicial system.
6
First, we wish to offer through this book some clarification
of the status of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs as part
of and its role within the central public administration, and an in-
cursion into its history as a key institution in the modern State’s
relation with the manifestation of various religious phenome-
non in Romania. Second, we would also like to provide the pub-
lic relevant statistical data to help it understand the evolution
of the religious structures of the modern Romanian population.
The Romanian model of church-state relations, as it is de-

fined by Law 489/2006 on Freedom of Religion and the General
Status of Religions, is part of the European family of models of
church-state relations, central to which are religious freedom and
the principle of state neutrality with respect to the manifestations
of religious phenomenon. As is the case also in other European
countries, relations between the state and organized forms of re-
ligious life in Romania have been developed based on historic,
legal, and local institutional traditions, while taking into account
existing European models, as well as the demographic situation,
social and spiritual needs, and society’s current expectations. An
overview of the main themes related to the church-state relation-
ship, currently under debate and part of the public agenda, illus-
trates the stakes yet to be clarified within Romanian society and
the political system. In short, the scope of this book is a clarifica-
tion of the place and role of religion in the public space.
In order to better understand the main players in Romania’s

religious life and the role these have had and are playing in
Romanian society, this book offers a short description of the cur-
rent situation and activities of recognized religions and religious
associations in Romania. Far from being isolated in the private
sphere and the liturgical space, one can observe that almost all of
these have understood that they must play an active part in vari-
ous areas. Whether we speak about education, charitable activi-
ties, social or medical services, or cultural projects, organized faiths
in Romania are acting as significant players in the public space. The
chapter in the previous edition of this book (2015) dedicated to
the relationship between the state and religious organizations in
Europe has been restructured and expanded. In this way we wish
to draw a comparison between the consonance of the Romanian
model with the practices in the different European countries in
terms of relations between church and state and the place these
7
have in terms of tradition and the legal and political practices of
democratic countries. The end of the book contains a selection of
legislation in effect in this area which should prove to be a useful
instrument for those wishing to understand the way in which the
Romanian state relates to the activities of faiths in Romania.
To date, the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs has pub-

lished several editions of a book on religious life in Romania (in
Romanian in 1993, 1999, 2005, 2008, and 2014, and in English in
1999, 2005, and 2015). Because the previous editions were so well
received by the religious organizations as well as by decision-mak-
ers, the diplomatic corps, universities, etc., this current edition has
been expanded, and it focuses on an explanation of the role and
contribution of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs in the de-
velopment and administration of the relationship between church
and state in Romania. This is the reason why space allocated to
legislation and a detailed presentation of the religious organiza-
tions has been reduced in favour of greater historical and statisti-
cal information and a presentation of the vision of the institution
on matters that are presently being publicly debated and which di-
rectly affect the dynamic of the relationship between the state and
religious organizations. All the data and information carried over
from the above-mentioned previous editions has been updated.
The data is also presented in a more accessible graphic form.
Within the European and Romanian context in which there

is increasing talk of a significant rise in the level of religious illiter-
acy, as well as an increase in the level of religious illiteracy regard-
ing religious freedom, we believe that the publication of this book
is a contribution to a better understanding of religious life and es-
pecially a duty to raise public awareness about religious freedom
as a fundamental, constitutional right at the root of democracy.
Likewise, through the publication of this volume in 2019 the State
Secretariat for Religious Affairs wishes to contribute to a success-
ful Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, by
highlighting the fundamental role which religions have had and
still have today, both historically and at present, in the building of a
better, more democratic, and more unitive society.
Victor Opaschi
State Secretary for Religious Affairs
May 2019
8
chapter 1
What is the State Secretariat
for Religious Affairs?
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs (SSRA) is a special-

ized, central, public administration body, a legal entity, subor-
dinate to the government, and coordinated by the Romanian
Prime Minister.
1.1. What are the objectives of the State Secretariat for Religious
Affairs?
To ensure the respecting and promotion of the fundamental

rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Romanian Constitution,
Law no. 489/2006 on Freedom of Religion and the General
Status of Religions, as well as international treaties and
conventions that Romania is party to in the area of freedom of
conscience and religion.
To develop a social, cultural, and educational partnership be-

tween central and local public authorities and those religions
recognized by law. In this connection, the State Secretariat for
Religious Affairs is run in accordance with the fundamental
principle that religions are free, autonomous, and equal before
the state authorities.
1.2. Who runs this institution?
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs is run by a Secretary

of State appointed by the Prime Minister. The Secretary of
State has his own office and is supported in his activity by an
Administrative Director (Religious Relations Administration)
and two heads of office (Support Services, Education, Funding
Access, and respectively Economic, Human Resources, and
Administrative).
10
1
1.3. What are its sources of financing?
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs is entirely financed by

the State Budget through the government’s General Secretariat
Budget. The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs is a third-party
spending agency.
1.4. What are the attributes of the State Secretariat for Religious
Affairs?
According to government Decision H.G. no. 44/2013 regard-

ing the organization and operation of the State Secretariat for
Religious Affairs, including subsequent changes and amend-
ments, the following are its attributes:
promotes the development and implementation of laws

and governmental strategies that relate to religious life;
approves proposed normative acts with a potential im-
pact on religious life issued by other governmental and admin-
istrative bodies;
consults religious organizations regarding proposals to
improve normative acts with a potential impact on religious life.
promotes the relations of the State with all recognized
religions and religious associations in Romania;
supports all religions and religious associations to en-
sure that they fully participate in the country’s social and spiri-
tual life;
provides a connection between religions that have been
recognized by law and the Ministries and other central and local
administration bodies, in order to ensure that the freedoms and
autonomy of religions are respected, and to prevent and elimi-
nate any abuses, by the application of the law;
participates in the amicable resolution of conflicts be-
tween religions, and between these and religious associations,
in order to prevent or eliminate any forms, means, or acts of re-
ligious division.
compiles reports1 concerning the overall situation of the
respecting of religious rights and freedoms in Romania;
1 At the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
of the United Nations (UN)/Human Rights Council (HRC), the European Commission
against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the European Council, and for other mixed
inter-governmental commissions dealing with national minority issues.
11
1
grants advisory opinion prior to the granting of religious

association status;
reviews applications for the establishment of new reli-
gions, the compilation of documents required by law, and the
making of proposals to government for their recognition;
compiles documents required by law, the submission
of proposals to government for the recognition of changes or
amendments to the organizational and operational by-laws of
recognized religions;2
keeps a record of the monastic staff of recognized reli-
gions that have no income from employment, pensions, or oth-
er sources;
records the election or appointment of persons due to
take over leadership functions, as well as of religious and lay staff
of legally recognized religions, including those involved in the-
ology education, who are not integrated in public education, in
order to allocate financial support from the state budget for the
payment of salaries of religious staff, in accordance with the law;
keeps a record of the religious units of recognized re-
ligions that are requesting assistance for paying the salaries of
their religious staff;
issues notices that are needed for the granting of long-
term visas for religious activities or the right of temporary resi-
dence for religious activities carried out by foreign missionaries;
collaborates with the educational system, and records
the educational plans and analytical programs for religious edu-
cation drawn up by the legally recognized religions;3
advises the government on state public utility recogni-
tion for non-governmental organizations in the area of religious
life, in keeping with legal norms;
offers support to recognized religions for the organiza-
tion and carrying out of religious and social assistance activi-
ties in the army, penitentiaries, hospitals, homes for the elderly,
orphanages, and other institutions, as well as for special needs
families;
administers public financial resources allocated to
2 The by-laws of these 18 religions were recognized by government Ordinance in the

2008-2010 period, in accordance with Art. 49 of Law no. 489/2006
3 In 2018, the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs issued 416 approval notices for the
granting of visas, of which 375 were extensions and 41 were for new visa requests for
missionaries carrying out activities for recognized religions, religious associations, and
religious foundations.
12
1
supplement salaries for religious staff, in accordance with the

laws;4
offers assistance in support of activities carried out by
religions, according to Art. 29, point (5) in the Constitution and
specific legislation, for the following:
a) the salary system of the country’s religious staff and of

Romanian communities abroad;
b) the construction and repair of places of worship in the
country and in Romanian communities in the diaspora, the res-
toration of historic monument churches, and for socio-charita-
ble activities carried out by the recognized religions;
c) the support of the main Romanian endowment on
Mount Athos (the Romanian Skeet Prodromus);
d) the keeping of records of the monastic staff of recog-
nized religions that have no income from employment, pen-
sions, or other sources;
e) the theological teaching units that are not integrated
into the public education system;
f) the control of the way in which funds received by reli-
gions from the State budget are used, in accordance with specif-
ic appropriation and in keeping with legal provisions;
g) the support to religions, upon request, for the organiza-
tion of their accounting and statistics, in accordance with spe-
cialized legislation, ensuring their collaboration with competent
institutions.
initiates external relations activities with similar State

institutions in other countries and with international non-gov-
ernmental organizations that promote and guarantee the re-
specting of religious freedom and other fundamental human
rights, and participates in the activities organized by the above;
draws up studies and documentary syntheses on reli-
gious life in Romania, as well as on the activities of religious com-
munities in other countries;
organizes debates, with the participation of Romanian
and foreign specialists, on the secular and ecclesiastical theory
and practices in this area.
4 Funds allocated from the State budget for non-religious staff salaries are administered
by County Councils.
13
1
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs is a state insti-

tution that administers the relations between the state
and religious organizations (recognized religions, recog-
nized religious associations, and associations and foun-
dations established in conformity with Government
Ordinance No. 26/2000 which also carry out religious ac-
tivities) in Romania. It is an institution of the state which
offers expertise in the area of religious life and partici-
pates directly in the drafting and application of public
policies concerning religious freedom and the general
status of religions.
14
cHAPTER 2
Short Institutional History
Precursor institutions of the current State Secretariat for

Religious Affairs were established during the time in which the
Romanian United Principalities [Țările Române] were governed
in accordance with the Organic Statutes, under the aegis of
the Great European Powers. These were respectively the Great
Stewardship of Faith [Marea Logofeție a Credinței], established
in Wallachia in 1831, and the Church Governorship [Vornicia
Bisericească] created in 1844 in Moldavia.
These had as principal attributes the organization of the

inventorying of church assets and of the institutional situation
of the church in both countries, in the context of efforts to politi-
cally modernize public institutions.
2.1. Establishment of the Institution
The establishment of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs

as a modern institution, with clear attributes, is linked to the
founding of the modern Romanian state. Immediately follow-
ing the simultaneous election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as ruler of
Moldavia and Wallachia, Ministries of Religious Affairs and Public
Education were set up in both Iași and Bucharest.
In 1862, concomitant with the administrative unification of

the Romanian Principalities, a single Ministry of Religious Affairs
and Public Education was established, and this is considered the
official date of the foundation of the institution that today car-
ries the name of State Secretariat for Religious Affairs. Since its
establishment and until the present day, this executive body has
had different names, depending on the institutional articula-
tion of the area of religions and other public policies: Ministry
of Religious Affairs and Public Education, Ministry of Religious
Affairs and Arts, Department of Religious Affairs, Ministry of
Religious Affairs, State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, and
Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.
16
2
Throughout its existence, this institution has been run

by well-known personalities in the political, cultural, and sci-
entific domains in Romania, including V.A. Urechia, Alexandru
Odobescu, Dimitrie Bolintineanu, C.A. Rosetti, Titu Maiorescu,
Vasile Conta, Take Ionescu, Spiru Haret, Dimitrie A. Sturdza, I.G.
Duca, P.P. Carp, Ion C. Brătianu, Simion Mehedinți, Octavian Goga,
P.P. Negulescu, Vasile Goldiș, Nicolae Iorga, Dimitrie Gusti, Bishop
and Academician Nicolae Colan, Ion Nistor, Constantin Giurescu,
Ion Petrovici, Gheorghe Nenciu, Dumitru Dogaru, Nicolae
Stoicescu, Gheorghe Vlăduţescu, and Răzvan Theodorescu.
When the modern Romanian state began, political authori-

ties were preoccupied with the centralized modernization of soci-
ety. During Alexandru Ioan Cuza’s rule (1859-1866), the dominant
political view was favourable to the affirmation of the dominance
of political authority over religious life.
This was expressed on the one hand by placing religious as-

sets under state administration (including making some of these
the direct property of the State, such as in the case of the sec-
ularization of monastic assets). On the other hand, this was also
manifested by an attempt on behalf of the State to institutionally
reorganize the Orthodox Church of the United Principalities, trans-
forming it into a modern state religion, directly subordinate to po-
litical authorities, and overturning its right to self-administration.
In the effort to modernize, the State believed that it was

initially necessary to support public schools by directing church
funds through the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The articulation of
the State’s religious policy also required the radical reorganization
of theological education.
2.2. The State and the dominant Church
A second phase, following the abdication of Alexandru Ioan Cuza,

was characterized by a conciliatory effort between the State’s
agenda for modernization and a wish on the part of the Church
of Romania to affirm its growing autonomy, not only from the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (by obtaining its auto-
cephaly, with the active support of the State), but also from the
Romanian State. In this period, after experimenting with other so-
lutions (such as the restricting of the number of clerics and of land
17
2
ownership by the clergy) the State began financing religious staff

salaries, as a means of solving the economic situation of the cler-
gy, which had become critical.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education contin-

ued to be the main body responsible for the administration of reli-
gious life in Romania in this period, with extensive tasks involving
the supervision and control of religious activities in many areas,
including: organizing parishes and dioceses, the operations of the
Holy Synod and church consistories, appointing to and rescind-
ing religious staff positions, the administration of church assets
and the status of monastic life, the organization and operation of
theological education, the supervision of the production of news-
papers, encyclicals, and pastoral letters from the Orthodox clergy,
etc., the authorization and supervision of the operations of other
faiths on Romanian soil, etc. The dominant church (according to
the 1866 Constitution) managed to obtain a relatively limited au-
tonomy from the State, exerting its authority through the Ministry
of Religious Affairs and Public Education.
The secularization of church assets was carried out through

the Ministry of Religious Affairs, but, once this project of the
Unionist generation had ended, for successive decades to the end
of the 19th century not much government effort was dedicated
to the resolution of the difficulties created for the Church through
its previous massive dispossession of material properties. Thus,
in 1902, a simple Office of Religious Affairs operated within the
Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education: its administra-
tive activity lacked substance, it had only a few civil servants (4
heads and 9 executive assistants), and was centred primarily on
the relationship between the Church and schools.5
2.3. The Church Bureau
The Church Bureau [Casa Bisericii] was established in 1902, based on

an Anglo-Saxon politico-administrative model. This office was at-
tached to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education but
had its own law.6 Its purpose was to make the administration of church
assets more efficient, and to eliminate the arbitrary intrusion of a
5 BRUSANOWSKI, Paul, Stat și Biserică în Vechea Românie între 1821-1925 [State and
Church in Old Romania], Presa Universitară Clujeană, Cluj-Napoca, 2010
6 Sanctioned by Royal Decree no. 255 of 21 January 1902
18
2
variety of public authorities in internal ecclesiastical life. The Church

Bureau took over the Office of Religious Affairs in the Ministry, built
its own headquarters with the Schools Bureau7, and was given the at-
tributes of control and administration of the Church’s assets, and the
preservation of places of worship. The political intent behind the cre-
ation of this institution at that time was that the Orthodox Church and
the other faiths would in time become fully capable, and would have
the power to administer their own properties, for the general ben-
efit of Romanian society. It was for this reason that the heads of the
Church Bureau were initially appointed from among politicians in the
governing party, whose mandate would last for the duration of the
government.
Each year, the Church Bureau would draw up its own budget
of income and expenditures, distinct from the State budget, which
it submitted for approval to the Assembly of Deputies. In 1908, the
budget of the Church Bureau was included in the State budget, and
included:
the budget surplus of self-supporting places of worship;

a 10% tax, later 15%, applied to the church revenues ad-
ministered by the Church Bureau;
funds from church land leasing and oil exploitations on
church land;
urban community subsidies and a share of rural com-
munes’ revenues;
funds from the application of fines based on the law for
producing and selling wax candles;
funds allocated from the annual State budget for the
administration of churches, personnel salaries, upkeep of the
Christian Orthodox Church, as well as other revenues, etc.
Church Bureau expenditures included salaries for

the Orthodox Church hierarchy and related chancelleries,
contributions to the wages of rural parishes personnel,
contributions for the repairs of places of worship, scholarships
for Romanian pupils and theology students, etc.8
7 This is presently the headquarters of the Ministry of National Education in Bucharest,

at 28-30 Gen. Berthelot Street.
8 DOBRESCU, C., Casa Bisericii 1902-1919 [The Church Bureau 1902-1919], Tipografia
Cărților Bisericești, Bucharest, 1920.
19
2
In this way the Church Bureau operated like a church

management institution in the classical sense, placing the Church
in a public administration sphere rather than a civil society
sphere. The Church Bureau had a mission to establish order in
the administrative chaos that originated in the successive Church
reforms that had begun with the Organic Statutes. In this sense,
the brief operation of a ministerial section as a government
agency (1902-1920) constitutes a faithful image of a state on the
verge of centralization, developing its capacity to monopolize
political decision.9
2.4. Recognition of Religious Pluralism
A third stage followed, after the First World War and the Union
of 1918, when there was a reorganization of the legal frame-
work concerning the status of faiths in Romania, aiming to grant
proper recognition to the manifest religious pluralism of Greater
Romania.
The new regime of religious affairs was hierarchical: it

continued to recognize the Orthodox Church as the dominant
church; however, the Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches
were recognized as Romanian churches, being granted prima-
cy over other faiths; the Roman Catholic Church, the historical
churches in Transylvania (Lutheran, Reformed, and Unitarian
churches) and communities of other world religions (Judaism
and Islam) enjoyed relative internal autonomy and some advan-
tages compared to the smaller religious organizations, whose le-
gal status remained unclear. Some Evangelical denominations
enjoyed relative freedom to organize and operate, while the ac-
tivities of other faith organizations were restricted.
The first law for general religious arrangements (1928)

was not centred on religious freedom as a fundamental citizen’s
right, but rather on freedom of religions and their protection by
the State (Art. 1). The Ministry of Religious Affairs took the lib-
erty of overseeing and controlling religious organizations (Art.
25), and religious leaders were recognized only with the approv-
al of the King, based on recommendations by the Ministry of
Religious Affairs. (art. 27).
9 Cătălin RAIU, Ortodoxie, postcomunism și neoliberalism, Curtea Veche Publishing,
București, 2012.
20
2
The Law for general religious arrangements (1928) stat-

ed that state financial support be accorded “on the basis of the
number of their believers holding Romanian citizenship per the
country’s total population, on the material situation of the reli-
gions, and on their real needs” (Art. 31). The Ministry of Religious
Affairs reserved the right to withdraw financial support “from
those found guilty of agitation against the order and safety of
the State” (Art. 31). During this period, recognized religions ex-
panded their educational activities and philanthropic works
(charitable), establishing a series of schools, hospitals, clinics,
and institutions serving children orphaned during World War I,
the sick, the poor, etc.
2.5. The Communist Regime
The establishment of the communist regime in Romania led to a

change of vision in terms of the organization of church-state re-
lations. Formally, many elements of legislation from previous pe-
riods relating to church-state relations were preserved, but the
communist regime, based on an atheist Marxist-Leninist ideolo-
gy, was determined to exclude religions from the public sphere
and to limit their influence on the population.
The activities of religious organizations were restricted to

religious activities and to an external representation role that
was rigorously controlled by the State. This control over reli-
gious organizations was very brutal and invasive, with charitable
organizations and religious educational institutions disbanded,
religious education eliminated from schools, theological educa-
tion sharply reduced, and the properties of religions and their
charitable organizations confiscated for the most part and trans-
ferred to State ownership.
The Greek Catholic Church was forcibly disbanded, the

Roman Catholic Church continued to operate, though precari-
ously, and Evangelicals had supplementary operational restric-
tions imposed on them.
The Orthodox Church and other religions were subject-

ed to harsh institutional cuts (the number of parishes and dio-
ceses was restricted, as were missionary and other activities).
Monastic life was severely limited, particularly after 1959. The
21
2
re-systematization of villages and urban areas, and especially of

the country’s capital, led to the closure and even the destruction
of some churches, including several historical monuments..10
2.6. Democracy and Religious Freedom
After the fall of the communist regime in December 1989, church-

state relations entered a new stage, characterized by freedom of
religion, liberty for religious faiths to handle their internal organi-
zation autonomously, and a desire to make up for the injustices
and abuses of the previous regime. In this context the Romanian
State abandoned the role of supervision and control of religious
activities which it had taken upon itself at the beginning of the
modern state and replaced this with democratic policies cen-
tral to which are religious freedom and the role of religious faiths
as potential free partners of the State in areas of common social
interest.11
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs functioned for a

short time as an autonomous Ministry (January-June 1990), subse-
quently as an autonomous State Secretariat (1990-2001), and then
as part of the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs (2001-2010).
As of 2010, the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs is again operat-
ing as a distinct institution, coordinated by the Prime Minister. The
institution became directly involved, as per its attributes, in the
rebuilding of church-state relations in the post-communist peri-
od, drawing up the necessary legislation, participating in the reor-
ganization of practical aspects of the relations between religions
and state institutions, and supporting religious organizations to
reorganize and re-establish themselves as important players in
public life and social partners of the State. Law no. 489/2006 on
the Freedom of Religion and the General Status of Religions, origi-
nally drafted by the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs based on
consultations with religious communities and support of national
and international experts, is the principal normative act in effect
at this time that regulates religious life and the relationship be-
tween the State and religion in Romania.
Lucian LEUȘTEAN, Orthodoxy and the Cold War: Religion and Political Power in
10
Romania, 1947-65, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2009.

Iuliana CONOVICI, Ortodoxia în România postcomunistă. Reconstrucția unei identități
11
publice, volumul I, Eikon Cluj-Napoca, 2009.

22
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs has supported and
continues to provide support (including financial) for activities orga-
nized by religions in Romania, and for religious dialogue meetings
and conferences. Aware of the importance of interfaith dialogue,
churches and religions in the country have also given their attention
to Romania’s political and social destiny since 1989. Visible results of
these concerns were the Declaration of Faiths for the Integration of
Romania in the European Union, drawn up at Snagov on 16 May
2000, as well as the organization of several major events, such as
the 12th International Meeting on “People and Faiths,” 30 August
– 1 September 1998, organized in Bucharest by the Sant’Egidio
Community; the visit of Pope John Paul II on 7-9 May 1999, the first
visit by a Roman Pontiff to a predominantly Orthodox country, and
the 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly of 4-9 September 2007,
which brought together the representatives of all European church-
es, as well as important European political leaders.
The Romanian Consultative Council of Religions was estab-

lished in 2013 at the initiative and with the participation of most re-
ligions. It is an informal body that assists religions to consult and
have dialogue on problems of common interest.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs has been an im-

portant body of the executive branch throughout its existence.
In Romania, as in most European countries, the connection be-
tween political power and religious life is one of the fundamental
areas based on which public policies are generated in relation to
other sectors of society, such as social assistance, education, diplo-
macy, rights and freedoms, cultural patrimony, etc. It is for this rea-
son that it is both necessary and useful that the State Secretariat
for Religious Affairs should play its part as an interface between the
Romanian government and religions, acting in a predictable, re-
sponsible, and democratic manner. This is even more important, as
can be seen above, since the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs is
not merely an institution that carries out technical and bureaucratic
functions, but is also an active mediator between the State and re-
ligious organizations.
2.7. Today’s Vision of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs
The vision of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs on the role
of religious organizations in society’s life is clearly enunciated in
23
Law no. 489/2006 on the Freedom of Religion and the General
Status of Religions, but elements thereof are also included in oth-
er normative acts in effect.
A Vision Focusing on Religious Freedom
In carrying out its responsibilities, the State Secretariat for

Religious Affairs has a primary mission to guarantee and pro-
mote the respect of religious freedom in Romania, both individ-
ually and collectively. The institution’s dialogue partners are the
recognized religions and religious associations, as well as asso-
ciations and foundations that have religious activities, organized
according to government Ordinance no. 26/2000 on associa-
tions and foundations as a form of collective expression of cer-
tain convictions or religious faiths.
In order to distance itself from the authoritarian practices

of past periods, and conscious of the fact that one of the funda-
mental missions of a European democratic state is that of guar-
anteeing the free development of communal solidarities, the
State Secretariat for Religious Affairs collaborates with all reli-
gious organizations, respecting their freedoms and avoiding in-
volvement in their internal affairs.
Finally, taking into account the responsibility of the

Romanian State to maintain social order and the equal respect
of the rights and freedoms of its citizens, the State Secretariat
for Religious Affairs has adopted the role of mediator in the re-
lations between religious organizations and between these and
the State.
A Perspective Anchored in Romanian Reality
The vision of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs concerning the
church-state relationship in Romania and the role of religious commu-
nities in society is based on existing legal traditions, as well as on the
current Romanian societal realities.
Thus, considering the high level of religious affiliation of

the population, as seen in the census and the daily life of soci-
ety, as well as public expression of religious pluralism; consid-
ering the freedom and willingness of religious organizations in
24
3
Romania to actively participate in the everyday life of society,

and to have an active part in cooperating with the State in the
development of the common good; considering the different
experiences and the various levels of involvement of religious
communities in society, the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs
promotes a flexible model of church-state relations, intended to
support and turn to best advantage the contribution of religious
communities to social life.
The State and Religion – Complementarity and Subsidiarity
Recognizing the specific contribution of religious faiths in the

edification of the common good, and the particularities of the
manner of involvement of religious faiths in Romania in societal
life, due to their specific world views, the State Secretariat for
Religious Affairs views as beneficial the affirmation of religious
organizations in the Romanian public sphere as social actors that
may contribute to the sustainable development of Romanian so-
ciety. Thus, fully aware of the fact that the State cannot alone
meet all the needs of society, and that it is in the best common
interest that complementarity relations are developed between
the actions of the State and that of organized civil society, based
on the principle of subsidiarity, the State Secretariat for Religious
Affairs is in a position to promote the development of a social
partnership between the State and religious organizations,
based on its sphere of competence.
In the view of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, co-

operation between the State and faiths is necessary and use-
ful in many areas: in education – for the edification of a society
based on values and strong identities; in the social context – due
to the readiness of faiths to participate with their own expertise,
and human and material resources in the development of a dig-
nified and solidary society; in the cultural context – due to the
specific contribution of faiths in all major cultural areas.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs considers the

Romanian model of church-state relations as being a balanced
European model, an adequate synthesis of the demands for
modernization and Europeanization of the Romanian political
regime and the current needs of Romanian society.
25
3
General Lines of Action of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs
In a Europe marked, on the one hand, by the ascendancy of fun-

damentalism and extremism, and on the other by a rebirth of xe-
nophobia and nationalistic and isolationist tendencies, the State
Secretariat for Religious Affairs recognizes the need for an increase
in the level of religious literacy as an important element for ensur-
ing social harmony. Likewise, it supports the recognition and capi-
talization of the positive potential of religious pluralism, which leads
it to encourage and support actions whose purpose is to foster in-
terconfessional and interreligious dialogue. The State Secretariat
for Religious Affairs lays stress on the importance of the role of re-
ligious pluralism in the context of public actions for the purpose of
edifying national and European identity and conscience.
At the same time, aware of the need to put Romanian so-

ciety’s religious dynamism at the service of the greater good, the
State Secretariat for Religious Affairs works to deepen the partner-
ship relations with religious organizations, and for the develop-
ment of relations with the religious associations, as important civil
society players involving over 99% of the country’s population.
Another priority line of action of the institution is the sup-

port and valorification of actions and projects of religious organi-
zations in support of the retention and promotion of the language
and the national and cultural identity of Romanians in the diaspo-
ra. Recognizing the capacity of religious organizations to accom-
pany communities of Romanians to ensure their retention of the
language and of the Romanian national identity and religion, the
State Secretariat for Religious Affairs acts in support of Romanian
religious communities along Romania’s borders, as well as in the
actual diaspora.
Although it has a very small staff, the State Secretariat for

Religious Affairs works to make its activities very efficient in order
to ensure the respecting of modern, administrative demands and
increasingly stricter financial discipline. Furthermore, our institu-
tion is taking steps to raise transparency and the predictability of
institutional decision-making, as well as for prompt and proper in-
forming of the public regarding general information on religious
life in Romania.
26
3
In the interest of rising public interest in all manifestations

of religious life in the Romanian and European contexts, the State
Secretariat for Religious Affairs collects and disseminates up-to-
date information on the religious phenomenon in Romania, of-
fers public expertise on religious freedom to public institutions,
and participates actively in European public debate during con-
sultations convened by international organizations on the role of
religion and religious communities for the promotion of peace, dia-
logue, and social solidarity.
cHAPTER 3
Evolution of the Religious Affiliation Structure
The history of official Romanian statistics coincides with the his-

tory of the modern Romanian national state. The double elec-
tion of Alexandru Ioan Cuza in both Moldavia and Wallachia on
24 January 1859 was a defining moment that marked the be-
ginning of the transformation of the Romanian Countries into a
modern state, through the establishment of new institutions in-
spired by the European models of the time. The need for an un-
derstanding of socioeconomic realities led to the establishment
of the Office of Statistics in July 1859.
3.1. The Modern Period
Three censuses were carried out in the modern period: the first in
1859, the second four decades later in 1899, and the third in 1912, pri-
or to the Great Union of 1918. One of the interesting pieces of infor-
mation gleaned from the census was the religious affiliation of the
population. Since the country’s territorial composition changed very
little during that period, the data obtained during all three censuses
can be used for a viable comparison (see Table 1).
Table 1. Religious affiliation structure of the population in the 1859-1912 period
Year
Religious
Affiliation 1859 1899 1912
Believers % Believers % Believers %
Total 4,424,961 100% 5,956,690 100% 7,235,320 100%
1. Romanian Orthodox 4,198,862 94.89 5,451,787 91.52 6,735,444 93.09
2. Judaism 134,168 3.03 266,652 4.48 241,088 3.33
3. Roman Catholic 45,154 1.02 149,667 2.51 157,938 2.18
4. Protestant 28,903 0.65 22,749 0.38 24,727 0.34
5. Armenian 8,178 0.18 5,787 0.10 6,985 0.10
6. Lipovan 8,375 0.19 15,094 0.25 21,628 0.30
7. Islam 1,323 0.03 44,732 0.75 46,406 0.64
8. Other faith - - 222 < 0.01 1,104 0.02
28
3
According to the first census, most of Romania’s popula-

tion was Orthodox, some 95%, followed at a significant distance
by the Jewish Community, at a little over 3%, with the other be-
liefs making up the remaining 2%.
Besides drawing up a religious affiliation structure, the

1859 census also inventoried places of worship (see Table 2).
According to the results of this research, the number of plac-
es of worship amounted to 7,230 for a population of 4,424,961;
this translates to an average 612 congregants per place of wor-
ship. In this sense, the Orthodox Church was above average (630
congregants per church); the most “crowded” places of worship
were Protestant, with an average 2,408 congregants per church,
while at the opposite spectrum were the synagogues, with 486
congregants per place of worship. Thus, the Jewish Community
had the larger number of places of worship per number of
congregants.
Table 2. Number of places of worship by faith and size of religious commu-

nities in 1859
1859
Religie
Number of Number of houses of Number of believers per
believers worship place of worship
Total 4,424,961 7,230 612
1. Romanian Orthodox 4,198,862 6,658 630
2. Judaism 13,4168 276 486
3. Roman Catholic 45,154 63 716
4. Protestant 28,903 12 2,408
5. Armenian 8,178 11 743
6. Lipovan 8,375 7 1,189
7. Other faith - 3 -
The territorial changes following the War of Independence

of 1877-1878 did not significantly influence the structure of the
religious affiliation of Romania’s population. The transfer of the
three counties that made up Southern Bessarabia (Cahul, Ismail,
and Bolgrad) to the Russian Empire and the gain of Dobrogea
from the Ottoman Empire, which included Tulcea and Constanța
29
3
counties led to an increase in the Muslim population, whose ra-

tio rose from 0.03% in 1859 to 0.75% in the 1899 census.
Orthodox believers made up most of the population in

1899, at 91.52%, with the remaining faiths at 8.5%. The faith with
the largest number of believers after the Orthodox faith was
Judaism, with 4.5% (the second-largest Jewish community in
Europe, after Austria at 4.6%), followed by the Catholics at 2.5%,
Muslims with 0.7%, and Protestants (Lutherans and Reformed
Calvinists) at 0.4%. Compared to the previous census, there was
a rise in the ratio of minority faiths.
The largest increase was noted in the Catholic commu-

nity (some 230%) and the Jewish community (98%). The nu-
merical growth of the Catholic population was most likely due
to immigration, because the natural growth of this communi-
ty was much lower than that of other faiths. The growth of the
Jewish community was due to both immigration and natural in-
crease, which was very high at that time. As concerns the Islamic
population, the increase registered was the result of the incor-
poration of Dobrogea in Romania’s territory, resulting in an addi-
tional 41,677 persons. This was the case also for the Old Believers
(Lipovans or Starovery). Those denominations whose ratios de-
creased included the Armenian Church and the Protestants, al-
though Dobrogea brought in a significant number of religious
minorities compared to those lost following the cession of
Southern Bessarabia to Russia.
The population distribution by religion in the 1899 census

differed from one region to another. As concerns historical prov-
inces and living areas, the situation of each province registered
a significant departure from the national averages. The largest
number of Orthodox believers lived in Oltenia (98.5%), while the
smallest number was registered in Dobrogea, with an Orthodox
population of 73.4%, followed by the Muslim community, mak-
ing up 15.6% of the inhabitants of that region. There were sig-
nificant differences in rural and urban areas. Thus (see Table 3),
the Orthodox population in urban areas amounted to 72.54%,
followed by the Jewish population, with an average 18.98%. The
largest Jewish community was in Moldavia (38.72%), especial-
ly in the County capitals, such as Dorohoi (over 53%), Iaşi (some
52%), Botoşani (52%), etc.
30
3
Table 3. Urban population by religious affiliation in percentages in 1899, na-

tionally and by provinces
1899
Religious Urban population, by faith (percentages)
Affiliation
Romania Moldavia Muntenia Oltenia Dobrogea
1. Romanian Orthodox 72.54 55.71 80.50 86.93 74.31
2. Judaism 18.98 38.72 10.64 4.09 5.59
3. Roman Catholic 5.60 4.37 6.35 7.58 2.82
4. Protestant 1.37 0.35 2.13 1.13 1.06
5. Islam 0.92 0.07 0.21 0.28 12.23
6. Armenian Apostolic 0.40 0.60 0.17 < 0.01 1.82
7. Old Believers
0.19 0.16 < 0.01 - 2.14
(Lipovans)
8. Other faiths 0.01 0.02 < 0.01 < 0.1 < 0.01
The results of the 1912 census did not yield major surpris-
es, with the confessional structure remaining similar to that of
1899, with one significant difference: the Jewish population had
dropped due to emigration. There were Romanian state territo-
rial changes between 1912 and 1918 that had a significant ef-
fect on the national ethnic and confessional distribution of the
population, namely the annexation of Southern Dobrogea (the
so-called Quadrilateral). The population of the new province
was mostly Turkish and Tatar, belonging to the Muslim faith, and
Bulgarian Orthodox, as per the 1930 census, when the Muslim
community numbered over 185,000.
3.2. Confessional Structure of Modern Transylvania
Transylvania was part of the Habsburg Empire territory, known

as the “Grand Principality of Transylvania.” With the instauration
of the dualist Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1867, Transylvania be-
came part of the Hungarian Kingdom. The Habsburg admin-
istration carried out two censuses in 1850 and 1857, while the
Hungarians carried out four censuses in 1869, 1880, 1900 and
1910. The results of the first two and the last three are not interop-
erable, because of the difference in territorial area investigated
and the means for defining indicators. We therefore present the
results of the Austrian and Hungarian censuses separately.
31
3
Table 4. Results of the Habsburg administration census

Year
Religious %
Affiliation
1850 1857
1. Romanian Orthodox 30.2 31.9
2. Greek Catholic 32.2 28.8
3. Reformed 14.4 13.8
4. Roman Catholic 10.6 11.8
5. Lutheran 9.6 10.2
6. Unitarian 2.2 2.5
7. Judaism 0.8 0.7
8. Armenian-Catholic - 0.3
Table 5. Results of the censuses carried out by the Hungarian administration
Year
Religious %
Affiliation
1880 1900 1910
1. Romanian Orthodox 37.1 34.9 34.3
2. Greek Catholic 23.3 23.5 23.7
3. Roman Catholic 17.7 18.8 18.9
4. Reformed 12.4 13.0 13.2
5. Evangelical Lutheran 5.5 5.2 5.0
6. Judaism 2.6 3.3 3.5
7. Unitarian 1.4 1.3 1.3
8. Other faiths 0.1 0.05 0.09
Modern Transylvania was characterized by a great ethnic

and confessional diversity. Most of the Orthodox and Greek-
Catholic populations were Romanian (with a Serb minority),
while the ethnic Hungarian and German populations were
mostly Protestant or Roman Catholic. Thus, the integration of
Transylvania into the Romanian Kingdom after 1918 brought
about a significant change in its population structure.
32
3
3.3. The Interwar Period (1918-1940)
The confessional structure of Romania’s population between

the two World Wars was registered in the 1930 census. In the pe-
riod between the 1912 and 1930 censuses, the Romanian ethnic
and confessional territorial structure changed fundamentally as
a result of the union of Bessarabia, Bukovina, Transylvania, and
Banat with the Romanian Kingdom in 1918.
Romania’s population structure changed in terms of both

ethnic and confessional structures. The ratio of Romanian and
Orthodox believers according to the 1912 census had been of
93.5% and 93.1%, respectively, while in the 1930 census these
dropped respectively to 71.9% and 72.6% (see Table 6).
Table 6. Population Structure by Religious Affiliation in 1930
Religious Affiliation Believers %
Total 18,057,028 100

1. Romanian Orthodox 13,108,227 72.59
2. Greek Catholic 1,427,391 7.90
3. Roman Catholic 1,234,151 6.83
4. Judaism 756,930 4.19
5. Reformed Calvinism 710,706 3.94
6. Evangelical Lutheran 3987,59 2.21
7. Islam 185,486 1.03
8. Unitarian 69,257 0.38
9. Baptist 60,562 0.34
10. Old Believers (Lipovans) 57,288 0.32
11. Adventist Christian 16,102 0.09
12. Armenian Gregorian 10,005 0.06
13. Armenian Catholic 1,440 0.01
14. Other faith 7,434 0.04
15. No faith 6,604 0.04
16. Undeclared 6,686 0.04
33
3
The new provinces brought 56% of Romanians into the Romanian

state, with the remaining 44% being other nationalities/faiths, in-
cluding ethnic Hungarians (14.7%), ethnic Germans (7.6%), ethnic
Ukrainians (6.4%), and Jews (5.1%). One especially important aspect
of the Romanian population’s religious affiliation structure was the
presence in Transylvania and Banat of the Greek Catholic Church,
whose believers were almost exclusively Romanians, making up
some 8% of the total population of Greater Romania (15% of the to-
tal population of the new provinces). The Romanian Church United
with Rome (Greek Catholic) became the second-largest denomina-
tion in Romania, recognized in the Constitution of 1923, alongside
the Romanian Orthodox Church, and it was declared a Romanian
church. In addition to the traditional religious affiliations, this was
also the first time that the situation of two Evangelical churches was
registered, namely the Baptists and the Adventists. The religious af-
filiation structure of the new provinces (not including Wallachia and
Moldavia) is presented in Table 7.
Table 7. The religious affiliation structure of the new Romanian provinces
Religious Affiliation Believers %
Total 9,265,774 100

1. Romanian Orthodox 5,054,762 54.55
2. Greek Catholic 1,396,694 15.07
3. Roman Catholic 1,058,605 11.42
4. Judaism 697,581 7.53
5. Reformed Calvinism 492,892 5.32
6. Evangelical Lutheran 369,940 3.99
7. Islam 68,420 0.74
8. Unitarian 57,835 0.62
9. Baptist 34,574 0.37
10. Old Believers (Lipovans) 7,373 0.08
11. Adventist Christian 1,547 0.02
12. Armenian Gregorian 1,284 0.01
13. Armenian Catholic 620 0.01
14. Other faith 5,079 0.05
15. No faith 4,465 0.05
16. Undeclared 4,499 0.05
34
3.4. 1940-1945 Period
As of the summer of 1940, Romania lost a significant part of her

territory, with the associated population. Bessarabia, northern
Bukovina, and the Hertza region were annexed by the Soviet
Union, northern Transylvania was annexed by Hungary, and
southern Dobrogea was ceded to Bulgaria. During the Second
World War, the territorial structure of the Romanian state
changed again temporarily, with the liberation of Bessarabia and
the annexation of Transnistria. These territorial changes, in turn,
produced other changes in the population’s religious affiliation
structure, the latter being observed statistically only to a certain
extent in the 6 April 1941 census, whose information could
not be entirely processed and made available due to political
disturbances.
3.5. 1945-1989 Communist Period
The principal characteristic of the communist period, in terms

of religious affiliation statistics, was a lack of precise official
information, due to the elimination of several indicators included
in the censuses. The first census in Romania after the Paris Peace
Treaty, when Romania’s current borders were established, was
carried out in 1948, but the data gathered was based only on
native language, not nationality or religion.
The 1948 Constitution guaranteed freedom of religion, and

the new Law on the General Status of Religions recognized new
faiths, including the Pentecostal community, probably the most
dynamic in terms of numeric evolution during the communist era,
while the Romanian Church United with Rome (Greek Catholic)
was disbanded. Using the same logic, the three censuses that
followed (in 1956, 1966, 1977) recorded only “nationality”, and
not “religion,” which makes it impossible to provide an exact
evolution of the population’s religious affiliation structure
during the almost five decades of communism.
3.6. Post-communist Period
With the fall of the communist regime and the adoption of

the new Romanian Constitution in 1991, the structure and
evolution of Romania’s religious life began being recorded
35
statistically once again, with the reintroduction of the “reli-
gion” category in subsequent censuses. There have been three
censuses in the 30 years since December 1989, based on com-
parable geographic areas.
The first census highlighted the surprising lack of results

of efforts by the communist regime to promote atheism. A
mere 0.17% of the population declared themselves to be athe-
ists or as having no religion; most of the population declared
themselves as belonging to a religious faith. According to the
latest census carried out simultaneously in European Union
states in 2011, after 21 years of religious freedom in the former
communist countries, the percentage of those declaring them-
selves atheists or having no religion in Romania (0.19%) contin-
ues to be the lowest in Europe, compared to former communist
countries like the Czech Republic, whose percentage reached
34.2%, Hungary 23%, or Bulgaria 11.8%.
The 1992 census statistically captured the destiny of the

Jewish Community. Due to the Holocaust, as well as the poli-
cies of the communist regime encouraging mass emigration of
Romanian Jews to Israel, the Romanian Jewish community di-
minished dramatically. The census also highlighted the situa-
tion faced by the Romanian Church United with Rome (Greek
Catholic); it returned into the public sphere and was officially
recognized after 50 years of clandestine survival, but has never
reached the number of believers it had in the period between
the two wars.12 Subsequent censuses highlighted the relatively
stable trend in the evolution of the population’s religious affili-
ation structure.
Figures on religious affiliation remained very high, at

over 99% of the population declaring they belonged to a re-
ligion. On the whole, the Orthodox faith remained relatively
stable, with a minor decrease in the past 30 years. There have
been similar drops in the numbers of Roman Catholics, Greek
Catholics, and traditional Protestant communities, significant
in terms of the total number of believers.
12
Representatives of the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic con-
tested the results of the 1992, 2002, and 2011 censuses, claiming that the manner in
which data were collected was defective.
36
4
Table 8. Religious affiliation structure in Romania, according to the results

of post-communist censuses13
Year
Religious
1992 2002 2011
Affiliation
Number % Number % Number %
Total 22,810,035 100 21,680,974 100 20,121,641 100
1. Romanian Orthodox 19,802,389 86.81 18,817,975 86.79 16,307,004 86.45

2. Roman Catholic 1,161,942 5.09 1,026,429 4.73 870,774 4.62
3. Reformed 802,454 3.52 701,077 3.23 600,932 3.19
4. Pentecostal 220,824 0.97 324,462 1.50 362,314 1.92
5. Greek Catholic 223,327 0.98 191,556 0.88 150,593 0.80
6. Baptist 109,462 0.48 126,639 0.58 112,850 0.60
7. Seventh-Day Adventist 77,546 0.34 93,670 0.43 809,44 0.43
8. Islam 55,928 0.25 67,257 0.31 64,337 0.34
9. Unitarian 76,708 0.34 66,944 0.31 57,686 0.31
10. Jehovah’s Witnesses - - - - 49,820 0.26
11. Evangelical Lutheran 49,963 0.22 44,476 0.21 42,495 0.23
12. Old Believers 28,141 0.12 38,147 0.18 32,558 0.17
13. Old-Rite Orthodox 32,228 0.14 - - - -
14. Evangelical Lutheran 21,221 0.09 27,112 0.13 20,168 0.11
(Presbyterian Synod)
15. Serbian Orthodox - - - - 14,385 0.08
16. Romanian Evangelical - - 18,178 0.08 15,514 0.08
17. Evangelical Church of 39,119 0.17 8,716 0.04 5,399 0.03
Augustan Confession in Romania
18. Judaism 9,670 0.04 6,057 0.03 3,519 0.02
19. Armenian - - - - 393 0.002
20. Other faiths 56,129 0.25 89,196 0.41 30,557 0.16
21. No faith 26,314 0.12 12,825 0.06 18,917 0.10
22. Atheist 10,331 0.05 8,524 0.04 20,743 0.11
23. Not stated 8,139 0.04 11,734 0.05 - -
24. Unavailable - - - - 1,259,739 6.25
13
In 1992 the Christian Church of the Gospel and the Romanian Evangelical Church
merged as a single denomination; the Jehovah’s Witnesses Religious Organization
became a recognized religion in 2003; the Serbian Orthodox Bishopric of Timișoara was
recognized after 2006. .
37
4
The most dynamic religious denominations proved to be

the Evangelical communities, and especially the Pentecostals,
which registered considerable growth between 1992 and 2002,
and somewhat less growth in 2011 (when the waves of emigrants
led to a significant drop in the population). The ratio of these re-
ligions in the total population rose slightly (more in the case of
the Pentecostal community). The Muslim community also grew,
due in part to immigration.
There was a dramatic drop in the numbers of the Jewish

community, down one third compared to 1992. In the census of
201114 there was also a total drop among persons in the “Other
faiths” category, from 0.41% in 2002 to 0.15%, due to the recogni-
tion by the state of the Jehovah’s Witnesses denomination (0.25%
of the population having declared their religious affiliation in
2011).
14
Administrative sources were used for the first time in the 2011 census, where direct
interviews had not been possible. Based on these sources, the religious affiliation of a
significant number of persons could not be established, and therefore a “Not available”
category was added to the table. These amounted to almost 1.3 million persons, repre-
senting 6.25% of the total population, and hence these absences affect the interoper-
ability of the data. The percentages were calculated for 2011 on the basis of population
for which faith had been registered directly.
38
4
CHAPTER 4
What Church-State relations exist
in democratic countries?
On the basis of treaties in effect, the European Union respects

the competence of member states in terms of politics and pub-
lic policies regarding religious life, and does not enter into any
specific relation with a particular religion or faith. The European
Union recognizes that religious communities have their own
identity and a specific contribution to European society,15 at-
tributing to them a consultative role in the functioning of the
Union and the development of its policies. Member states have
exclusive competencies in the internal policies regarding reli-
gious life. Thus, there is no single legal model for relations be-
tween church and state in Europe. Nevertheless, we can identify
a series of common elements in the legislation of the European
states, outlined on the basis of common historic experiences of
these states in the past two centuries.16 The principal elements
of a possible joint model are:
the guaranteeing of freedom of conscience and free-
dom of religion for all citizens;
the existence of forms of legal recognition of the dis-
tinct character of religious communities in connection with oth-
er types of public and private organizations;
the respect of the autonomy of religions and faiths in
connection with the state (in varying degrees);
lack of religious discrimination;
the existence of various forms of direct and/or indirect
”(1) The Union respects and does not prejudice the status under national law of
15
churches and religious associations or communities in the Member States. (2) The Union
equally respects the status under national law of philosophical and non-confessional
organizations. (3) Recognizing their identity and their specific contribution, the Union
shall maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with these churches and
organizations.” Article 17c of the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European
Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, Official Journal of the
European Union, 2007/C306/1.
STAN, Lavinia, Lucian TURCESCU, Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding Europe,
16
Oxford University Press, Oxford/New York, 2011.

40
4
support for religious communities;

an increasingly inclusive recognition of religious pluralism.
4.1. How are church-state relations classified in Europe?
In the absence of a single European normative church-

state relations model, and due to the diversity of the forms of
religiosity embraced by European citizens, church-state rela-
tions have been subject to several classification solutions. From
a methodological standpoint17,these were organized based on:
a) legal and constitutional definitions of the church-state
relations regime (separation, cooperation, state, or dominant
Church, etc.);
b) the means of financing religions and faiths (direct, indi-
rect, mixed, etc.);
c) the place and role of religion in the public space (active
secularism – with the placement of religion in the private sphere;
“indifferent” neutrality – in which the State abstains from attrib-
uting to religions and faiths any specific social role; and “pos-
itive” or “favourable” neutrality, in which the state recognizes
and actively supports the presence of religions and faiths in the
public space);
d) the levels of permissiveness of the legislative framework
in connection with the recognition of religious minorities and
new religious movements – regime open to all religions and
faiths or inclusive regime vs. selective or limited recognition re-
gime; regimes with a single level or multiple levels of recognition;
e) the way religious education is handled – state with reli-
gious confessional education vs. non-confessional, optional vs.
mandatory, supported by the State or “privatized”, etc.
The most accessible criterion for categorizing church-state

relations is by legal definition. Thus, from the standpoint of leg-
islation in effect in European states we can distinguish three ma-
jor models:
1) regimes where there is clear separation of church and
state, as in the case of France (except for Alsace, Moselle, and the
Overseas Territories), the Netherlands, Portugal, and Ireland. As a
FACULTÉ DE DROIT ET DE SCIENCE POLITIQUE D’AIX-MARSEILLE, Religions, droit
17
et sociétés dans l’Europe communautaire. Actes du XIIIe Colloque de l’Institut de Droit

et d’Histoire Religieux (IDHR), Aix-en-Provence, 19-20 mai 1999, Presses Universitaires
d’Aix-Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, 2000.
41
4
rule, the States that embrace this type of relationship model do

not offer direct financing to religious communities;
2) regimes with a prevailing or dominant church, as in the
case of Denmark, Finland, Greece, Malta, Great Britain, and un-
til recently Norway and Sweden. In this case, one or more reli-
gions have a special status, and are partially integrated in public
administration;
3) regimes that recognize several religions (at one or sever-
al levels) and, where applicable, are defined as regimes of coop-
eration or partnerships between church and state. Recognized
religions enjoy a privileged status compared to those who do
not have this status. The State recognizes the utility of church
activities, supporting them financially directly or indirectly, and
this is the case in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain,
Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, etc.
The general regime of religions and faiths in every European

State is a result of various historical developments, of social and de-
mographic transformations, etc., and of changes that arose in public
perception of the general religious phenomenon.
Thus, traditional or “historical” religions and faiths still enjoy a

special status in most European States: the state “knows” them better
institutionally and doctrinally, and as such has more instruments at
hand to position itself in relation to them. These are religions and faith
with which the modern state negotiated a relationship over a very
long period, so that the successive understandings between these re-
ligions and State institutions have shaped the legal formulas and in-
stitutional practices of the church-state relationship up to the present
time. Gradually the European States identified institutional recogni-
tion formulas of an increasing number of religions and faiths, adapt-
ing to increasing religious pluralism in the European sphere.
The influx of migrants from Muslim countries in the past

few decades has led to significant changes in the religious con-
figuration of some European countries, and has also influenced
their culture and traditions. Due to a recrudescence of reli-
gious extremist movements, especially Muslim-inspired, certain
European countries have resorted to measures to curb some
forms of manifestations and actions of Muslim communities that
are going against the general rules of cohabitation in a demo-
cratic society.
42
4
Several examples will be offered below, including elements of

church-state relations in a few European States. These are meant
to help us better understand the European context of debates on
issues that are increasingly being analysed also in the Romanian
public sphere.18
4.2. The particularity of church-state relations in Europe and the

Romanian model
As some researchers of this phenomenon19, have observed, his-

toric religions and faiths in Europe have retained their advantage
over newer faiths, with European States traditionally showing
some reservations relating to the latter. Only in the past two de-
cades have these reservations started to be blotted out, with
newer or newly-arrived religions or faiths in their territories be-
ginning to be recognized by European States and legally assimi-
lated alongside historic religions.
In Romania, the church-state relations, governed by the

Romanian Constitution and Law no. 489/2006 on Freedom of Religion
and the General Status of Religions, are based on cooperation and mul-
tiple-level recognition. As in other European states, such as Austria,
Belgium, Italy or Spain, where by tradition most of the population be-
longs to one large confession (Catholic for the first, Orthodox in the case
of Romania), relations between church and state are marked, in prac-
tice, by the historic and legal tradition of the presence of a dominant
church, but also by the existence of substantial religious minorities.
Choosing one model over another for relations between church

and state in Europe has not always been linked directly to the level of reli-
giosity manifested by the citizens of a country. Some countries with a low
rate of participation in religious services (Nordic countries) have had, until
recently, or still have a state church, while countries with a very high level
of religiosity (such as Ireland) have opted to separate church and state. A
country such as the Czech Republic, with one of the lowest rates of religi-
osity in Europe, continues to support religions and faiths, and has devel-
oped a multi-level system of recognition which is comparable in many
18
Main sources for the information presented above comes from: ROBBERS, Gerhard
(ed.), États et Églises dans l’Union Européenne, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden,
2007, and the Romanian Embassies in European Union countries.
19
Francesco MARGIOTTA-BROGLIO, Cesare MIRABELLI, Francesco ONIDA , Religioni e
sistemi giuridici. Introduzione al diritto ecclesiastico comparato, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2000.
43
4
ways with those in Poland and Romania, where levels of religiosity are
much higher.
The choice of one solution over another of state financing for

church activities has likewise not been determined exclusively by the
presence or absence of a confessional majority: the dominant church in a
country like Ireland receives no direct financing; the Evangelical Church in
Denmark, which is the state church, is financed through a church tax and
funds allocated by the State, as is the Catholic Church in Italy and Spain.
Nor does the separation of church and state necessarily mean that
there is no form of financing: in secular France chaplains in hospitals can
be paid by the State. However, this does not happen in Belgium, which
has a regimen for recognized religions. And finally, regardless of the type
of church-state relationship, religions and faiths enjoy a varying number
of tax exemptions.
In Romania, a country with a high level of religiosity, with an aver-

age European rate of religious participation (but higher than the average
for Orthodox countries), a regimen of positive neutrality was preferred,
based on the cooperation between religions and the state, characterized
by an elaborate combination of direct and indirect public financing for re-
ligions and faiths. A portion of the direct financing is part of the “compen-
sation” logic marking the relationship between the state and religions.
Romania is not alone in this stance either.
In Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and other

European countries, some direct financing offered to religions and faiths
is explicitly presented as compensation to these for the confiscations of
assets by public authorities in the past two centuries.
Different approaches were adopted by European States offer-

ing direct financing: either in the form of a church tax, usually adminis-
tered by the State and most often automatically retained from income
tax (Germany, Italy, and Spain), or directly from the State or local budgets
(Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, Romania, and Slovakia).
In most European States there exists a form of financing for plac-

es of worship (constructions, maintenance, or repairs). Financing comes
from either the central or local authorities, and can be global or limited to
a certain type of place of worship (historical monuments or State-owned
places of worship).
44
4
On the other hand, due to a drop in the number of believers and

in order to ensure the upkeep of some churches, in some European
countries, such as Germany, the Netherlands, or Great Britain, the
State or even certain religions or faiths have been resorting to the
transformation of churches (including historical monuments) into li-
braries, conference/exhibition centres, restaurants, gyms, or offices.
Unlike countries with consolidated systems of State coopera-

tion with various types of religious communities, “a social partner-
ship” between State and religions and faiths is still in development
in Romania. Religions are recognized as “providers of social servic-
es,” but the guarantees of the proper functioning and the inclusion
of services organized by religions or faiths in the social services mar-
ket and in the whole of the non-profit sector will depend directly on
the way in which reforms in the areas of health and social assistance
will evolve.
Finally, most European States recognize the need or at least

the legitimacy of organizing some forms of religious education and/
or education about the religious phenomenon. Even in countries
where the State does not itself support a form of religious educa-
tion in public schools, or even prohibits (such as France) the manifes-
tation of any form of religiosity in the public education system, the
State understands that it must find a solution which allows for the or-
ganization of such religious education courses in the private sphere.
Furthermore, as providers of private education services, confessional
schools may benefit from State financial support in most European
countries, even in countries where a strict separation of church and
state is in place.
In this respect, the Romanian system follows the logic of the

multi-level system of recognition of religions and faiths, offering con-
fessional religious education courses as a part of the common core of
subjects, with participation in these courses an individual elective.
Thus, one can see that from a legal standpoint the Romanian
model of church-state relations greatly resembles in part the German
and Belgiumn systems of cooperation, and on the other the church-
state relations of post-communist countries. Below, we offer several
examples of legislative elements and government practices from a
variety of countries in the Euro-Atlantic region.
45
4
How is religious freedom regulated in democratic countries?
Austria
Church and State are separate, with guaranteed freedom of per-

sonal faith (since 1781) and freedom to demonstrate in public
spaces (since 1919). Religions are autonomous, with a relation-
ship of cooperation with the State in the area of religious edu-
cation in schools, subsidization of certain social and charitable
activities, or participation in public media programs.
Belgium
Religious freedom and the regulation of religions and faiths are

administered based on five fundamental constitutional prin-
ciples: equality, non-discrimination, freedom of religions and
faiths, freedom of citizens to express their opinions in all areas,
and the autonomy of religions and faiths from the State
Bulgaria
The Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria guarantees free-

dom of religion and faith, stipulating that religious practice must
be unrestricted and separate from the State; proclaims the in-
violable right to freedom of conscience, belief, and the choice
of religion and faith; freedom of association and expression are
guaranteed; all citizens are equal before the law, regardless of
faith or religion they belong to.
The Religious Denominations Act no.120/29.12.2002 stip-

ulates the provisions and supplementary regulations concern-
ing the rights to freedom of religion or faith guaranteed by the
Constitution. Articles 5 and 6 protects freedom of religion and
expression of religious faith. The exercise of religious expression
in public is illegal for religious groups that are not registered.
46
4
Canada
The preamble of Canada’s Constitution Act, 1982 (Charter of

Rights and Freedoms) states that Canada is founded upon prin-
ciples that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.
In principle, due to a lack of specific constitutional provisions

in Canada’s Constitution concerning the separation of church and
State, the Sovereign (Queen Elizabeth II), who is the guarantor and
defender of the Faith and the Anglican Church in Canada, toler-
ates all other religious communities, including atheists.
In practice, the totality of Canadian legislation relating to re-

ligious life consecrates the principle of State neutrality regarding
religion. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides
for the State to guarantee certain fundamental rights, with the
first mentioned being the freedom of conscience and freedom of
religion.
The principle of non-discrimination based on religion and

faith is consecrated. The religious regulations in effect are based
on the separation of church and State. All religions and faiths are
free, autonomous, and equal before the public authorities, and
are protected from any sort of involvement by the State in inter-
nal issues.
Croatia
Article 40 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia guar-

antees freedom of conscience, as well as freedom of public ex-
pression of religious or other beliefs. The Constitution of the
Republic of Croatia (Article 41) regulates the relationship be-
tween the State and religions and faiths. There is a clear separa-
tion of church and State, although the State has the obligation
to support and protect religious communities, so that these can
freely carry out their activities. The Constitution gives religious
communities the right to carry out public ceremonies, to finance
and administer schools, colleges, institutes, and social and chari-
table organizations according to the organic law that regulates
these activities. All religious communities are guaranteed equal-
ity before the law.
47
4
The guarantee of religious freedom rights, as well as the re-

lationship between the State and religious communities, set by
the Constitution, are detailed in the Law on the Status and Rights
of Religious Communities (2002). The law defines both relations
between the State and religious and faith communities, as well as
direct relations between such communities, freedom of associa-
tion, ways in which religious communities keep records and other
aspects, such as their financing, their legal status, the financing
of theological schools and colleges, religious education in State
schools, the social rights of religious leaders and students who are
enrolled in theological institutes, and the access of religious com-
munities to means of public communication.
The condition set for this law to be applied to a religious

community is that the respective community be registered in the
religious community register. There are two exceptions in this
law: the Catholic Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church, which
have a special status, based on their historic tradition. The law
defines the limits of action of religious communities as follows:
the promotion of interconfessional hate speech and intolerance,
public expression of faith must respect public order and moral-
ity, safety, the life and health of any person, and must not trample
on the rights and freedoms of other citizens. The Catholic church-
state relations are regulated by bilateral accords between Croatia
and the Holy See.
Estonia
The church-state relationship is defined in Art. 40 of the Constitu-

tion, which stipulates that citizens enjoy freedom of conscience,
religion, and belief. There is no State church, and all are free to
practice their own religion, both privately and in public, except in
the case where practices disturb the public order, health or mor-
als. According to provisions in Art. 130, religious freedom may not
be restricted, even in periods of war
France
With the adoption of the Law on the Separation of the Churches

and the State (1905), France became a secular State (according to
Art. 2, which states that „The Republic does not recognize, pay,
or subsidize any religious sect”).
48
4
Secularism became a constitutional value with the passing

of the 27 October 1946 Constitution (Art. 1: “France is a secular
Republic”), while Art. 1 of the 1958 Constitution, which was the ba-
sis for the Fifth Republic states that “France shall be an indivisible,
secular, democratic and social Republic. It shall ensure the equal-
ity of all citizens before the law, without distinction of origin, race
or religion. It shall respect all beliefs”). There is a distinctive legal
exception for the recognition of religion and faith for Alsace and
Moselle, as well as France’s Overseas Departments and Territories.
Germany
Religious freedom is guaranteed. Anyone may become a mem-

ber of a religious community and may freely practice a religion
or faith. This same freedom is guaranteed if someone wishes to
change his/her religion or faith, to leave or switch their religious
affiliation.
The State is the “protector of all citizens,” regardless of their

religion or faith, and it does not have the right to identify either
with a specific religion or a specific belief, but rather must be neu-
tral and tolerant in relation to religious communities in order to
organize religious instruction in schools and in other areas. Article
4 of the Constitution stipulates that the rules are equally valid for
all religious communities, while other matters pertaining to reli-
gious law are regulated by contracts between the State and reli-
gious communities.
Greece
Religious freedom and freedom of religious conscience are en-

shrined in Article 13 of the Constitution, which regulates the invio-
lability of religious freedom. The Constitution is proclaimed in the
name of the Holy Trinity.
The prevailing religion is Orthodox Christianity. Religions

are free to publicly manifest their faith, while respecting public or-
der and proper moral values. Proselytism is prohibited. Offenses
against the Christian religion or other religions and faiths may be
sanctioned.
49
Hungary
The fundamental Law (Art. 6) recognizes the principle of free-

dom of belief, conscience, and religion, including freedom of ex-
pression of religious faith and the right to change one’s religion
or faith, and it guarantees the principle of non-discrimination.
This Hungarian Law also separates church and State. “Religious
communities” are independent legal entities, and the State may
cooperate with these (Art. 7, para. 4). Registered churches and
religious organizations are defined as religious communities.
Based on Law no. CCVI/2011 on the Right to Freedom of

Conscience and Religion and the Legal Status of Churches,
Denominations, and Religious Communities, the number of rec-
ognized religions and faiths dropped to 14, and over 300 reli-
gious communities lost their legal status. In February 2012, as a
result of international pressure, the Parliament raised the num-
ber of recognized religions or faiths to 31. In February 2013, the
Constitutional Court decided that the de-registration of recog-
nized religions or faiths was unconstitutional.
Following the Constitutional Court’s decision, the

Hungarian Parliament modified Law no. CCVI/2011 and Hungary’s
fundamental law, granting Parliament the explicit authority to
select religious communities that may collaborate with the State
in “activities of public interest.” Nine religious organizations who
lost their status as a result of the legislative changes, reported
the government to the European Court for Human Rights. On 28
June 2016, the European Court for Human Rights ruled in their
favour, deciding that the Hungarian State must pay them dam-
ages and restore their previous legal status.
Iceland
According to the Constitution (Art. 62) the Lutheran Evangelical

Church is the State church, with 80% of citizens being affiliat-
ed therewith. This status assures it substantial support from the
public authorities. Over 25 other religious organizations are of-
ficially registered, which gives them the possibility of obtaining
financial assistance from public sources for their activities.
50
5
The Constitution (Art. 65) confers equality of rights regard-

less of belief, and religious freedom. There is specific legislation in
Iceland to prevent and combat blasphemy, although there have
been very few convictions for this crime in the past few decades.
Italy
When the Constitution went into effect (1 January 1948), which

regulates the relationship of the State with various religious or-
ganizations, Italy recognized religious freedom, freedom of ex-
pression, and consecrates the principle of religious and social
non-discrimination. Religions and faiths are free to organize ac-
cording to their own statutes. The expression of religious faith is
free, provided public morals are respected.
Latvia
Freedom of thought, conscience, and religious freedom are sanc-

tioned in the Constitution and by Law pertaining to religious or-
ganizations (1996). Freedom of expression may be restricted only
to protect the rights of other persons, and the democratic govern-
ment, to guarantee public safety, well-being, and public morality.
The Constitution stipulates that there is separation of church and
State.
Lithuania
The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and faith. These

must be carried out while respecting public order, health, and
morality and other fundamental rights and freedoms. Churches
and religious organizations are free to organize and function ac-
cording to their own rules and statutes. There is no State religion
in Lithuania. Public schools may offer religious education at the
request of parents.
Luxembourg
The Constitution (Art. 19) guarantees the right to all persons to

manifest religious opinions, as well as freedom of religion. The re-
lations between the State and religions and faiths is regulated by
agreements.
51
Malta
The special, historical relationship between the State and the

Catholic Church is consecrated by the Constitution, which names
Catholicism as the State religion. Maltese legislation prohibits re-
ligious discrimination and provides for freedom of conscience
and religion.
The Netherlands
Religious freedom is a fundamental right. It is forbidden to re-

strain the rights of any person in the name of religious or tradi-
tional values. The Constitution prohibits religious discrimination,
and it provides for freedom for all persons to manifest their re-
ligious convictions, individually or as part of a community, pro-
vided that the laws are respected. The Constitution allows the
government to limit the exercising of religious faith on the basis
of probable cause, such as endangerment to health, traffic, or
public safety.
From a legal standpoint, incitement to religious hatred in

public discourse is considered a crime, and this is punishable by
up to two years in prison and/or a fine. The National Center for
Expertise against Discrimination monitors cases of discrimina-
tion, including those that incite religious hatred.
The law allows employees to refuse to work on Sundays

for religious reasons, but depending on the nature of the work
employers may refuse to offer employees such facilities. The
law does not require religious groups to register with the public
authorities.
Norway
The Constitution, national legislation, and governmental poli-

cies guarantee and protect religious freedom. Norway’s Consti-
tution states that all inhabitants are free to choose and practice
their religion or faith. The law regarding religious freedom and
affiliation guarantees the respecting of the right of all persons
to choose, practice, or change their religion or faith. Any person
residing in Norway over the age of 15 has the right to become
a member of any religious community or to cease to belong
52
5
thereto. Parents have the right to choose their child’s religion up

to the age of 15, but they must consider the child’s opinion if (s)
he is over 7 years of age, and especially if (s)he has turned 12.
The penal code provides for punishment when the right to

religious freedom is violated, including a lack of respect for repre-
sentatives of a religion, its members, or religious discrimination.
Poland
The Constitution recognizes the national Christian heritage. Re-

ligious communities in Poland are autonomous and carry out
their activities in conformity with provisions based on freedom
of conscience and religion in the Constitution (Art. 25, 48, and
53) and of the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religion - 1989).
This law states that religious and philosophical convictions

are equal (Art. 1, para. 3), that the State is neutral in matters of
religion and faith (Art. 10, para. 1), and explicitly rejects the prin-
ciple of State sovereignty over religious organizations (Art. 11).
Portugal
The Constitution (Art. 41) guarantees freedom of religion. Reli-

gious freedom and life, as well as relations between public au-
thorities and religious organizations (equal) are regulated by
Law no. 16/2001 on Religious Freedom.
The Law on Religious Freedom (Art. 58) provides for special rights
and privileges for the Catholic Church in the area of religious ed-
ucation, civil effects of religious weddings, decisions of Catholic
Courts, recognition of entities established legally by the Church,
and fiscal exemptions stipulated in the Concordat between the
Vatican and Portugal in 1940.
Portugal and the Vatican agreed to a new Concordat in

2004, which provides for a church tax, and for the continuation
of the teaching of “Catholic morality” in state schools by teachers
appointed by the Bishop and paid for by the State. The State pro-
vides funds for the building and maintenance of religious build-
ings, especially historical buildings
53
Slovakia
The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and the right

of citizens to practice religion individually or in a group, even if
the group is not registered. The separation of church and state is
stipulated in the Constitution. Freedom of religion or faith may
be restricted only to ensure public order, for health reasons, or to
protect the freedoms of other people.
Spain
The Constitution guarantees freedom of convictions, of reli-

gion and faith, as well as the principle of non-discrimination be-
tween religions or faiths, and the freedom to educate children
according to one’s own religious convictions. There may not be
an official religion because the State affirms its religious neu-
trality (aconfesionalidad). The State cooperates with the Catholic
Church and other faiths, and may establish cooperation agree-
ments/conventions with religious organizations.
Sweden
The Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, freedom

to associate, and freedom of religion or faith. Religious discrim-
ination is prohibited. The registration of religious communities
(defined as a group involved in religious activities) is regulated
legally by the Act on Religious Communities (1998).
Switzerland
Article 15 of the Constitution of the Swiss Confederation guar-

antees freedom of conscience and faith, and the right of every
person to choose and practice his/her religion or faith freely. Ac-
cording to Art. 72, the cantons are free to determine their own
regulations concerning relations with religious organizations,
strictly respecting the principle of religious freedom.
The cantons must be impartial in their relations with all re-

ligions or faiths. For well-grounded and legally pertinent rea-
sons, cantons may provide religious communities a status of
public law organization, similar to that of universities.
54
5
United States of America
Religious freedom is one of the founding principles of the United

States, protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution and
several federal laws. The US Constitution protects the right of ev-
ery person to exercise and share a certain faith, to change religion,
or not to have a religious belief. The principle also includes the
right not to be discriminated against or persecuted for religious
reasons.
According to the First Amendment of the US Constitution

of 1791, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assembly, and to petition the government for a
redress of grievances.”
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination

based on race, colour, sex, or national origin, also forbids
discrimination based on religion. Two other laws protect religious
freedom: the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996, according to
which arson or vandalism of churches, synagogues, mosques, or
other places of religious worship, and violent interference with an
individual’s lawful exercise or attempted exercise of the right of
religious freedom are considered criminal acts; and the Religious
Land Use and Institutional Persons Act of 2000, which prohibits
discrimination of local authorities towards places of worship and
religious institutions.
What is the population’s level of religious affiliation?
Austria
In Austria there are 24 recognized churches and religious societies,

eight officially registered religious communities, and numerous
religious associations. The main advantage for those who enjoy
the status of recognized religious group is: the right to exclusivity
55
(protection of name and exclusivity of religious service for their
members), autonomous regulation and administration of their
own activities, protection of institutions, foundations, and funds
against secularization, the right to establish private confessional
schools, to religious instruction in public schools, and to provide
pastoral care in hospitals.
Belgium
Six religions and faiths are officially recognized: Catholicism (since

the formation of the Belgian State), Orthodoxy (since 1985), Juda-
ism (since 1808), Anglicanism (since 1835), Protestant-Evangelical
(since 1876), and Islam (since 1974). The Catholics, Orthodox, Jew-
ish, and Anglicans are organized at the territorial, communal level,
while the Protestants-Evangelicals and Muslims are organized at
the territorial, provincial level and at the Brussels-Capital Regional
level. As of 2002, the non-confessional philosophical organization
was recognized in Belgium. Buddhism is not recognized in Bel-
gium although the Buddhist Union of Belgium operates as an as-
sociation and receives public financing.
Bulgaria
According to the 2011 census, 59% of the 7.6 million inhabitants

have declared themselves to be Christian Orthodox, 9.3% atheists,
and 7.8% Muslims. Other churches or religious societies, including
Judaism, Catholicism, Armenian Apostolic, and Protestant make
up some 2% of the population, while 21.8% of inhabitants have
not supplied information about their religious affiliation.
According to data available in 2015, 132 churches and re-

ligious societies were registered, in addition to the Bulgarian
Orthodox Church. Some religious communities are geographical-
ly clustered: many Muslims, including Turkish, Roma, and Pomaks
(descendants of Bulgarian Slavs who converted to Islam during
the Ottoman rule. Ethnic Turks and Muslim Roma also live in large
numbers in the northeast of the country and along the Black Sea
coast. More than half of the Catholics are in the Plovdiv city re-
gion. Most of the Jewish community lives in Sofia, Ruse, and along
the Black Sea coast. Protestants are dispersed throughout the en-
tire country. The areas with the largest Roma populations tend to
have one of the largest percentages of Protestant believers.
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5
Czech Republic
There are 34 state-recognized religious organizations in the

Czech Republic: twenty one churches and thriteen religious so-
cieties.
Croatia
According to the 2011 census, 86.28% of residents are Catholics,

4.44% are Serbian Orthodox, 1.47% are Muslims, 0.34% are Prot-
estants, and 3.81% are declared atheists.
Denmark
The Danish Constitution states that Lutheranism is the State re-

ligion. Over 80% of citizens belong to the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Denmark or the Folkekirke.
Estonia
According to the 2011 census, Estonia has one of the lowest

declared religious affiliations, at 29%, with 16.15% Christian Or-
thodox, 9.91% Lutheran, and 3.25% members of other church-
es/religious societies.
Finland
According to the 2011 census, 72% of Fins declare themselves

as Lutherans, 1.1% are Christian Orthodox, 1.6% belong to oth-
er churches/religious societies, and 25% have no religious af-
filiation.
There are two official churches in Finland: the Evangelical

Lutheran Church and the Orthodox Church of Finland. The oth-
er churches/religious societies (Islam, Catholic, and Protestant)
are free, with staff organized according to their own statutes.
France
France does not keep official statistics on religious affiliation of

the population.
57
5
Germany
According to data presented by the Federal Ministry of the Inte-

rior, the Catholic Church has 24.7 million members (30.8% of the
population), the Evangelical Church has 24.3 million members
(30.3% of the population), and the Orthodox Church 1.5 million
members, especially migrants or descendants thereof (Greek,
Russian, Serbian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Georgian, and Ukraini-
an). Germany has the third-largest Jewish community in Europe,
with 107,000 members. The German government believes it has
a special duty to the Jewish community and rejects any tenden-
cy to deny the Nationalist-Socialist crimes against the Jews.5This
commitment is also reflected in the support of numerous initia-
tives and organizations who are dedicated to the fostering of col-
laboration between Christians and Jews.
In the past decades there has been significant growth of

the Muslim communities, as a result of the migration from Muslim
countries (especially Turkey). There are some 4 million Muslims
in Germany, making up 5% of the population, with almost half
of these having German citizenship. The Federal Ministry of the
Interior established the German Conference on Islam (Deutsche
Islam Konferenz), which is the main framework for dialogue be-
tween the German State and Muslims in Germany. Conference
participants include the main Muslim organizations in Germany.
Sunnis make up 74% of Muslims in Germany, followed by Alevis
with 13%, and the Shi’as with 7%.
Greece
Most of the population (about 95%) are members of the Or-

thodox Church. The larger religious minorities are the Muslims,
Catholics, and Jews.
Hungary
According to the 2011 census, religious affiliation in Hungary

is as follows: 37.1% of respondents stated that they are Roman
Catholics, 11.6% are Reformed Christians, 2.2% are Lutherans,
1.8% are Greek Catholic, and 1% are Jews. Some 16.7% have in-
dicated they have no religious affiliation, while 27.2% chose not
to answer the question.
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Italy
The main religious organization in Italy is the Catholic Church,

with the second-largest community being Christian Orthodox,
with over 1,300,000 believers (Romanians, Ukrainians, Moldo-
vans, Greeks, Bulgarians, etc.), due mostly to massive migration
from Eastern Europe.
Islam is the third-largest religion after Catholicism and

Orthodoxy, with most of them Sunnis, at 1.2 million. Only 150,000
of these are Italian citizens. The Union of Islamic Organizations
and Communities in Italy (UCOII) is the most important Italian
Muslim organization, uniting 122 associations and administering
some 80 mosques and 300 places of worship.
The relationship between the State and the Catholic

Church is regulated by a Concordat signed in 1929, and revised in
1984, when the provision that Catholicism was the State church
was eliminated. The relationship between the State and other
churches and religious societies (Union of Seventh-Day Adventist
churches, the Baptist Evangelical Christian Union of Italy,
Assemblies of God in Italy, Union of Italian Jewish Communities,
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Exarchate of Southern
Europe, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy,
the Apostolic Church, the Italian Buddhist Union, and the Italian
Hindu Union) are regulated by way of bilateral understandings.
Lithuania
The Law on Religious Communities and Associations (1995) records

a positive attitude of the State towards religions or faiths, and
provides for a series of facilities for the nine traditional religions
or faiths: recognition of marriage celebrated in church; exemp-
tion from paying VAT; the possibility of receiving State financ-
ing; the possibility of purchasing inner-city land; access to State
mass-media; State support for faith-based primary and second-
ary schools.
The following traditional churches/faiths are recognized:

Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, Reformed
Evangelical, Russian Orthodox, Old Believers, Baptist, Judaism,
59
Sunni Muslims, and Karaite Jews. Other churches and reli-
gious societies (considered non-traditional) are the Pentecostal
Church, the Adventist Church, the United Methodist Church, the
Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, the Armenian Apostolic Church, etc.
Latvia
The following traditional churches are recognized: the Evangeli-

cal Lutheran Church, the Catholic Church, the Russian Ortho-
dox Church, and the Old Orthodox Church. Other churches and
religious societies, considered non-traditional, also operate in
Estonia, such as: Baptist Churches of Estonia, the Union of Evan-
gelical Christian Churches, the Seventh-day Adventists, the New
Generation Church, the New Apostolic Church, the neo-Pagans
(called Dievturi), Judaism, as well as some 15 Islamic congrega-
tions, most of which came from former USSR states (Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, etc.). Some 18% of Latvia’s population has no re-
ligious affiliation.
Malta
Some 98% of the population is Roman Catholic. There are nu-

merous Roman Catholic religious orders operating in Malta, in-
cluding the Jesuits, the Franciscans, the Dominicans, and the
Benedictines. Most members of the local Evangelical congrega-
tions are not ethnic Maltese, but rather British pensioners who
live in the country and occasionally tourists of other nationali-
ties.
Malta’s religious organizations include: the Jehovah’s

Witnesses, the Jesus Christ Church of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons),
the Baptist Church, the Evangelical Brotherhood Church, as well
as Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Adventists, and other
religious communities.
There is a single mosque and Muslim primary school. Of

the 3,000 Muslims in Malta, about 2,250 are foreigners, 600
are naturalized citizens, and some 150 are local Maltese. Every
June the country celebrates World Refugee Day, and this is an
occasion for Christians, Protestants, and Muslims to organize
prayers together.
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Norway
According to the National Statistics Bureau, 79% of the country’s

population (some 5.08 million inhabitants in July 2015) belonged
to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The other residents belong
to different Christian churches (313,000 registered members)
and to Muslim communities (120,900 registered members). Oth-
er major Christian churches are the Roman Catholics (about
120,000 members, whose rise is significant since 2010, when
there were 57,000 registered Roman Catholic members) and
the Pentecostal Church (with some 39,400 registered mem-
bers).
Muslims are concentrated in the Oslo metropolitan re-

gion but are also scattered around the country. There are 788
persons belonging to the Jewish congregations, with most
members of the two official Jewish congregations in Oslo and
Trondheim. Orthodox Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Hindus
make up 5% of the country’s population.
Most of the religious groups outside the Evangelical

Lutheran Church are made up of migrants. Massive groups
of Polish and Filipino migrants contributed to the significant
rise in the number of Catholic residents. Migrants from Muslim
countries, including Pakistan and Somalia, have led to a con-
siderable increase in the Muslim population.
Poland
According to the National Institute for Statistics Poland has

some 125 churches and religious associations operating around
the country: the Catholic Church (92.2%, or some 33.4 million
members), the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church (about
500,000 members), Jehovah’s Witnesses (130,000 members),
the Evangelical Augsburg Church, the Pentecostal Church, the
Old Catholic Church, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the
Baptist Union of Poland, the Methodist Church, the Church of
God, the Evangelical Reformed Church, the Catholic Mariavite
Church, the Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Church, the Pen-
tecostal Church, the Union of Jewish Communities, and the Is-
lamic Religious Union.
61
Portugal
Of the approximately 10 million inhabitants some 80% are af-

filiated with the Roman Catholic Church, and approximately 4%
with various Protestant and Evangelical churches. As migra-
tion from Eastern European States has risen, especially from
Ukraine, Romania, and the Republic of Moldova, there are
now some 200,000 Christian Orthodox residents in Portugal.
More than 2% of the population have declared that

they belong to a non-Christian religion. Less than 3% have
indicated that they do not have any religious faith. There are
some 50,000 Muslims in Portugal (mostly from the former
Portuguese colonies in Africa and Southern Asia). Likewise,
there are Hindus, Jews, Buddhists, Taoists, and Zoroastrians.
Slovakia
The State recognizes 18 churches and religious societies. The fol-

lowing information was gathered as a result of the 2011 census:
some 62% of Slovaks declare themselves to be Roman Catho-
lics, 3.8% Greek Catholics, 8.9% Protestants, 0.9% Christian Or-
thodox, 13.4% atheists, and 10.6% chose not to respond to this
question.
It is estimated that the population includes some 0.1%

Muslims. Prior to the Second World War there were about 90,000
Jews, representing 1.6% of the population, while now there are
2,300 Jews in Slovakia.
Spain
The State has signed accords with the Catholic Church (1976,
1979, and 1994), with the Federation of Evangelical Religious En-
tities, the Federation of Jewish Communities, and the Union of
Islamic Communities (1992).
In order that Orthodox churches may benefit from an ac-

cord with the Spanish State, public authorities are insisting that
all Orthodox churches operating in Spain form a single, federal
entity, something which has not yet happened.
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Sweden
As of the year 2000, a series of reforms have been introduced to

create a separation between the Lutheran Church and the State.
At present, the Swedish State may offer financial support

(through government subsidies) to stable religious communities
who contribute to the maintaining and consolidation of nation-
al, fundamental values.
Switzerland
There are two national churches in Switzerland in all its cantons,

the Swiss Reformed Church and the Catholic Church. In some
cantons there is a third church, considered national, the Old
Catholic Church.
What are the criteria for obtaining the legal status of religious
organization and what advantages do registered/recognized religious
organizations enjoye?
Austria
Churches and religious societies recognized by the State obtain

the legal status of public law corporation, while the others func-
tion as legal entities governed by private law.
The Austrian State has been regulating its relationship

with the Catholic Church through a Concordat with the Holy See
since 1933; with the Protestant Church through laws dating back
to 1867 and 1961; with the Muslim Faith through laws from 1912
and 2015, and with the Orthodox Church by laws of 1967 and
2003.
Belgium
Official recognition of a religious organization or a philosophical

63
organization must be done legally and is a prerogative of the
legislator. This is approved based on a request and requires that
several criteria are met to demonstrate that the recognition of
the respective religious organization fits the social needs of the
population.
These criteria are: the existence of the religious organization

or the philosophical organization on Belgian territory for several
decades; the applicant must demonstrate that recognition of the
religious organization is in the social interest of the population
on Belgian territory; the number of believers must be sufficiently
large (several tens of thousands of believers); the authorities
must have a single interlocutor with the respective religious or
philosophical organization; the respective organization may not
carry out activities that violate public order. In some cases they
may receive some subsidy to support this process.
In situations where the recognition of a religious or

philosophical organization also has multi-level budgetary
consequences coordination of the entities involved is required
(commune, province, federal state). Official recognition brings
with it certain benefits: salaries of the religious organization
(religious ministers) and of the delegates of the local communities
recognized by the Ministry of Justice, and the payment of their
retirement benefits by the federal public service; officially
recognized churches/religious societies may request recognition
from the region or the federal authorities, and may receive
financing from local authorities; administrative structures that
manage a religious organization have a public law status and
manage both moveable and real estate properties needed to
carry out the function of the respective religious organization;
regions (through administrative councils or structures of the
religious edifices) exercise control over accounting and civil
operations; the religious or philosophical organization has the
right to have a certain number of chaplains or counsellors in
penitentiaries; may designate professors or integrate religion or
faith in education; may receive subsidies from the authorities.
Bulgaria
According to the Constitution, “Eastern Orthodox Christianity is

considered the traditional religion of the Republic of Bulgaria,”
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5
and the Orthodox Church has a special status, exempted from

having to register with State authorities, a procedure that is
mandatory for all other religious organizations who wish to ob-
tain a legal status and benefit from the advantages thereof.
Canada
There are certain forms of legal recognition of the specific char-

acter of religious communities distinct from other types of pub-
lic or private organizations, as well as some types of indirect
support for religious communities.
Croatia
The criteria that religious communities must meet to be able to

sign an accord with the government are:
- the respective community must have been active on

Croatian territory on 6 April 1941 and to have continued its ac-
tivity with regularity and in conformity with the laws, and the
number of believers must exceed 6,000, according to the latest
population census;
-the religious community must be part of the European cul-
tural patrimony (Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Evangelical
Church of Croatia, Reformed Christian Church of Croatia, Islamic
Communities of Croatia, or Jewish Communities of Croatia).
According to Family Law, the State will also recognize the

civil nature of religious marriages only of thos.
Czech Republic
Religious organizations have two levels of legal recognition: the

level of churches with “special rights” (the right to offer classes
in schools, religious assistance in penitentiaries, the army, and
hospitals, legal recognition of religious marriages, etc.), and reli-
gious societies that do not have these rights.
For a religious organization to be recognized it must receive

approval based on several criteria, including a number of 10,000
signatures of believers in the case of churches, and 300 signatures
in the case of religious societies.
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5
Denmark
The overwhelming majority of places of worship belong to

the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is the national church.
Public assistance for this church is considered a compen-

satory measure for the secularization of church properties at
two different times, namely in the 16th century and at the
beginning of the 19th century. Furthermore, the Evangelical
Lutheran Church is exempt from paying property and church
building taxes.
Public subsidies also cover specific expenses for the

maintenance and restoration of historic churches and monu-
ments, of their endowments, and for the upkeep of cemeter-
ies, etc., although the greater share of financing for places of
worship comes from fees paid by believers, through the State
collection system. Powers relating to the investment budget
on buildings rests with local church councils.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church is likewise respon-

sible for the administration of most of the country’s public
cemeteries, although there are also civil cemeteries in the
larger cities. Other religious communities may obtain ap-
proval to establish cemeteries, as is the case for the Jewish,
Muslim, Catholic, and Reformed communities (Law on Burials
of 16/06/2010).
Finland
State church religious staff (Lutheran and Orthodox) is sala-

ried by the Finnish government. Both churches had extended
powers in terms of civil registration until 2003. Due to budget
cuts as a result of the merger of several parishes, the number of
state-salaried religious staff positions has dropped.
The two State churches participate in official ceremonies

(such as, National Day) and are customarily invited to public cer-
emonies. The other religious organizations do not receive any
remuneration from the Finnish government, although they have
been present on Finnish territory for a long time.
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5
France
The separation of church and state, officially stated in the Law

of 1905, consecrates the worship/religious associations (asso-
ciations cultuelles), private law entity as the legal form of or-
ganization for religious communities. The law prohibits the
financing of religious associations from public funds.
In addition to the general legal regimen of associations,

religious associations must meet a series of specific obliga-
tions: their single, exclusive objective being operating as a
religious organization, and to obtain their own income from
church taxes and donations, etc.
As of 1923, the religious units of the Catholic Church en-

joy a special status, that of diocesan association, whose objec-
tive is to support the Catholic faith, under the authority of the
Bishop, in communion with the Holy See, and in conformity
with the constitution of the Catholic Church. Religious associ-
ations benefit from several fiscal advantages.
The status of Catholic congregations is distinctive from

that of religious associations; they enjoy the same fiscal ad-
vantages, but are under the umbrella of the Prefect for each
patrimonial operation.
Greece
Art. 3 of the Constitution stipulates that the prevailing religion

in Greece is Orthodox Christian (95% of Greek citizens declare
themselves as being Orthodox). The organization of the Or-
thodox Church in Greece is regulated by Law no. 590/1977, giv-
ing it a public legal entity status. The Jewish Community and
the three Muslim Muftiates of Thrace have the same status.
The status of other religious communities is different.

These may opt for the newly created religious entity status
– applicable to private entities representing religious com-
munities – or as non-governmental organizations. The organi-
zation of religious communities, other than Orthodox, Muslim,
or Jewish, is regulated by Law no. 4301/2014. A community
67
with at least five persons may apply for legal recognition as
a religious community which comes in the form of a license
from the Greek State, according to the regulations in Law no.
4301/2014.
Two Rabbis carry out activities in the Jewish Community

in Greece, in Athens and Thessaloniki. Churches, mosques,
and synagogues are exempt from property taxes.
Hungary
In order to obtain registered church status, a religious organi-

zation must apply to the Ministry of Human Resources, which
has 60 days to evaluate whether or not the respective organi-
zation meets all the administrative criteria.
Based on the recommendation of the Ministry of Human

Resources, Parliament takes a vote (requiring a qualified two-
thirds majority) on the registration application by the religious
organization to obtain registered church/faith status. With
that status, a religious organization may benefit from govern-
ment assistance and fiscal advantages.
Italy
The relationship of the State and the Catholic Church is regu-

lated by a Concordat signed in 1929, and revised in 1984, when
the clause establishing the Catholicism as the State religion
was eliminated. The Concordat stipulates that the State and
the Catholic Church are independent and sovereign, with a re-
lationship of collaboration.
The State recognizes that the Catholic Church has full

freedom as concerns its pastoral, educational, and charitable
mission, guaranteeing Catholic associations and organizations
complete freedom of expression and reunion. The appointment
of ecclesiastical functions by church authorities is unrestricted
and with no intervention on the part of the government.
The Catholic Church has the right to establish schools of

every grade, to provide students the equivalent education re-
ceived in State schools. The Concordat states (Art. 9) that “the
68
5
Italian Republic, recognizing the value of the religious culture

and considering that the principles of the Catholic Church are
part of the historical heritage of the Italian people, shall contin-
ue to assure, within the framework of the scope of the schools,
the teaching of Catholic religion in the public...,” specifying that
“with respect for the freedom of conscience and education-
al responsibility of the parents, everyone shall be granted the
right to choose whether or not to receive religious instruction.”
Based on Art. 8 of the Constitution, the Italian State ad-

opted a series of bilateral understandings with other religious
organizations. These religious organizations benefit from: the
possibility of providing pastoral support in institutions (armed
forces, hospitals, prisons); the recognition of diplomas issued
by the institutions of theological studies of these organiza-
tions, and the right to establish confessional schools of every
grade; the right to recover goods belonging to the historic and
cultural patrimony of each religion or faith; the civil recogni-
tion of religious marriages; the freedom to carry out liturgical
services; the recognition of religious holy days of each religion
or faith.
The Muslim Community is not part of the religious orga-

nizations that have signed an agreement with the Italian State,
because it does not have a unitary organization, and has not
held talks with the State in connection with Article 8 of the
Constitution.
Luxembourg
The relationship between the State and religious organiza-

tions is regulated according to an agreement signed on 26
January 2015. Each religious community receives annual fi-
nancial support from the State.
The agreement is part of a broader reform of church-

state separation, seriously impacting the Catholic Church,
which is Luxembourg’s most important church.
The reform also removes the public servant status from

priests, and transfers the responsibility of financing places of
worship and clergy to local communities.
69
Malta
Religions or faiths recognized by the Maltese State enjoy a

series of rights and have the possibility of owning buildings,
having private schools, officiating weddings, and carrying
out any other religious act.
The government does not require religious groups to be

registered in order to carry out their activities; if they wish to
register they must meet certain conditions: it must be a vol-
untary non-profit, and autonomous union.
Registration of religious associations has certain advan-

tages: they may receive sponsorship, may access government
funding or European grants, and may raise funds without the
approval of the authorities.
The Netherlands
The government recognizes religious groups and offers them

tax exemptions provided they fulfil certain criteria, including
contributing to the general well-being of Dutch society, carry
out non-profit activities, and refrain from any violence.
The government allocates funds to religious institu-

tions that are engaged in educational and medical activities
provided they meet government educational and medical
standards.
Norway
The Norwegian Church was the State church from 1537 to

2012, when there was a separation of church and state.
One of the most important reforms of the Norwegian

Church took place in the 20th century. Parochial Councils
were formed in 1920, Diocesan Councils in 1933, the National
Church Council in 1969, the Diocesan and General Synods in
1984, and a Doctrinal Commission of the Norwegian Church
in 1989. As of 1989, the Diocesan Councils were empowered
to appoint parochial pastors, who were previous appointed
by the King.
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5
As of 1 January 2017, the Norwegian Church has its own

administration, separate from public administration, and may
appoint its staff and self-administer without the involvement of
the government.
It is no longer mandatory for most of the members of

the Norwegian government or the Minister Coordinator of
Ecclesiastical Affairs to be a member of the Norwegian Church,
but the Constitution stipulates that this person be of the
Evangelical Lutheran Faith.
Since the administrative reform, the Norwegian Church re-

ceives public funds according to the regulations that apply to all
active churches and religious societies in Norway.
Poland
The 15 most important religious organizations enjoy direct rec-

ognition, based on separate laws and accords with the State. The
other religious groups, that do not have a distinct legal status,
are able to be included in a registry administered by the Ministry
of Interior and Administration based on an application submit-
ted by at least 100 persons.
Slovakia
Following the amendment of respective legislation, as of 1

March 2017, the minimum threshold needed to officially register
as a religious organization rose from 20,000 to 50,000 persons
residing in the country’s territory.
Slovakia is presently the European state with one of the

strictest registration policies for religious groups. Legislative
change to impose stricter conditions for registering religious
groups has often been interpreted as a way of blocking the offi-
cial registration of Islam (and implicitly the possible financing of
this faith from the State budget).).
Spain
Any organized, social group may obtain recognition from the

State, which guarantees freedom of religion and association.
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5
Religious groups may choose not to register or establish

themselves as a civil association included in the National General
Registry of Associations (Ministry of the Interior) or in the Registry
for Religious Entities (Ministry of Justice).20
Sweden
The State may provide financial support through govern-

ment subsidies to stable religious communities that contribute to
the support and consolidation of fundamental, national values.
Switzerland
What legally distinguishes the national Swiss churches from

other churches/religious communities in Switzerland is their
formal recognition in cantonal constitutions or through other
cantonal laws. This recognition confers on them a legal person-
ality, autonomy based on public law, and certain advantages,
especially fiscal ones. National churches annually receive a cer-
tain budget from the State, benefitting from taxes that are col-
lected for them from persons who declare their adherence to
the respective religious community.
Religious communities belonging to other church-

es or faiths (other than the national churches), including the
Romanian Orthodox Church, are organized as private entities,
based on freedom of association. As is the case with any oth-
er association, these must respect the rules included in the
Federal Civil Code, namely to have their own statutes and ad-
ministrative and control forums.
There is no direct State control over associative activities

in Switzerland, and no formal recognition is given to religious
communities constituted as civil law associations. These com-
munities do not benefit from facilities or financial assistance
given to national Swiss churches. In some cantons, such as
20
Conditions necessary for a religious organization that is already included in the
Registry of Religious Entities to obtain the status known as Notorio arraigo (“deeply
rooted” or permanent) are: a presence in the country for at least 30 years since its
inclusion in the Registry of Religious Entities (or 15 years in RRE and 60 years abroad),
have accredited activities in at least 10 autonomous communities, have at least 100
places of worship, show that it has a leadership structure and it actively participated in
Spanish society.
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5
Fribourg, in addition to public law recognition, there is a form

of private law recognition: religious communities recognized
on the basis of private law receive a formal confirmation of
their existence, but they continue to have a legal status of asso-
ciation. There are significant differences in the legislation that
regulate the ways in which religions or faiths are recognized in
the 26 Swiss cantons.
One particular case is the Jewish Community. Although

it does not have the status of national faith under public law,
it is nevertheless formally recognized in several cantons, in-
cluding Bern and Zürich, although it has not received the tax
concessions enjoyed by national churches. As of 2009, when a
paragraph was added to the Federal Constitution prohibiting
the construction of minarets, a debate was initiated concern-
ing the status that should be enjoyed by religious communi-
ties who have settled in Switzerland more recently, such as the
Muslims.
How are religious organizations financed?
Austria
The State does not directly finance churches/religious societ-

ies and does not impose a church tax. The Catholic and Prot-
estant churches solicit the payment of contributions from their
own congregants based on information obtained from the
population information collection services where every citi-
zen may declare his/her adherence to a religious organization.
These congregants, based on their own declarations concern-
ing income, contribute an amount not to exceed 1% of annual
income, which may be exempted from taxation.
The other churches/religious societies are financed

through donations. Contributions and donations to churches/
religious societies may be deducted from income tax.
Religious organizations benefit from tax exemptions and

breaks. Religious organizations may receive national, regional,
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5
or local budget allocations for social, charitable, or cultural activ-

ities, as they are undertaking a part of the State’s responsibilities.
In principle, the financially autonomous budget of all

Catholic Diocese in Austria, is allocated as follows: 60% for staff
and religious assistance, 30% for material expenses, and 10% for
building maintenance. The financing of places of worship gen-
erally comes from the own income of each religious organiza-
tion, while public budget subsidies may be offered for historical
monuments.
Belgium
The constitution stipulates that the State must pay the salaries
and retirement benefits for the clergy (ministres des cultes) and
of the delegates of non-confessional philosophical organiza-
tions.
Decentralization specific to Belgium is reflected in the lev-

el of financing provided to religious institutions. A federal level
budget is foreseen for all recognized religious organizations, to
which are added sources of financing from municipalities, prov-
inces, and regions. As concerns public financing, some 80% of
funds go to the Catholic Church. Financing for building mainte-
nance and repair comes from regions and communities.
In some cases, other States may support certain commu-

nities on Belgian territory, such as the Muslim communities. As
such, in 2014, 77 mosques were officially recognized by the pub-
lic authorities, and only 70 imams (of a total of 300) received
State budget remuneration.
Bulgaria
Religious organizations use both their own funds and State sub-
sidies on the basis of Article 21 of the Law on Religions (2002).
The State supports the activities of religious organizations

registered to provide religious and social assistance, and these are
assimilated non-profit entities. Subsidies may be offered for the
construction or restoration of places of worship. Donations and
buildings used for religious activities are exempted from taxes.
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5
Canada
Neither the Federal or Provincial governments provide direct fi-

nancing to religious communities. There is a type of indirect fi-
nancing. Church properties are generally administered by private
trusts or foundations.
Salaries for religious organization employees are paid from

own funds, which are exempt from income tax. Charitable dona-
tions (including those to religious organizations) are exempt from
taxes, and inheritances left to religious organizations are exempt
from estate taxes. Places of worship are, likewise, exempt from
communal taxes.
Czech Republic
As of 1 January 2013, Law no. 428/2012 went into effect pertain-

ing to the restitution of properties and the payment of financial
compensation to churches and religious groups whose proper-
ties were confiscated by the communist regime (after 1948, some
2,500 buildings, 175,000 hectares of forest, and 25,000 hectares
of arable land were confiscated from churches, with most of the
confiscated properties belonging to the Roman Catholic Church).
According to Law no. 428/2012, 17 registered churches and

religious groups will have 56% of confiscated properties returned
to them, especially land, forests, and lakes, worth approximately
EUR 3 billion.
As for the rest of the confiscated properties, now belonging

to municipalities, regions, or private persons, which cannot be res-
tituted, the State commits itself to pay in instalments, over a peri-
od of 30 years, the sum of CZK 59 billion, with the amount indexed
for inflation (amounting to an estimated total of EUR 3.8 billion),
progressively withdrawing direct financing of religious organiza-
tion activities.
Estonia
The only financial support offered by the State to religious or-

ganizations is an annual grant worth some EUR 600,000 to the
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5
Estonian Council of Churches21; the institution uses these funds

for interreligious dialogue and projects, as well as for sociological
research on religious life (carried out every 5 years). According to
legal provisions, churches and religious associations are exempt
from income tax. Other non-profit associations, such as the Hu-
manists, may apply to receive this exemption. Places of worship
belonging to religious organizations are exempt from property
tax, while non-profit, secular associations do not have this exemp-
tion.
France
According to Art. 2 of the 1905 Law of Separation, churches/reli-

gious associations may not receive any public subsidy, direct or
indirect. Churches/religious associations may receive private fi-
nancing (dues, collections, remuneration for religious ceremonies
and services, etc.).
Places of worship are exempt from tax and property tax on

buildings if they belong to a religious association. Churches that
are historical monuments may receive subsidies from the State.
Hungary
Registered religious organizations have access to state financ-

ing and are exempt from financial operational control of religious
activities. Registered religious organizations and institutions as-
sociated with these, who offer public services, such as medical,
educational, or other social services, are automatically eligible for
state subsidies for all public service activities.
Religious organizations may take over or establish public

service institutions and have the right to receive state subsidies
to cover the salaries of paid staff. Registered churches and reli-
gious organizations receive subsidies from the state for the em-
ployees of schools belonging to the churches/organizations. Only
The main dialogue partner of the government is the Estonian Council of Churches,
21
a legal entity which includes the Lutheran Church of Estonia, the Orthodox Church of
Estonia, the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Roman Catholic
Church, the Union of Evangelical Christians of the Baptist Churches, the Estonian
Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, the Estonian Methodist Church, the Christian
Pentecostal Church of Estonia, the Armenian Church, and the Charismatic Episcopal
Church of Estonia..
76
5
registered churches automatically receive a supplementary sub-

sidy for operational expenses.
Hungarian taxpayers may allocate 1% of their income tax to

a registered church or a religious organization. If the registered
churches or religious organizations cease to function (such as
through dissolution), and have no legal successor, their assets be-
come the property of the State and must be utilized to finance
public services.
Norway
Although the 2012 administrative reform provided for a clear

delimitation between church and state, staff of the Norwegian
Church are considered public servants.
The government allocates financial assistance to all regis-

tered religious organizations, proportional to the number of offi-
cially registered members.
Poland
There is an annual church fund worth some PLN 160 million

(roughly EUR 40 million) available to all religious organizations in
Poland and used specially to cover the contributions of priests to
the retirement and health care budgets.
Religious organizations may request public subsidies as

well as European funding for the modernization and renovation
of churches and monuments, and the installation of heating sys-
tems, etc.
Non-economic activities of churches and religious asso-

ciations (donations, dues paid by members, funds collected for
religious services, etc.) are exempt from tax. Income from com-
mercial activities are likewise not taxed if they are used (in the year
in which they were obtained or the following year) for religious,
educational, scientific, cultural, charitable, and conservation ac-
tivities or repair and rehabilitation of churches, monuments, and
religious objects, etc. Imported objects to be used for charitable,
educational, cultural, or scientific purposes are exempt from cus-
toms taxes, etc.
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5
Citizens may direct 6% of their total income to religious

organizations, and this will not be taxed. Religious organiza-
tions do not pay tax on properties used for religious purposes.
Such exemptions are also applicable to the residences of cler-
gy, schools, boarding schools, etc. Religious organizations do
pay property taxes on real estate assets that are used commer-
cially (agricultural land, forests, etc.).
Slovakia
The Ministry of Culture subsidizes the activities of churches/re-

ligious associations, but not those of religious groups with less
than 50,000 members.
The recognized religious organizations get similar tax

breaks as those applied by the Slovak State for non-profit or-
ganizations. Religious organizations have the right to subsidies
for activities carried out in their own headquarters, as well as
government grants, and a series of tax breaks.
Spain
By way of the annual tax return, every taxpayer must expressly

show his/her willingness to contribute 0.7% of his/her income
tax for various civil society entities, including religious and
non-religious organizations.
There is a difference in the legal status between non-

Catholic denominations who have a cooperation agreement
with the State – the Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities
in Spain, the Federation of Israelite Communities in Spain, and
the Islamic Commission in Spain – and the others, who, al-
though listed in the Registry of Religious Entities do not ben-
efit from any agreement.
Only the former receive various forms of direct financ-

ing. Cooperation agreements signed in 1992 with the two
Federations and the Islamic Commission of Spain do not men-
tion any form of direct economic assistance from the State.
The Accord with the Islamic Commission of Spain pro-

vides for the payment of certain religious assistance expenses
78
5
of Muslims housed in certain public centres. This payment is

made based on an agreement between the respective admin-
istrative and religious authorities.
Sweden
The legislation based on which the government grants finan-

cial assistance was adopted in 2000, and the institution that
allocates the financial assistance is the Swedish Agency for
Support to Faith Communities.
The Agency allocates financing from the Swedish State to

religious communities for specific projects, selected annually by
the government; offers general support to religious communi-
ties in the form of counselling, training and administrative sup-
port; coordinates the involvement of religious communities in
the planning for emergency situations, and encourages cooper-
ation between these communities and the public sector.
Furthermore, the Agency is a forum for discussions and

dialogue on values, such as respect and tolerance, matters
relating to religious freedom, and the role of religious com-
munities in a democratic society. Because of its expertise in
the area of religious communities, the Agency is consulted in
cases of legal proposals that affect religious life.
The Agency allocates government funds mostly to lo-

cal projects, selected in principle based on the number of
members which religious communities have declared and
the number of those participating in community activities.
Allocations may also be in the form of spiritual assis-

tance in hospitals (but not in penitentiaries, the police, the
army, or the educational system) or smaller allocations for
theological colleges and seminaries.
Allocations are available to support reconstruction,

purchase, and refurbishing of places of worship of the reli-
gious communities. Furthermore, smaller allocations may be
offered to religious community students who do not have
their own theological education in Sweden and must go
abroad for this.
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5
How are religious and theological education legislated?
Austria
As of 1949, religion is a compulsory subject in public schools

for all students who belong to a recognized religious orga-
nization. Courses are provided, organized, and authorized by
each religious organization in part, and are financed by the
State. For students who are not members of a religious orga-
nization this subject is optional. Any student who belongs to
a religious organization may apply in writing to be excused
from attending these courses (until age 14 the application is
signed by the parents) in the first five days of every school
year. For groups of 3 to 10 students a 1-hour course is orga-
nized weekly, while two hours a week are reserved for 10 stu-
dents. Religion may be opted for as a Baccalaureate subject,
if the student has attended these classes without interruption
since 9th grade.
Religious organizations who organized religion classes

in public schools in the 2016-2017 school year were: Catholics
(607,112 students and 7,165 professors), Muslims (69,573 stu-
dents and 578 professors), Protestants (40,500 students and
600 professors), Orthodox (12,000 students and 100 profes-
sors), Evangelicals (1,667 students and 100 professors), Alevites
(1,300 students and 51 teachers) and Buddhists (235 students
and 13 professors).
There are a variety of theological schools and depart-

ments in Austrian public universities that offer Christian re-
ligious studies (Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, Orthodox),
Islamic and Jewish. There are higher education schools for re-
ligious education for the training of primary school religion
teachers. Some religious organizations also have private theo-
logical schools and universities.
Belgium
The State finances schools within the optional confessional

educational network (Catholic) and organizes courses for vari-
ous officially recognized religious organizations in the public
school system.
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5
Bulgaria
Public schools offer an optional religious education course,

which includes historic, philosophical, and cultural aspects of
the Christian and Muslim religions.
Canada
There is no religious instruction in public schools. Religious edu-

cation is not part of the regular core subjects.
Because English and French are the official languages

in Canada, schools in the public network financed by provin-
cial governments are run by the French School Inspectorate,
the English School Inspectorate, and the Catholic School
Inspectorate. The latter administer Catholic schools, in the sense
that a share of financing for religious education comes from
Diocese or Archdiocese in which they operate. It is here that
Canadian students may study religion free of charge.
There are numerous private schools, financed by educa-

tional fees paid by parents, of which some are Catholic schools,
where religion is the main subject of study.
Croatia
Religious education is optional in state primary and high

schools, and is mostly carried out in collaboration with the
Catholic Church.
Czech Republic
The State fully finances the salaries of staff employed in schools

belonging to the churches, and provides partial financing for
private schools (including confessional schools). It does not cov-
er investments made by church schools or private confessional
schools. Furthermore, local authorities can support officially rec-
ognized religious organizations.
In public schools, religious organizations offer option-

al religious education courses. With the approval of their par-
ents, students may opt for religious education of any confession,
81
5
regardless of the declared religious affiliation. The respective

course is organized when there are at least 7 students regis-
tered. There is no alternative subject.
In schools belonging to the religious organizations, stu-

dents may opt for the specific confessional education or a non-
confessional ethics course. Private schools may choose to offer
religious courses of any confession. Religion teachers must be
approved by both the State and the respective religious confes-
sion. Five schools of theology are integrated in public universi-
ties. Religious organizations have higher education institutions,
but their degrees are not equivalent to university degrees.
Estonia
Religious education is based on the respecting of freedom of re-

ligion and conscience. Religion teachers are paid from the State
or local budgets. Religious organizations have the right to estab-
lish private educational institutions.
Greece
In most public schools in Greece religion classes are confession-

al, and the subject is mandatory for all Orthodox students (those
of another faith may be exempted by request).
The curriculum is set by the State, not by the church,

and teachers must be graduates of one of the four theological
schools in Greece (two each in Athens and Thessaloniki).
The Greek State finances two Muslim high schools and the
salaries of some 240 Muslim professors who have the right to
teach Koranic studies in public schools in Thrace. Furthermore,
the State also pays the salaries of 14 Catholic professors who
teach Catholicism, mostly on the islands of Syros and Tinos.
Hungary
Registered churches and religious organizations have the right

to establish their own schools. The law allows churches and re-
ligious organizations to run public schools on the basis of an
agreement they have with the Ministry for Human Resources.
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5
Italy
The Catholic Faith is taught in public schools. Teachers must

be recognized by the Catholic ecclesiastical authorities and ap-
pointed by competition by the school authorities. Students,
whose parents provide a written request that their children not
participate in religion classes, are not obliged to attend, and may
participate in alternative educational activities. Specific religious
education of other religious organizations in Italy is carried out
mostly in their places of worship or in specially organized spaces
Latvia
Religious education may be organized in schools if there are at

least 10 students who wish to study the Christian religion (one
of the following denominations: Evangelical Lutheran, Roman
Catholic, Orthodox, or Baptist), on the basis of study programs
approved by the Ministry of Education and Science. Religious
education is financed by the State.
Luxembourg
As of 2018, religious classes in public schools have been replaced

by “values education classes”.
Malta
Since over 98% of the population is affiliated with the Catholic

Church, religious education is structured based on the confes-
sional model, through study programs established by the Minis-
try of Education and the Catholic Archdiocese, and financed by
the public authorities.
Norway
The Norwegian school curriculum for grades 1-10 includes Chris-

tian education classes and religious and ethical information. The
course is mandatory and there is no exception for children of
other religious or non-religious groups. As part of these courses
they learn about the religions of the world and aspects of doc-
trine and practices of different religious organizations, with the
83
5
principal objective the promoting of tolerance and respect for

other religions and faiths
Poland
The Ministry of Education covers the costs for religious edu-

cation in schools, with the number of religion teachers being
some 24,000. Higher education religious institutions are spon-
sored by the State budget.
The status of religious education courses in public schools

is regulated by the Constitution, the Concordat between the
Holy See and Poland (1993), the Law on the Education System
(1991), the Ministry of National Education Regulation on con-
ditions and methods to carry out religious classes in public
schools (1992), and by an agreement concluded between the
Ministry of National Education and the Conference of Polish
Bishops on the qualification of religious education teachers
(2000).
Religious education classes (2 hours a week) are optional,

but they become mandatory when requested by the parents
of the students or the students themselves. Grades are includ-
ed in school records and count towards their final grade point
average.
Religious education teachers must have a degree in the-

ology and be accredited educators; they must be delegated by
the Bishop and recognized by the educational authorities, with
their qualifications determined by an agreement between the
Ministry of National Education and the Conference of Polish
Bishops. Analytical programs and manuals are submitted for
approval to the church: at the national level by the President
of the Commission of Catholic Education of the Conference of
Polish Bishops, and at lower levels by the Bishop.
Private Catholic schools may benefit from partial support

from local authority budgets for employed educational staff.
Only in exceptional cases can the salaries of religious school
teachers be fully supported by local authorities. There are con-
fessional schools of theology at public universities, and a series
of private theological universities and confessional universities.
84
Slovakia
The Slovak State negotiated and signed two agreements in the

1990-2000 period with the Catholic Church on the way Catho-
lic schools would function, on the introduction of the Catholic
faith as an educational subject, and the employment of Catholic
priests as military chaplains.
Similar agreements were signed with 11 of the other 17 re-

ligious organizations. All State elementary schools include man-
datory religion or ethics courses, subject to parental preference.
Spain
At the beginning of the school year, parents and guardians of

students may opt for their children to participate in religious
studies in public schools.
What is the status of religious staff?
Belgium
The Ministry of Justice remunerates some 3,300 clerics (of which

some 2,900 Catholic clerics), about 330 delegates of the Central
Council of non-religious philosophical organizations, as well as
a number of chaplains. The local authorities offer housing or a
stipend for rent from the Federal budget for those serving reli-
gious organizations as employees.22
Czech Republic
Law no. 428/2012 has led to a change in the religious organiza-

tion financing system, which previously fully covered the sal-
aries of clerics by the State. The law provides for the State to
continue making a financial contribution to support the activi-
ties of the 17 legally recognized religious organizations for a 17-
year transition period. Until 2015 (inclusive), the State continued
Religious staff belonging to the Muslim Faith and the Orthodox Church enjoy the
22
same rights, but the financing is provincial rather than municipal.

85
to pay the full salaries of religious staff and cover the administra-
tive operational costs of religious organizations. The total contri-
bution of the State is set at the amount for the year 2012, or EUR
56,376,745. As of 2016, this amount dropped by 5% annually. At
the end of these 17 years, the religious organizations will fully as-
sume the financing of their activities. Salaries for chaplains hired
by the army and in hospitals are paid in full by the State, while
those serving penitentiaries are only partially covered by State
funds.
France
The Law of 1905 eliminated the payment of salaries of priests

by the State. Clerics whose functions are exclusively pastoral are
not considered public authority employees. The relationship be-
tween the priest and the religious authority is not subject to the
labour law.
Greece
The Greek State pays all salaries for priests and bishops of the
Orthodox Church of Greece and Crete, as well as the salaries of
three muftis.
Hungary
Prisoners are generally allowed to practice their religious faith

in penitentiaries, and to have access to special foods (i.e. ko-
sher). All registered churches and religious groups must re-
quest permission to offer pastoral services in prisons.
Poland
The State budget covers the costs of military diocese of different

religions and faiths in the armed forces. The police has 16 chap-
lains, whose salaries, and those chaplains servings in hospitals
(usually part-time staff) are paid from the State budget.
Slovakia
Registered religions may receive State subsidies to pay the sala-

ries of their own staff. The State has committed to pay the salaries
86
6
of all chaplains belonging to officially recognized religions,

regardless of where they carry out their activities. Registered
churches automatically receive permission to offer pastoral
services in hospitals, while religious organizations must seek
permission to carry out such activities
Spain
The 2398/1977 Royal Decree regarding social security for

clergy states that Catholic religious staff is a beneficiary of
the General Scheme for Social Security. A circular dated 11
January 1978, concerning the application of the aforemen-
tioned Decree, states that this is intended for clerics who
carry out pastoral activities under the aegis of the Catholic
Diocese, who will receive the necessary support for such ser-
vices.
What is the status of places of worship in democratic

countries?
One of the direct consequences of the international and Eu-

ropean principle of Freedom of Religion (Art. 18 of the Uni-
versal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 9 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, and Art. 10 of the EU Charter
of Fundamental Rights) is the right to practice a religion, in-
cluded in almost all European State constitutions.
On the other hand, various models of relationships be-

tween the State and religious organizations determine the
different regulations and practices as concerns houses of
worship.
Generally, material support offered by the State is justi-

fied as follows:
a) a State obligation, most often assumed at the constitu-
tional level to guarantee citizens the freedom of religion, with
an emphasis on the positive aspect (creation of conditions) and
a community dimension (public manifestation) of this right;
b) secularization in the past by the State of a small
or large portion of church properties. Subsidies offered at
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6
present by the State are equivalent to compensation for past

expropriations;
c) the responsibility taken on by the State at the time of
the nationalization of a church/religious building for its main-
tenance, regardless of the current use (religious or secular) of
the respective building;
d) recognition of the cultural and social role of religious
organizations;
e) general responsibility of the State to protect, preserve,
and promote the national heritage.
Support and protection provided to places of worship

is apparent from both direct and indirect public authority
financing.
Direct financing involves support for construction, res-

toration, maintenance, and administration of places of wor-
ship, as well as payment of salaries for religious staff.
Indirect financing includes facilities and tax/fee breaks

or exemptions by the State (such as on profit or property tax,
the possibility of exempting donations to religious organiza-
tions from the income tax of the donors, etc.). One form of
State support can also be an offer of the use of (through con-
cession/rental) or of the gifting of land needed for the con-
struction of a place of worship (see the case of France).
It can also be seen that the State, religiously neutral,

guarantees the right of religious organizations to build plac-
es of worship, consecrate and “desacralize” these, and ad-
minister them according to internal rules.
However, due to the public character of places of wor-

ship, the edification and functioning thereof usually comes
under the laws regulating construction and urban planning,
all the while maintaining their distinctive characteristics.
Due to their cultural importance and the ranking of

many places of worship in Europe as historical monuments,
modifications to religious edifices that are classified in this
way may only be carried out with the approval of both par-
ties (the respective religion and State).
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6
What is the status of places of worship in the different

states of the European Union?23
Austria
According to legislation on urban planning and construction,

recognized religious organizations have the right to build plac-
es of worship. The regional urban planning right falls to the
Lands, while urban planning in local areas is the prerogative of
municipalities. There is a preoccupation with the positioning of
places of worship in the centre of the perimeter area with be-
lievers, based on the model of local administrative buildings.
A special case that directly involves the building of a Muslim
place of worship is the approval in February 2008 by the gov-
ernment of Carinthia Land of an amendment to the Construc-
tion Law, according to which the raising of any building which
differs architecturally or by size must be approved by a special
commission, established by the Land government, to ensure
that community aesthetics are preserved.
Belgium
The 1836 Provincial Law (Art. 255, para. 9) states that places of
worship of recognized religions on municipal territory must
be maintained by the municipality, which also covers the costs
of upkeep (heating, lighting, cleaning, maintenance, liturgical
furnishing, etc.). This Provincial Law also provides similar pro-
visions for cathedrals, diocesan seminaries, and residences of
bishops, with expenses covered by the provinces. The situation
that is specific to Belgium is that since the 1801 Concordat res-
tituted places of worship belong to municipalities (churches) or
provinces (cathedrals). Churches built after 1801 belong either
to the municipalities, or to the so-called fabriques d’église24,
23
See especially Françoise CURTIT, „Sélection de dispositions nationales concernant
les édifices du culte”, in vol. M. FLORES-LONJOU and F. MESSNER (eds.), Les lieux de culte
en France et en Europe. Statuts, Pratiques, Fonctions, Peeters, Leuven, 2007, pp. 269-286.
Parish priests are responsible for the spiritual administration of a Roman Catholic
24
parish, while its material administration is handled by a fabrique d’église (a body tasked
to administer the assets of the parish). The latter are made up of clerics and lay persons,
with a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and several members of the parish depending on
the importance of the communities.
89
6
with a semi-public status. The law states that the local authori-
ties will cover the annual budget deficit registered by these es-
tablishments.
Recognized religions may request State subsidies for the

construction or renovation of buildings belonging to them,
and especially for the conservation and restoration of histor-
ical buildings. The responsibility for this is shared by the re-
gional governments, the linguistic communities (responsible
in Belgium for cultural projects) and, to a lesser degree, the lo-
cal councils. Of no lesser importance is the fact that important
religious sites receive material assistance also from the authori-
ties responsible for promoting tourism in Belgium. A series of
tax advantages are granted to recognized religions, including
exemption from taxes on property (or parts of buildings) used
for religious services.
France
The status of places of worship is defined in the 1905 Law of

Separation (applicable throughout France, except for Alsace
and Moselle). The common law is applicable for places of wor-
ship built after 1905 in terms of construction, urban planning,
public order, etc. The overwhelming number of places of wor-
ship are Roman Catholic, and belong to the State following sev-
eral waves of nationalization that took place at the end of the
18th century. There are some 32,000, and they are made avail-
able to the Roman Catholic Church free of charge. The State,
departments, and municipalities also cover their upkeep and
repairs (Art. 13).
Financing can be either central, through the Ministry of

Culture, or local. A Law of 25 December 1942 states that any re-
ligious association may receive public subsidies for repairs of
places of worship, even if these are not historical buildings (Art.
2). While the State no longer directly finances the construction
of new places of worship since the Law of 1905, it may offer
land for construction at a pittance (i.e. EUR 1). The Law also pro-
vides for the desacralization of places of worship under cer-
tain conditions (Art. 13), but the procedure is very tedious, even
when a building has not been used for a very long time.
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6
Germany
Most places of worship belong to religious communities, but

there are some cases where they belong to the State. Their up-
keep is generally financed by the State through a church tax,
State, Land, and municipal subsidies (different from those for the
upkeep of historical monuments), and through donations from
the members of the respective church. There are cases where the
Lands or municipalities participate directly in the upkeep of cer-
tain churches, as a result of the secularization of church assets (at
the beginning of the 19th century).
Greece
The Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs issues

permits to “known religions” that allow ownership of places of
worship. A separate permit is necessary for each place of worship,
but a religious group with at least one valid permit is considered
a known religion, and is protected under the Law for Religious
Freedom. Some religious groups, such as the Scientologists, the
followers of Hare Krishna, or Greek polytheistic religious groups,
have applied for such permits, but their requests have been re-
fused.
Two cases judged by the European Court for Human Rights

are relevant. In the 1996 case of Manoussakis and Others v. Greece,
the plaintiff contested Greek Law 1363/1938, which states that
the construction of any place of worship by any religion or faith
requires the authorization of the Ministry and local recognized
ecclesiastical authorities. ECHR sanctioned the Ministry’s discre-
tionary powers in the exercise of religious freedom.
In Vergos v. Greece, ECHR ruled in 2004 in the case of a mem-

ber of the “True Orthodox Christians” (Old Church) who applied
in 1991 for a permit to build a prayer-house on a piece of land he
owned in a village near Florina, in northern Greece. The local au-
thorities refused to grant him a permit, claiming that, according
to urban planning (in effect since 1923), the respective area is res-
idential. The decision was appealed in court, and the case was fi-
nalized in 2000, when the State Council rejected the last appeal.
ECHR justified its decision to sustain the decision reached by the
91
6
Greek court by stating that while there was infringement of the

plaintiff’s right to exercise his religious faith, the infringement
was made in the interest of the public (to maintain reasonable ur-
ban planning). The Court further noted that the plaintiff was the
single member of his religious community residing in the general
area of the respective locality, while a prayer-house suited for the
needs was close by.
Italy
The local authorities may provide financial subsidies for the con-
struction of places of worship. There is a national fund for places
of worship, administered by an office of the Ministry of the In-
terior, which is responsible for the upkeep of over 700 heritage
buildings, confiscated from the Roman Catholics by the Italian
State throughout the 19th century. All these buildings are today
being used by the church. Places of worship are exempted from
taxes. In the case of the Roman Catholic Church and other rec-
ognized religions that have agreements with the Italian State,
the building of a place of worship does not require any special
approval.
The other religious organizations must apply to the

Ministry of the Interior to demonstrate that the respective con-
struction is necessary based on the significant number of be-
lievers in the area, and that these have the necessary means to
cover the costs of maintaining such a building. In general, pri-
or to the building of a place of worship in a certain region, the
local Roman Catholic Church authorities must be consulted
beforehand.
As concerns the status of places of worship, the Italian Civil

Code states that buildings intended for Catholic public worship,
even those belonging to specific private individuals, may not
be removed from their intended purpose, even if this has been
made redundant, as long as the purpose itself has not ceased
to exist. Other provisions concerning the need for the building
of new places of worship, as well as the occupation, requisition,
expropriation or demolition of places of worship, and the pos-
sibility of public authorities entering into a place of worship are
stipulated in agreements between the Italian State and the Holy
See and other recognized religions.
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6
Spain
Legislation provides for the right of churches, denominations, and

religious communities to establish places of worship. The local ad-
ministration establishes specific rules pertaining to religious free-
dom and to the need to integrate places of worship in the public
space.
Places of worship are defined as building that have a perma-

nent purpose for collective religious worship, according to condi-
tions set out by law. Conditions for establishing places of worship
are:
places of worship must respect the legislation of autono-

mous communities and the norms of city halls regarding the envi-
ronment, the technical construction code (access of persons, fire
protection, hygiene and sanitary requirements, as well as other
specific norms);
as concerns space, the norms stipulate that there must be
1 sqm of space per person.
The local administration indiscriminately determines loca-

tions and incompatibilities of places of worship in municipal space
based on urban plans. To build a new place of worship, churches
or religious communities must establish their legal entity based
on a certificate issued by the Registry of Religious Entities which
stipulates the place where this is due to be built. Obtaining this
certificate does not exclude obtaining an urban planning license.
According to the Spanish Constitution, the right of churches

or religious communities to establish places of worship is guaran-
teed, but they must respect the legislation of autonomous com-
munities and the norms of city halls regarding the environment,
and the technical building code.
Provided all these conditions are met, no further permits are

necessary, but rather only a notice to the city halls that it has been
included in the Registry of Religious Entities with the location of
the religion’s place of worship. Places of worship are recognized
as a social utility, protected by law. As such they are exempt-
ed from taxes and receive public subsidies for construction and
maintenance.
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6
United Kingdom
Although there are significant differences in the regulations per-

taining to church and state in the four countries of the Kingdom
– England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – there are a
series of general principles. Places of worship mostly belong to
the religion or faith which is also responsible for their mainte-
nance.
The norms according to which places of worship of the

Church of England are administered are an integral part of the
public law system, while those governing places of worship of
other religions and faiths are part of private law. The single ex-
ception is the State providing direct assistance to religions and
faiths for the fitting out of places of worship. Religions and faiths
enjoy a very advantageous tax regimen, like that applied to pub-
lic utility civil society organizations.
The Church of England, which is the established Church,

has legal recognition through the central church structures; in
the case of other religions and faiths each community must ap-
ply for legal recognition of buildings used as places of worship
in conformity with the Places of Worship Registration Act of 1855.
Following this recognition, the community may submit another
application for marriages to be officiated in the respective place
of worship, whose value becomes both civil and religious. This
recognition carries with it a series of tax benefits, especially ex-
emption from property and commercial tax.
A Reducant Churches Fund was established in 1969, which

receives funds from the State budget and is used for the main-
tenance and renovation of churches that are no longer used to-
day for religious activities of the religions and faiths. Places of
worship in use may also receive certain subsidies for upkeep
and restoration, but funds may not exceed 10% of the total val-
ue of the costs. Another fund that can be accessed by religions
or faiths for upkeep of places of worship is made available by
the National Lottery. A line of financing existed until April 2017
which was intended exclusively for such buildings, known as the
Grants for Places of Worship Scheme, and after that date these
have been included in a larger category of objects of historical
value, or Heritage Fund.
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A construction permit for a new place of worship is issued

in the United Kingdom by the Local Council. This takes into con-
sideration not only technical criteria but also opportunity of the
project. At the end of October 2015, there was wide media cov-
erage of the British government’s decision to support a deci-
sion by the Local Council of Newman (East London) not to issue
a permit for construction of what was to be the country’s largest
mosque (able to hold some 10,000 people). The decision of the
Council was taken in December 2012, arguing that the respec-
tive project was not an optimal urban development option on
this land (belonging to a former factory, but owned since 1996
by the Muslim Community), with preference given to a mixed
residential-commercial project, which would provide more jobs
and housing. Other arguments against this project were the lack
of attention for transportation to the area and the risk of it be-
coming an Muslim community enclave and ghetto. The promot-
ers of the campaign against the project stressed repeatedly that
they have nothing against the building of a mosque but are sim-
ply concerned about the dimensions of such a complex. The
project’s size was another reason this drew the attention of the
British government.
Places of Worship in Europe: an overview
Recent debates in Europe about the construction and financing

of places of worship have come up in the context of a rise in re-
ligious pluralism, especially relating to the Muslim communities.
As part of discussions generated by a construction project

of a mosque, for instance, one can identify a model which is val-
id in most cases, and in the following way:
1) With numbers rising, and a foothold in the host society

the Muslim community is usually ethnically delimited, and ac-
quires (or receives for use) a parcel of land for which it requests
an authorization to build a mosque, or, in larger cities, an Islamic
centre.
2) Opposition to the project is initially something local,
among the inhabitants in the area. Oftentimes, the discontent is
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6
expressed by public petition. Local opposition is speculated and

amplified by one or several of the political parties, especially by
those already known to promote a strong anti-immigration line.
3) Arguments most often invoked are:
a) Architectural/aesthetic: a mosque cannot be integrat-
ed into the architectural economy of the area, and its appear-
ance thus constitutes a violation of the targeted area. This is
more of a contestation of form (especially the presence of mina-
rets or a dome with a sickle) and the size of the construction it-
self. Often, this argument is based on another, secular argument,
which translates to aversion to any sign of the presence of reli-
gion in public life;
b) Cultural argument: the presence of the mosque is
considered inopportune, due to the long-time or more recent
historic experience of the respective country/region;
c) Demographic argument: the appearance of a mosque
considerably raises the number of Muslims who live in or will fre-
quent the respective area;
d)Property argument: local infrastructure (parking lots,
parks, other public spaces) will suffer and/or will be overrun. As
such, the value of homes will drop significantly, possibly leading
to a risk of the neighbourhood turning into a ghetto;
e) Diplomatic argument: this comes up when necessary
funds come from governments, associations, or private individu-
als from other countries;
f) Reciprocity argument: the impossibility (or significant
difficulty) for non-Muslim religions or faiths to build places of
worship in majority Muslim states should lead to a similar atti-
tude towards Muslims in European States;
g) Security argument: a stronger Muslim presence in the
area could represent a factor in the rise of the level of infractions,
and the risk of radicalization. This argument is especially strong
when the complex includes a mosque and a Muslim educational
centre.
4) The public debate takes place in parallel with the admin-
istrative process. It is possible that this process includes changes,
sometimes quite significant, of the original project (elimination
or reduction in size of the minarets, reduction in the visibility of
specifically Muslim architectural features, reduction in the size
of the entire complex). If this meets with the refusal of the au-
thorities to issue a construction permit the case can end up in
court (decision of the authorities attacked through the court
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6
system.) Less frequently the case may end up attracting the at-
tention of the government (recent case in the United Kingdom)
or may lead to the organization of a referendum (a single case in
Switzerland, in 2009).
5) Even when there is openness on the part of the State
authorities for the construction of a mosque, dissension may
arise among the various Muslim communities (of an ethnic or re-
ligious nature), which may effectively block the construction of
the place of worship.
CHAPTER 5
Publicly Debated Issues
5.1. Why and how does the Romanian state support religions and
religious organizations financially?
All Romanian political regimes, since the establishment of the

modern state, have stipulated some form of financial support for
the activities of religions.
This was felt to be especially important after the seculariza-

tion of church assets, when the Orthodox Church was left with-
out any financial means to support its activities. The Romanian
State undertook to partially compensate it for losses suffered by
covering the costs of some of the activities of religions. The main
principle guiding the State in its support of activities of religions
continued, and was expanded throughout the following centu-
ry and a half.
The current situation, where there is partial State sup-

port of the activities of religions, is driven on the one hand by
the Romanian legal tradition and on the other by current social
needs and existing European models. Thus, according to provi-
sions of the 1991 Constitution, changed and amended in 2003,
and Law no. 489/2006 on Freedom of Religion and the General
Status of Religions, the Romanian state guarantees the respect-
ing of the autonomy of religions and accepts the need to co-
operate with the various religions25 recognizing their spiritual,
educational, socio-charitable, cultural, and social partnership
roles, and their status as social peace-makers.
Religions shall be free and organized in accordance with their own statutes, under
25
the terms laid down by law (...) they shall be autonomous from the State and shall enjoy
support from it...,” Romanian Constitution, Art. 29, points 3 and 5.
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6
Religions are equal before the law, and neither the pub-
lic authorities nor the State promotes or favours privileges or
discrimination against any religion, making the Romanian state
neutral from a religious point of view.26
Respecting the principle of religious neutrality and of

equality of religions before the law, the Romanian state sup-
ports religions in proportion to the number of their believers.
Considering the particularity of religions and their different
needs, Law no. 489/2006 stipulates that financing depends not
only on the number of their believers but also on the real needs
of these faiths, estimated annually in collaboration with them.
Table 9. Definitive budget appropriations (in current prices) allocated by the State
Secretariat for Religious Affairs, 2010-2018
Total amounts Percentage of Percentage

Year
allocated in RON the State budget of GDP
2010 325,925,000 0.31 0.061

2011 326,440,000 0.30 0.058
2012 318,324,000 0.30 0.053
2013 350,556,000 0.31 0.054
2014 434,845,000 0.37 0.065
2015 472,909,000 0.37 0.066
2016 487,137,000 0.37 0.063
2017 575,180,900 0.39 0.069
2018 823,979,000 0.47 0.087
Of the total budget of the State Secretariat for Religious

Affairs for 2018, 0.50% was allocated to financially support the
institution, 73.12% was used to cover salaries for religious and
non-religious staff in the country and abroad, 26.32% was used
for repairs and construction of places of worship, and 0.06%
was allocated for other activities.
“There is no state religion in Romania; the state is neutral towards any religious faith
26
or atheistic ideology,” Law no. 489/2006, Art. 9, point (1).

99
According to legal principles and provisions mentioned,
and based on availability, the Romanian State provides contri-
butions worth RON 588,746,441 for the salaries of 16,656 em-
ployees of religions (priests, pastors, imams, rabbis, deacons,
etc., and management staff).27
Graph 1.Total budget of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs in 2018
0.06% 0.50%
26.32%
73.12%
Due to the fact that support for salaries is provided based

on the principle of proportionality, each religion receives an
amount that is directly proportional to the number of believers
in accordance with the latest census.
As such, for example, in 2018, Romanian Orthodox Church

staff received RON 485,205,171 or 82.41% of the total, while
the Greek Catholic Church was allocated RON 20,621,435, or
3.50% of the total amount.
27
Although all 18 recognized religions may request assistance for the salaries of their
clerical staff, the Baptist Church, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, and the Jehovah’s
Witnesses do not request financial assistance.
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6
Table 10. Distribution of funds for salaries, by religions in 2018 28
Religious Affiliation Amount (RON) Percentage
Romanian Orthodox 485,205,171 82.41

Reformed 28,623,827 4.86
Roman Catholic 29,306,831 4.97
Greek-Catholic 20,621,435 3.50
Pentecostal 6,814,184 1.15
Unitarian 4,380,054 0.74
Old-Rite 2,539,249 0.43
Christians of the Gospel 2,251,303 0.42
Islam 2,153,510 0.36
Evangelical Lutheran Church 1,933,995 0.32
Evangelical C.A. 1,828,455 0.31
Serbian Orthodox Bishopric 1,487,043 0.26
Evangelical 285,660 0.05
Armenian 680,495 0.12
Judaism 635,229 0.10
Total 588,746,441 100
As can be seen in the Table above, based on the propor-

tion of believers reported in the census of 2011, namely 86.45%
Orthodox, 4.62% Roman Catholic, 3.19% Reformed, 1.92%
Pentecostal, 0.8% Greek Catholic, etc., the level of funds allocat-
ed to several religions is comparatively higher than their share of
the population (Reformed, Greek Catholic, Unitarian, etc.), while
the level for others (Orthodox and Pentecostal) is lower than
their share of the population.
This differentiated distribution of funds is an expression

of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs practicing a positive
discrimination policy for religions with a small number of mem-
bers. In 2018, the total amount of funds allocated for salaries of
religious staff was RON 588,746,441, and based on Framework
Law no. 153/2017 regarding salaries paid for staff of religions
from public funds, the salaries for religious staff are equivalent
to those of pre-university state education academic staff.
101 A comparative situation for the 2010-2018 period is shown in Annex 2.

28
6
The main religious management positions (heads of reli-

gions up to the rank of Assistant Bishop) are considered equiva-
lent to public dignitary positions, and they (92) receive a fixed
monthly stipend, depending on their rank, of between RON
13,050 and RON 16,675. The state’s contribution to the salaries
of religious staff (15,272 positions)29 is partial, covering 65% of
the quantum of salaries for most positions (11,321 positions), and
80% for units with low income (3,951 positions or 30% of the to-
tal thereof). As can be seen in the Table below, the distribution
of positions by religion for which these contributions are allocat-
ed follows a doubling of the criteria of proportionality and real
needs of the religions.
Table 11. Distribution of the number of religious positions for which budget funds
are allocated for salaries, total positions and percentages
– 2018 –
Religious Affiliation Number of positions %
Romanian Orthodox 13,885 83.36
Reformed 790 4.74
Roman-Catholic 772 4.63
Greek-Catholic 535 3.21
Pentecostal 204 1.22
Unitarian 117 0.70
Islam 62 0.37
Christians of the Gospel 62 0.37
Old Believer 61 0.37
Evangelical Lutheran 48 0.29
Evangelical Church – Augustan Confession 47 0.28
Serbian Orthodox Church 44 0.26
Evangelical Church 10 0.06
Armenian Church 11 0.07
Judaism 8 0.05
Total 16,656 100
29
The number of positions has not been increased since 2009. For an evolution in the
number of positions for which contributions of 65% and 80% of salaries were made, by
religion, in the 2006-2018 period, see Annexes 3 and 4.
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6
The state provides full salaries for the upper management

of religions, other than those that are equivalent to public digni-
tary positions, from Vice President of the union to Abbot (1,293
positions). Depending on the number of years in employment,
level of education, and the position held, financial support of-
fered for religious staff amounts to RON 1,734-4,738 a month,
increasing to RON 5,922 per month for upper management.
The religions make up the difference in religious staff sal-

aries from their own funds and make payments for income tax,
health insurance, and social security to the State. The salaries of
religious staff hired in special units (army, Protection and Guard
Service [SPP], Romanian Intelligence Service [SRI], prisons, hos-
pitals, etc.) are covered by the respective institutions for which
they work.
Additional positions created by religions are financed with

own funds. Furthermore, the Romanian State provides subsi-
dies for the construction and repair of places of worship in the
country and in Romanian communities abroad, for the restora-
tion of historical monuments, and for socio-charitable activities
carried out by the 17 religions. 30
Graph 2. Evolution of State support for the construction and repair of places of
worship, 2009-2018
214
176,87
148,15
119,95
105
84 85
69,2 70,3
64
million RON
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
The Jehovah’s Witnesses Religious Organization does not request financial assistance.
30
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These funds are mainly offered from the annual budget of

the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs. By way of a govern-
ment Ordinance, the government may supplement these funds,
when it considers this to be necessary. In order to maintain a
Romanian presence at Mount Athos, an annual EUR 250,000 is
assigned to the Romanian “Prodromos” Skete, based on Law no.
114/2007.
Regarding the salaries of non-religious staff, in conformity

with government Ordinance 82/2001, as of 2002, these were fund-
ed by local budgets. There are presently 19,899 non-religious
staff positions for which financial assistance is offered by local
budgets. Local authorities may supplement this number by Local
Council Ordinance.
For salaries of staff in theological education units not in-

tegrated in the public system and belonging to the Roman
Catholic Church, the Reformed Church, the Pentecostal Union,
the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Christian Church of the Gospel
216 quantum contributions were made of RON 1,813/month/
contribution, with the monthly amount allocated in 2018 at RON
400,419.
Graph 3. Evolution of the distribution of funds for salaries for all religions in the
2009-2018 period 31
588
476
341
261 262 264 274

227 225 238
million RON
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
See Annex 2 for the evolution of the distribution of funds for 2009-2018 salaries
31
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Financial assistance is offered to religions according to

European practices and constitutional provisions contained in
Law no. 489/2006 on Freedom of Religion and the General Status
of Religions, in Framework Law no. 153/2017, in government
Ordinance no. 82/2001, and in the Tax Code. State assistance is
provided by request to recognized religions on the basis of the
number of believers and their real needs.
In the information presented above concerning financial

assistance offered to religions, Romania is no exception. In most
European countries religions or faiths receive direct state finan-
cial assistance (Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece,
Slovakia, Sweden, etc.) and indirect financial assistance (by de-
duction from taxes or a church tax – Germany, Italy, Spain – or by
funds for maintenance and repair of places of worship that be-
long to the public authorities - France, Italy).
5.2. Do religions pay taxes?
Yes, religions pay taxes. What is not understood by the public is

that the church does not pay taxes as an economic entity, be-
cause the purpose of the church is not to make a profit or social
assistance. The church pays taxes just like any other civil society
organization and benefits from the same tax reliefs.
In any democracy the fiscal status of major civil society or-

ganizations, namely those that associate freely with the citizens
for the greater good of society, are protected by the State. The
State understands that by carrying out its activities civil society
relieves it of a series of responsibilities that the State either could
not do, would do poorly, or would do at very high costs.
Major civil society organizations in any democracy have a

privileged relationship with the State by virtue of their decisive
contribution to the greater good of society. As a result, these
major organizations (churches, political parties, unions, universi-
ties, NGOs) are given tax relief by the State in the form of funds,
assets, buildings, etc. to carry out their missions.
The circulation of funds inside civil society organizations

is subject to a fiscal regimen destined to protect the access
of citizens to rights and freedoms. Specifically, student loans,
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6
school fees, donations to political parties, unions, or universi-

ties, monthly dues paid by members of unions or political par-
ties, etc. are not subject to taxation because these are funds for
which the State is not an intermediary.
The budget surplus obtained by the church from econom-

ic activities that are not redirected to religious, social, and phil-
anthropic works, etc. is subject to taxation. But the circulation of
funds within the church, whether this be from donations, sales
of religious objects (candles, religious books, icons, church liter-
ature) or even contributions for certain religious services (as stat-
ed in Art. 10 of the Law on Religious Freedom), may not be taxed
because this produces social effects in and of itself, without the
involvement of the State.
The income generated by religions is used for the upkeep

of places of worship, payment of utilities needed for liturgical
activities, salaries of religious staff, as well as supporting edu-
cational, social, and philanthropic activities. In other words, this
income of the church is used by the church, through the church
and for the church.
The church may not have the same tax scheme as com-
panies that sell goods or services for profit. Both Romanian
and European legislation recognize the non-economic nature
of religions and faiths delivering religious goods and services.
Consequently, income of religions is not taxed if they are used to
support educational, cultural, and social activities, and religious
activities.
Therefore, circulation of funds within the religious com-

munities is tax exempt because these funds are used for their
purpose without the involvement of the State, and all economic
dealings by religions with the outside are taxed, unless these are
reinvested.
Partial financing by the State of the activities of religions, as

well as tax breaks these receive are a direct result of their histor-
ic role and their present social role, both of which the Romanian
State recognizes, understands, and supports. This is, likewise, a
European solution, which respects religious freedom, neutrali-
ty of the state, and autonomy of religions and faiths, and is in
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6
keeping with European treaties and international obligations to

which Romania has committed.
5.3. Why does the Romanian state support the construction of the
Patriarchal Cathedral?
The financing of the construction of the Patriarchal Cathedral

in Bucharest is an obligation assumed by the Romanian State
more than one century ago, which was not honoured for a long
time. Thus, after the proclamation of Romania as a Kingdom
(1881), King Carol I proposed a draft law to the Assembly of
Deputies regarding the construction of an Orthodox Cathedral
in Bucharest. In 1884 the State budget allocated RON 5,000,000
in gold, or the equivalent of 5% of the State budget, for the
construction of the cathedral. Funds initially destined for the
cathedral were redirected until 1900 for the construction of
public schools, especially in villages.
Steps were taken again to raise a cathedral after 1920 by

the Metropolitan Primate Miron Cristea and by King Ferdinand,
who decided to raise a monumental church in honour of the
victorious Romanian armies during the First World War. Work
halted at the stage of design and selection of a location for the
future cathedral due to the economic crisis and the World War II.
The project was suspended during the communist peri-

od, to be restarted after 1990, when Patriarch Teoctist brought
it back to the table. After lengthy discussions on the choice of
location for the future cathedral, it was decided by Emergency
government Ordinance no. 19/2005 regarding the construction
of the Architectural Complex of the National Salvation Cathedral
that this important building would be built on Dealul Arsenalului
in Bucharest. Romania’s Parliament approved the Emergency
government Ordinance, which stipulates that a portion of the
necessary funds for the construction will be provided by the
State budget, through the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs,
and by any local public authorities.
The reasons for the financial support being provided by

the Romanian state for the construction of the new cathedral in-
clude not only the historical importance of this enterprise, but
are also symbolic and practical. First, it must be remembered
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6
that Bucharest is the only European capital that does not have a
representative cathedral.32
Graph 4. Evolution of the allocation of funds for the construction of 134
the Patriarchal Cathedral in 2009-2019
57
47
35 35
24
19
16
million RON
5
0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
32
For example: Berlin – Berliner Dom; Brussels – St. Michel and St. Gudula Cathedral;
Belgrade – St. Sava Cathedral; Budapest – St. Steven’s Basilica; Lisbon – St. Mary Major
Cathedral; London - Westminster Abbey; Madrid – Almudena Cathedral (finalized in
1993); Moscow – Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the cathedral destroyed by Stalin in
1931 was rebuilt between 1994–2000; Paris – Notre Dame Cathedral; Prague – St. Vitus
Cathedral; Rome – St. Peter’s Basilica; Sofia – Alexander Nevski Cathedral; Warsaw – St.
John’s Archcathedral; Vienna – Stephansdom, et al.
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6
It should also be noted that Bucharest is the only metro-

politan centre in Romania that does not have a cathedral befit-
ting its local, regional, and national importance. Furthermore,
the Orthodox Church does not have a place of worship in the
capital offering sufficient space to properly carry out religious
services.
The support by the State of the construction of a Patriarchal

Cathedral is in accordance with current Romanian legislation,
which authorizes the partial financing by the State of the con-
struction or repair of places of worship when such work is con-
sidered necessary for the proper functioning of religious life in
our country. As concerns funds allocated by the State for the
construction of the cathedral, we must stress that this is mere-
ly partial financing of its costs, awarded within annual budget
limits allowed for the construction and repair of places of wor-
ship. The construction of the cathedral started in August 2011. To
date the Romanian government has allocated RON 372 million
through the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs for the con-
struction of the Patriarchal Cathedral. The construction of the
cathedral was finalized, without finishings, and it was blessed
at the end of 2018. Work continues on the interior and ancillary
buildings.
5.4. How and why is religion studied in public schools?
The Romanian State ensures freedom of religious education

based on the requirements of each of the 18 recognized reli-
gions. The curriculum of primary, middle school, high school,
and professional school education include religion as part of the
common core of subjects. Pupils and students belonging to re-
ligions recognized by the state, regardless of their number, have
the constitutional right to participate in religion classes, based
on their own faith.
At the written request of a student over 14 years of age, or

the parents or legal guardian of a child under the age of 14, the
student or pupil may attend religion classes. If no request is made
there will be no religion as part of the curriculum. According to
the law, religious education in public schools takes the form of
denominational education, and for students belonging to each
recognized religion there is an analytical program and specific
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6
textbooks. The program, the approval of manuals, the recruiting

and the status of religion teachers are decided in collaboration
between religious authorities and the Ministry of Education. This
approach aims to balance the specific requirements for religious
education with the need for a coherent integration of religious
education in the national educational system.
The option for denominational religious education has its

origin in the Romanian legal and institutional traditions, and in
the need for redeveloping a personal identity of individuals and
religious communities after half a century of communism. Thus,
after a long period in which religious identity was forced into the
private sphere, and religious education in schools was eliminat-
ed, the formula of denominational education was intended to
ensure the redevelopment and consolidation of powerful iden-
tities, in turn destined to promote strong solidarity and to pro-
mote participation in the consolidation of societal level social
ties. At the beginning of the ‘90s, there were discussions on ways
of reintroducing religious education into public schools, with the
choice of denominational education eventually agreed upon by
most of the debate participants. The Romanian State tries to en-
sure that all pupils and students have the right to a religious edu-
cation, but leaves parents and/or students free to choose if they
wish the pupils and students to attend religion classes in the
faith of their choice, according to international legal norms, or
that they have the right not to attend religion classes.
The availability of religious education in public schools is

not unique to the Romanian educational system. In Europe, of
the 47-member countries of the Council of Europe, only three
countries (Albania, Macedonia and France – excepting Alsace
and Moselle) offer no form of religious education in public
schools. In 25 of these countries religion classes are mandatory,
while in the remaining 18 countries religion classes are elective.
As a result, the Romanian system of teaching religion in the form
of denominational education, as part of the common core of
subjects, with attendance based on individual request, was de-
veloped in its current form to meet the many criteria and needs.
Thus, from the perspective of the State Secretariat for

Religious Affairs, the current system has many advantages.
First, it continues to be part of a judicial-institutional tradition
110
temporarily interrupted for the duration of the communist re-
gime. Its choice then constituted a response to the needs for
moral and identity reconstruction of Romanian society after the
fall of communism, and was one agreed upon by the main play-
ers involved in the debate. Furthermore, this model appears to
be a rational choice for a country with a very high level of reli-
giosity, denominational adherence, and a relatively high rate of
religious practices, compared to other European countries. And
finally, this system is coherent and legally compatible with other
European models in this domain, with an obligation to respect
all forms of religious freedom assumed by Romania in its own
legislation and through international treaties.
5.5. What is the status of restitution of church properties confiscated

by the communist regime from Romania’s religions?
The right to agricultural and forestry lands began being re-es-

tablished for religions as of 1991. As concerns the restitution
of other real estate that was wrongfully expropriated from re-
ligions, namely any that were not specifically mentioned in the
Land Fund Law: the issuance of Emergency government Ordinance
no. 94/2000 concerning the retrocession of certain real estate which
had belonged to religions in Romania, which stated that a limited
amount of real estate was to be returned to these religions (up
to ten buildings to each Diocesan centre or religion).
Following the adoption of Law no. 10/2001, that establish-

es a policy for certain real estate wrongfully expropriated in the 6
March 1945 – 22 December 1989 period, a normative act which
constitutes the framework law for restitution in kind or by equiv-
alent, premises were established for the adoption of special
regulations to fully restitute real estate that was wrongfully ex-
propriated from religions, except for places of worship. In this
context the evolution of the legal framework in the area of prop-
erty restitution of properties wrongfully expropriated is marked
by three phases, as follows:
Law no. 10/2001, which sets the premises for the restitu-
tion of real estate (urban property), goes into effect;
Passage of Law no. 247/2005, on reforms in the area of
properties and justice, including several additional measures
that modified or amended the entire legal framework on the
restitution of goods wrongfully expropriated;
111
Law no. 165/2013, which specifies measures to finalize the
process of restitution in kind or equivalent of buildings wrong-
fully expropriated during the communist period in Romania,
goes into effect.
5.5.1. Evolution of the normative framework applicable to the re-

stitution of properties that belonged to religions in Romania
Until the passage of Law no. 10/2001, the general legal regimen
for restitution of real estate belonging to religions in Romania
was regulated by Emergency government Ordinance no. 94/2000.
As stated previously, the initial form of that law treated

the issue of restitution of real estate belonging to religions in a
limited way, namely that it permitted the restitution of only ten
buildings to each diocese or religion.
With the passage of Law no. 10/2001, a provision was set and
adopted for a new special normative act in this area to allow for
the speedier and proper resolution of the problem of restitution
of real estate belonging to religions in Romania. Consequently,
Law no. 501/2002 to approve Emergency government Ordinance
no. 94/2000 on the restitution of some real estate belonging to reli-
gions in Romania, brought about substantial amendments of this
latter normative act, creating a general framework for the resti-
tution of real estate belonging to religions in Romania.
The most important amendment was the extension of the

real estate sphere that could be restituted to religions. Other im-
portant amendments coming into effect with this law were:
the elimination of initial limitations that stipulated that
only ten buildings could be restituted to each diocese or religion;
the possibility of restituting reclaimed buildings even
if these were assigned for public interest activities (hospitals,
school, museums, the headquarters of public institutions);
the possibility of restituting some non-real estate prop-
erty intended for the functioning of a religion.
Later, with the adoption of Law no. 247/2005 on reform in the

area of properties and justice, including several additional mea-
sures, substantial amendments were made to the legal framework
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which regulates the restitution of real estate that belonged to re-

ligions in Romania.
Subsequent legislative changes and amendments intro-

duced measures intended to accelerate the restitution process,
and the most important are listed below:
the expansion of the objective of the law regarding real
estate to be restituted, namely unoccupied land in incorporat-
ed localities or the offering of damages for lands occupied by
constructions;
the restitution of some buildings belonging to commer-
cial companies for which the State still has capital available;
the according of just and equitable damages, accord-
ing to values in effect in conformity with international evaluation
standards, for cases where restitution in kind is no longer possible;
the facilitating of dossier materials needed for proof;
the according of a new 6-month deadline for filing resti-
tution claims;
the according of a new 6-month deadline to file an appeal
against the sale of a building that is the object of this ordinance;
the removal of initial limitations, namely the restitution of
all non-real estate assets confiscated with the real estate, if these
still exist, and not only those needed for the functioning of the
religion;
the application of sanctions in the case of non-respecting
of administrative procedures stipulated by law.
On 17 April 2013, the Romanian government assumed re-

sponsibility before Parliament for the Draft Law on measures to fi-
nalize the process of restitution, in kind or equivalent, of buildings
wrongfully expropriated in the period of the communist regime
in Romania. Unlike all other legal acts regulating property restitu-
tion, Law no. 165/2013 on measures to finalize the process of resti-
tution, in kind or equivalent, of buildings wrongfully expropriated
in the communist period in Romania integrates into a single le-
gal framework the applicable principles and categories of repara-
tion measures for buildings taken over in an arbitrary manner, that
were previously contained in a variety of laws.
New elements introduced by this legal act principally set

forth the following:
to establish several principles that will govern the new
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legal framework, namely:

principle of the prevalence of restitution in kind;
principle of equity;
principle of transparency of the process to set repara-
tion measures;
principle to promote a proper balance between the
particular interest of former owners and the general interest of
society;
there is no provision in the new normative act for the
limiting of or a ceiling for damages, and this means that these
will have to be calculated according to a chart provided by no-
tary publics (valid at the time that Law no. 165/2013 went into
effect).
This provision represents a legislative first in terms of old

regulations, intended to accelerate the administrative analysis
procedures for drawing up the evaluation reports by the autho-
rized evaluators, which very much delays the process of dam-
ages and gives way to suspicion about the objectivity of the
setting of such damages:
the granting of damages in the form of points, each
point having a nominal value of RON 1. Thus, a true mixed sys-
tem of damages is instituted, with the entitled person allowed to
choose between redeeming the points offered by ordinance of
the National Commission for the acquisition at auction of build-
ings that are part of the National Fund for Agricultural Lands and
other buildings, created to provide reparation to former owners
or transform points into cash damages, as of 1 January 2014, at
an annual limit of 14%, with the last instalment at 16%.
the introduction of a 90-day deadline of administrative
forfeiture by which to file a claim with supporting documents, in
order to accelerate the process for bringing the case to a conclu-
sion. This forfeiture deadline was subsequently set at 120 days,
with the introduction of Law no. 368/2013, which changes and
amends Law no. 165/2013.
the obligation to retain those public interest buildings,
used as educational, health, or cultural institutions, for a period
of 10 years, that are due to be restituted to their former owners.
Thereafter, some of the changes made to Law no. 165/2013

regarding measures to finalize the process of restitution, in kind
or equivalent, of real estate wrongfully expropriated during the
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communist period in Romania, by Law no. 111/2017 provides for

the following:
extending from 5 to 10 years the period in which buildings
can continue to be used for public interest educational or health
care activities, regardless of whether these are financed or co-fi-
nanced by State or local budgets;
extends the possibility of also maintaining for public inter-
est use buildings occupied by public, cultural institutions;
the institution of an administrative grace period during
which faiths may file their claims with legal entities for restitution.
By Law no. 103/2016, which approves Emergency govern-

ment Ordinance no. 21/2015 that modifies and supplements Law
no. 165/2013 on measures for finalizing the process of restitution,
in kind or equivalent, of real estate wrongfully expropriated during
the Romanian communist period, and Art. 1 and 3 of Emergency
government Ordinance no. 94/2000 on restitution of real estate as-
sets which belonged to religious organizations in Romania, as well
as Art. 1 of Emergency government Ordinance no. 83/1999 on resti-
tution of real estate assets that belonged to religions in Romania,
pertaining to restitution of real estate assets that belonged to com-
munities of national minority citizens in Romania, the presumption
was established that real estate was wrongfully expropriated by
the Romanian State in the communist period with documents al-
leging donation by religions.
Later, some of the changes to Law no. 165/2013, which es-

tablishes measures to finalize the process of restitution, in kind or
equivalent, of buildings wrongfully expropriated during the com-
munist period in Romania, contained in Law no. 111/2017, drew at-
tention to the following:
the extension of the strict deadline in the administra-
tive procedure to 240 days (from the original 120-day deadline)
to supplement the documents in cases submitted to the Special
Restitution Commission, as well as its further extension by 120 days
(the original deadline was 60 days). This change will allow religious
and national minority communities to submit documents needed
to solve the requests for restitution in a reasonable time frame;
the priority solving of files in which decisions have been
issued concerning the proposal to offer compensation/com-
pensatory measures by the Special Restitution Commission;
the respective change allows the National Commission for
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Compensation of Buildings to resolve the cases submitted by re-

ligions and national minorities as a priority.
5.5.2. Current settlement status of applications from religions for

restitution in Romania
The following religions have made 16,390 claims for restitution

to the Special Commission for Restitution for buildings wrong-
fully expropriated from them: Orthodox Church, Romanian
Orthodox Church Fund of Bucovina, Roman Catholic Church,
Romanian Church United with Rome (Greek Catholic), Reformed
Church, Judaism (Caritatea Foundation), Unitarian Church, Evan-
gelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania, Evan-
gelical Lutheran Church of Romania, Islam, Archdiocese of the
Armenian Church, Seventh-Day Adventist Christian Church of
Romania, Union of Christian Baptist Churches of Romania, Pen-
tecostal Union – The Apostolic Church of God of Romania, and
the Nazarene Religious Association.
In this context, it needs to be mentioned that a part of the

claims made by the same religion have the same objective, so
that when the time comes for their resolution these will be com-
bined, and the number of claims will thereby drop significantly.
By “resolution of a restitution claim” is understood the res-

titution in kind of a building, the refusal of restitution of a build-
ing, the proposal for the granting of damages/compensation
measures for a building that can no longer be restituted in kind,
the redirecting of a claim for restitution to the entity legally re-
sponsible for its resolution, or the acknowledgement of a deci-
sion to forego a claim for restitution.
The settlement status of applications from religions for

restitution as of 1 January 2019 is as follows:
The Orthodox Church submitted 2,215 claims for restitu-
tion, of which 1,500 claims have been resolved, leaving 715 resti-
tution claims to be settled.
The Romanian Orthodox Church Fund of Bucovina sub-
mitted 1,576 claims for restitution, of which 1,550 claims have
been resolved, leaving 26 restitution claims to be settled.
The Catholic Church submitted 1,203 claims for
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restitution, of which 920 claims have been resolved, leaving 283

restitution claims to be settled.
The Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic
submitted 6,723 claims for restitution, of which 3,889 claims have
been resolved, leaving 2,834 restitution claims to be settled.
The Reformed Church of Romania submitted 1,208
claims for restitution, of which 921 claims have been resolved,
leaving 287 restitution claims to be settled.
The Jewish Faith (Caritatea Foundation) submitted 1,918
claims for restitution, of which 1,312 claims have been resolved,
The Unitarian Church submitted 82 claims for restitu-
tion, of which 76 claims have been resolved, leaving 6 restitution
claims to be settled.
The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in
Romania submitted 1,133 claims for restitution, of which 808
claims have been resolved, leaving 325 restitution claims to be
settled.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Romania submitted
29 claims for restitution, of which 26 claims have been resolved,
The Muslim Faith, the Archbishopric of the Armenian
Church, the Seventh-Day Adventist Christian Church of Romania,
the Union of Christian Baptist Churches of Romania, the
Pentecostal Union – the Apostolic Church of God of Romania,
and the Nazarene Religious Association submitted 303 claims
for restitution, of which 163 claims have been resolved, leaving
140 claims to be settled.
5.5.3. How is the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs involved in

the restitution of properties having belonged to the Romanian
Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic?
After the establishment of communism, the Greek Catholic

Church in Romania was disbanded by Decree no. 358/1948, and
most of its properties were expropriated by the Romanian State.
Many of its believers were forced to either convert to Ortho-
doxy or the Catholic Latin rite. The Decree stipulated that places
of worship and diocesan homes were to be turned over to the
Orthodox Church. After the toppling of the communist regime
the first decision relating to religious life taken by the State au-
thorities was to return the Romanian Church United with Rome,
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Graph 5. Current situation of the applications for restitution by religion
Greek Catholic to legality by Decree no. 9/31.12.1989 of the Coun-

cil of the National Salvation Front. Subsequently the State took it
upon itself, by Art. 4 of Decree-Law no. 126/1990, to support the
construction of new places of worship (including the necessary
land and financial contributions), wherever the number of places
of worship was insufficient.
The Greek Catholic Church - Greek Catholic rebuilt its in-

stitutional and educational structures, becoming one of the 18
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recognized religions in Romania, according to its number of be-

lievers, based on figures in successive censuses. There are two
types of confiscated former Greek Catholic properties, subject
to a variety of legal treatments: the first are buildings and prop-
erties that became part of the State patrimony, and the second
are places of worship taken over by the State and used by the
Orthodox Church. This takeover of the patrimony of the Greek-
Catholic Church, and the fact that it wants buildings that were
turned over to the Orthodox Church to be restituted in kind,
is the principal problem for identifying an equitable solution
agreeable to both churches. The first type of properties that
became part of the State patrimony were restituted gradually.
Because the communist state confiscated not only a great deal
of real estate belonging to religions, but also rather extensive
landed properties, the restitution process has proven to be dif-
ficult and is ongoing.
A series of laws were adopted as far back as 1990. Decree-

Law no. 126/1990 legislating several measures relating to the
Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic included
the following two means for restitution of former Greek Catholic
properties, depending on the current owner of the building:
goods taken over by the State by Decree no. 358/1948, and
in the possession of the State, excepting estates, will be restitut-
ed to the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic.
A government Ordinance-appointed commission, made up of
representatives of the State and the Romanian Church United
with Rome, Greek Catholic, will be responsible for identifying,
inventorying and turning over these properties;
the legal status of places of worship and parochial
homes belonging to the Romanian Church United with Rome,
Greek Catholic that were taken over by the communist state and
were turned over to the Romanian Orthodox Church was to be
determined by a mixed Commission, made up of clerical rep-
resentatives of the two churches, and taking into account the
numbers of believers of each religious community.
With the establishment of this mixed Commission, legisla-

tors called on both churches to use wisdom and mutual agree-
ment in resolving this problem.
In many rural and urban localities in Transylvania,

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Decree-Law no. 126/1990 produced no visible results, as local

representatives of both churches were unable to arrive at a con-
sensus during their dialogue. In some localities discussions led
to tension and even conflict between the Orthodox and Greek
Catholic believers.
Because of the failed attempts to resolve the disputes

through analysis, dialogue, and understanding, the Romanian
Senate called on the leadership of the Romanian Orthodox
Church and the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek
Catholic through a Declaration-Appeal on 29 December 1994 to
resolve all existing tensions between the two churches in an ec-
umenical spirit.
According to Land Law no. 18/1991, lands that were the ob-
ject of this law were restituted to the various religions, includ-
ing the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic. By
government Ordinance no. 466/1992, concerning the approval of
proposals by the Central Commission for the inventorying of
State properties and their restitution to the Romanian Church
United with Rome, Greek Catholic, issued based on Article 2 of
Decree-Law no. 126/1990, 80 buildings included in the Annex of
the above-mentioned ordinance were restituted.
Government Ordinance no. 64/2004, approved by Law

no. 182/2005, and supplementing Decree-Law no. 126/1990 on
measures relating to the Romanian Church United with Rome,
Greek Catholic, stipulates that if the clerical representatives of
both churches are unable to reach an agreement in the mixed
Commission for places of worship and diocesan homes (that
were transferred to the ownership of the Romanian Orthodox
Church), the interested party may resort to common law action.
Reasons that are slowing down the process for resolving

the claims by the Greek Catholic Church for restitution include:
- the particularity of the takeover of the Romanian
Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic patrimony, specif-
ically buildings that are presently being administered by the
Romanian Orthodox Church, according to Decree no. 358/1948.
We estimate that this refers to some 80% of the total number
of claims made by the Romanian Church United with Rome,
Greek Catholic, according to Emergency Ordinance no. 94/2000,
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republished with subsequent changes and amendments;

- Emergency government Ordinance no. 94/2000, repub-
lished with subsequent changes and amendments, does not
allow for the restitution in kind or the awarding of damages in
the case of buildings that belonged to the Romanian Church
United with Rome, Greek Catholic, that are presently owned
by the Orthodox Church. The process for restitution of church
buildings (except for churches) is presently being carried out
through the National Authority for Restitution of Properties.
The Romanian state is also committed to the reparations

of injustices committed by the communist regime with respect
to places of worship. However, we believe that any simplistic so-
lutions could cause further wrongs. Most of the former mem-
bers of the Greek Catholic Church, who converted to Orthodoxy
in 1948, as well as their descendent, continued to be part of
the Orthodox Church after 1990. These believers continued
the uninterrupted use of the former local Greek-Catholic dioc-
esan churches, and they consider these to be “their own.” Any
block restitution of churches, which does not consider the pop-
ulation’s current denominational structure and local sensitivities
risks generating social and inter-denominational unrest, as has
unfortunately happened several times in the past.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs has therefore re-

peatedly called for the resolution of these matters through di-
alogue between the two churches, and has tried to serve as
mediator to defuse any tensions. Likewise, the restitution of for-
mer Greek-Catholic churches is also one that relates to the right
of property ownership. Thus, from the point of view of the Greek
Catholic Church, the churches belong by right to the church as an
institution. On the other hand, the Orthodox Church maintains
that the churches belong to the community, and as such should
consider the current will of the communities when determining
the transfer of a place of worship to another denomination.
Not wanting to prejudice the right of parties to resort to

legal action and respecting the authority of judicial sentenc-
ing, the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs has pleaded for the
identification of amicable solutions concerning the status of for-
mer Greek Catholic places of worship, in the interest of maintain-
ing social order. Thus, the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs
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has encouraged and become actively involved in the promo-

tion, both centrally and locally, of bilateral dialogue involving
the Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches.
The two churches created bilateral dialogue commissions

in order to resolve each case separately. The Orthodox Church
believes that each case should be treated separately only if
there are local community sensitivities and exclusively through
dialogue. The Greek Catholic Church believes that restitution
should be complete, and in order to make this happen in the
shortest time possible, it has found it more expedient to resort
to legal action in some cases.
As a result of bilateral dialogue, numerous churches were

restituted or amiable solutions (alternating services, et al) were
found in several communities. Nevertheless, due to misun-
derstandings regarding the purpose and means for bilateral
dialogue, these talks were interrupted in 2003. There was an ex-
change of letters between the leaders of both churches in 2011
for the purpose of starting up the dialogue again, but this did
not happen. The Romanian Orthodox Church has restituted 242
churches, including four of the five diocesan cathedrals (Blaj,
Cluj, Lugoj, and Oradea) to the Romanian Church United with
Rome, Greek Catholic through bilateral agreements, through di-
alogue commissions in some cases, but also more often by other
means (local agreements, legal action, etc.).
The State Secretariat has been actively involved in mediat-

ing the dialogue between the two parties. Thus, our institution’s
mediation led to the restitution to the Greek Catholic communi-
ty of the “Sfântul Nicolae” Cathedral in Oradea (November 2005)
and of the “Sfântul Vasile” Church on Polonă Street in Bucharest
(December 2006).
In order to resolve problems on the ground, the State

Secretariat for Religious Affairs used funds available to it to fi-
nance the construction of new places of worship, to ensure that
both Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers have good condi-
tions for worship activities.
Thus, the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs spent a

total of RON 34,665,500 (amount not indexed for inflation)
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in the period between 1990-2018 for the construction of new

places of worship. In this period, the Greek Catholic Church
built and is building over 310 new places of worship. In 2014,
at the suggestion of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs,
the Romanian government approved government Ordinance no.
747/2014 concerning the transfer of a building, Sfântul Vasile cel
Mare in Bucharest from the private domain of the State and from
the “Administration of State Patrimony Protocol” Autonomous
Administration [Regia Autonomă Administraţia Patrimoniului si
Protocolului de Stat] into the public domain of the State and into
the administration of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs
for the Romanian Church United with Rome – Greek Catholic.
The building is located at Strada Alexandru Xenopol no. 14,
Sector 1, Bucharest, and serves as the Bucharest administrative
centre of the Greek Catholic Sfântul Vasile cel Mare Diocese.
We believe that, by promoting dialogue and an analysis of

situations on site, our institution will help ensure that the best
solutions are found to equitably resolve these issues, affording
each community its own church, and each believer his/her full
rights and religious freedoms. The State Secretariat for Religious
Affairs also believes it is necessary to continue to accelerate the
dialogue between the parties involved, in order to prevent and/
or resolve any tensions and denominational conflicts and to pro-
mote social order.
5.6. What is the role of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs in
supporting Romanian citizens abroad?
The Romanian communities in the Balkans were the first whose

existence and destiny required the concern of Romanian au-
thorities as far back as the beginnings of the process of national
emancipation in the middle of the 19th century. The leaders of
the 1848 Revolution were the first to invoke the need for ensur-
ing that groups of ethnic Romanians south of the Danube have
access to religious and educational endowments.
The creation of the modern Romanian State allowed for the

post-1860 intensification of efforts before the Ottoman Empire,
suzerain over the Balkan Romanians. The first official claim of this
kind was made by Costache Negri, in his capacity as diplomatic
agent of the Romanian Principalities in Constantinople, in which
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he invoked the danger of the denationalization of Romanians in

Macedonia, Thessalia, Epirus, and Albania.
The establishment and support of Romanian churches in

the Balkan Peninsula rapidly became a priority of the Bucharest
government. In 1863, the Chairman of the Romanian Council of
Ministers, Mihail Kogălniceanu, decided to establish a special
fund as part of the State budget to support Romanian schools
and churches in the Ottoman Empire.
Shortly thereafter, at the beginning of the 20th centu-

ry, the Romanian State began offering financial assistance for
the activities of over 40 Romanian priests who were active in
the Romanian churches in the districts of Albania, Bitola, and
Epirus in the Ottoman Empire. Subsequently, during the 1912-
1913 Balkan Wars, all newly-formed States in the region, except
for Serbia, permitted the autonomy of Romanian schools and
churches, and their subvention by the Romanian State, under
the supervision of local governments. However, the outbreak
of World War I, with its massive mobilizations and destruction
led to a powerful phenomenon of emigration towards Romania,
aided by the Bucharest Peace Conference in 1913, according to
which all Balkan Romanians received Romanian citizenship, re-
gardless of where they chose to live.
The Interwar period was to lead to an even more pow-

erful involvement of the Romanian State in the supporting of
spiritual identities in the Romanian communities of the Balkans.
For example, Romanian priests in the Romanian churches in
Greece continued to be remunerated by the Romanian State un-
til 1949, and the latter allocated some RON 3 million annually
to the Romanian diocese in the Serbian Banat. Even during the
communist period, despite the reticence of the authorities, the
Romanian Patriarchate made significant efforts to support the
Romanian community on Mount Athos.
The development over the past two decades of a Romanian

diaspora is a complex phenomenon, without precedent in mod-
ern Romanian history. This is the first time in the history of the
Romanian State that a community in the order of millions of
Romanians leaves its native land and chooses to live outside its
borders.
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In this context, the consolidation of ethnic, linguistic,

cultural, and spiritual communities of Romanians abroad is a
constant preoccupation of all Romanian society, and a major
objective of Romanian State policies, contained in the govern-
ing program priorities. Therefore, active connections of the dias-
pora with the spiritual and religious spaces is encouraged as an
important element for preserving a national identity and config-
uring an identity profile of Romanian communities around the
world.
Romanian public authorities represented principally in

these countries by their Embassies, cultural centres, and insti-
tutes, make efforts to ensure that Romanians outside its bor-
der have these rights and maintain their Romanian identity.
However, in most cases, what these institutions can do, from a
material and logistical standpoint, and in terms of acting in the
territories of other countries, is limited.
Religious organizations, on the other hand, have built and

developed an extended network of communities over time, that
also functions as a catalyst for Romanian solidarity, and consti-
tutes the only active and dynamic connection with the country.
The Romanian Orthodox Church and other religions, de-

veloping their church communities to meet the religious needs
of Romanians outside the country’s borders, also meet certain
identity needs, and these function not only as community cen-
tres and Romanian solidarity networks, but also, and increas-
ingly, as true centres for information and mutual assistance for a
large number of Romanians abroad.
In order to meet the growing needs of these communities,

the Romanian Orthodox Church, for example, has built several
deaneries, a few hundred diocesan communities, and several
monasteries throughout the world. In addition to the Christian
Orthodox diocese, there are also Catholic communities under
the jurisdiction of local diocese, as well as Evangelical commu-
nities with similar religious and social roles. The Romanian State,
conscious of the importance of religious communities in the life
of Romanians abroad, and convinced of the need to support
such efforts, allocates a fixed amount of EUR 261,200 per month
through the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs to support the
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salaries of over 669 priests who serve Romanian dioceses abroad

(180 in Italy, 150 in the Republic of Moldova, 109 in Spain, 54 in
Germany, 39 in France, 20 in Great Britain, 15 in Hungary, 13 in
Belgium, 8 in Serbia, 6 in Israel, etc.).
In addition to salary assistance offered to priests who serve

Romanian church communities abroad, the State Secretariat for
Religious Affairs may also allocate annual funds from the budget
destined for the construction and repair of religious places of
worship and the building and/or acquisition of churches for the
Romanian communities outside its borders.
Some 4-5% of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs

budget is directed annually to the units of Romanian churches
outside the country’s borders. For years, financial subsidies have
been allocated for the construction of important places of wor-
ship, such as: the Orthodox Cathedral of Madrid, the St. Nicholas
Diocese in Brussels, the St. George Diocese in Tokyo, the St.
George Diocese in Barcelona, the Diocesan Centre in Munich,
the Romanian Foundation in Jerusalem, and the St. Matthew
Diocese in Ottawa.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs also supports and

promotes the rights of Romanians abroad to retain and affirm
their national identity and enjoy religious freedom.
Thus, at mixed inter-governmental commission meetings

for national minority issues, the State Secretariat for Religious
Affairs has continually supported the idea that, on the ba-
sis of the principle of reciprocity, the hundreds of thousands
of Romanians in Timoc Valley (Serbia), northern Bukovina, and
southern Bessarabia should have the right to religious services
in their mother tongue and to build their own places of worship.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs specifically

claims that, because of the recognition by the Romanian state
of the jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese, part of the
Serbian Orthodox Church, over the Serbian Orthodox believ-
ers in Romania, in keeping with the principle of reciprocity, the
Bishop appointed by the Romanian Orthodox Church for the
Romanians in Serbia (the Dacia Felix Diocese) should have juris-
diction over the Romanian Orthodox believers in Serbia and a
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right to visit not only the Romanian dioceses in Voivodina, but

also those in Timoc Valley.
In support of these efforts, the State Secretariat for

Religious Affairs organized and hosted, among others, an inter-
institutional working meeting on 30 May 2013, dedicated to the
problems of Romanian citizens outside the country’s borders,
attended by representatives of the Romanian Presidency, the
Prime Minister’s Chancellery, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
Romanian Parliament, the Romanian Patriarchate, and former
State Secretaries for Religious Affairs, familiar with the evolution
of the situation of Romanian communities abroad.
Furthermore, the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs

has made a significant contribution in the past two years to
the debates that take place periodically within the framework
of the Inter-Institutional Consultative Council for problems of
Romanians abroad, an informal cooperative body between all
Romanian institutions that are involved in this issue, organized
under the aegis of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, with the ap-
proval of the Romanian government.
CHAPTER 6
Religious organizations
According to Law no. 489/2006, any person has the right to be-
long to or adopt a religion, to manifest, individually or collective-
ly, in public or private, by specific practices or rituals, including
religious education, and has the freedom to keep or change his/
her faith.
As in most European States, freedom of religion is limit-

ed only by an obligation to respect necessary legal measures to
maintain public safety, public order, health and morals, and the
protection of fundamental human rights.
Any person has the right to be part of a legal entity reli-

gious organization (religion, religious association, or association
and foundation that also carry out religious activities) or a non-
legal entity (religious group). Joint exercise of freedom of reli-
gion is not conditional upon belonging to a legal entity.
Legal entity religious organizations are:
religions
religious associations
associations and foundations with religious objectives,
registered according to government Ordinance no. 26/2000 on as-
sociations and foundations.
These are usually cultural, social, and/or charitable organi-

zations that belong to recognized religions or autonomous or-
ganizations of persons who share a common religious belief.
6.1. Religions
The Romanian State treats recognized religions as private law

and public utility entities. They are equal before the law and
public authorities, handle their own organization, and function
autonomously according to their statutes, canonical code, and
regulations, abiding by the Constitution and the laws of the
country. The Romanian state affirms its neutrality in terms of
128
religion, in the sense that it does not favour one over another,
but has a relationship of cooperation and social partnership with
recognized religions. Religious associations do not automatically
receive the public utility status but may enjoy certain facilities
or tax exemptions. Below we include a brief presentation of
essential data regarding the history, current organization, and
functioning of legally recognized religions in Romania.33
6.1.1. Romanian Orthodox Church
Orthodox Christianity has a bimillenial tradition and history in

Romania, developing under the canonical jurisdiction of the Ec-
umenical Patriarchy of Constantinople. In modern times, as of
1872, the Romanian Orthodox Church organized as a unitary
church in its own right, by separating from the canonical juris-
diction of the Ecumenical Patriarchy of Constantinople, the uni-
fication of the Metropoles of Ungrovlahia and Moldavia, and the
raising of the Metropolis of Ungrovlahia to the rank of the pri-
macy Metropolis of Romania. The Romanian Orthodox Church
became autocephalous in 1885 and was raised to the rank of Pa-
triarchy in 1925.
There has been a succession of patriarchal dignitaries of

the Romanian Orthodox Church: Miron Cristea (1925-1939),
Nicodim Munteanu (1939-1948), Justinian Marina (1948-1977),
Justin Moisescu (1977-1986), and Teoctist Arăpaşu (1986-2007).
As of 30 September 2007, the Romanian Orthodox Church is un-
der the guidance of Patriarch Daniel Ciobotea, who holds the ti-
tle of Archbishop of Bucharest, Metropolitan of Muntenia and
Dobrogea, locum tenens of the throne of Caesarea Cappadociae,
and Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Romanian
Orthodox Church is run by the Holy Synod, which is presided
over by the Patriarch, and made up of all acting bishops. The
central deliberative body of the Romanian Orthodox Church for
all administrative, social, cultural, economic, and patrimonial is-
sues is the National Church Assembly, with three representatives
of each diocese (a clergyman and two lay persons), appointed
by the diocesan assemblies for a period of four years. The cen-
tral executive body of the National Church Assembly is made up
33
The order in which the 18 recognized religions are presented is based on the list of
recognized religions in Romania from the Annex of Law 489/2006 on Freedom of Religion
and the General Status of Religions
129
of twelve members of the National Church Assembly (one cler-
gyman and one lay person representing each of the country’s
dioceses, appointed for a period of four years). The members of
the Holy Synod may participate by deliberative vote in the meet-
ings of the National Church Assembly and the National Church
Council.
The Romanian Orthodox Church has brotherly and ecumen-

ical ties with almost all Christian churches in the world, especial-
ly other Orthodox churches. It has had high-level visit exchanges
and bilateral contacts with its sister Orthodox churches,34 the
Oriental Orthodox churches,35 the Roman Catholic church, the
Protestant churches in Europe, and with churches in America,
Asia, and other parts of the world. Furthermore, the Romanian
Orthodox Church is active as part of European and international
church organizations – as a member of the World (Ecumenical)
Council of Churches, the European Conference of Churches, and
of other Christian organizations involved in different activities
(youth, women, etc.) – as well as in international bilateral dia-
logue between the Orthodox Church and other great Christian
families (Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Old Catholic,
Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, etc.).
In the 16-26 June 2016 period, a Romanian Orthodox

Church delegation, headed by Patriarch Daniel, participated in
the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church on the Greek
island of Crete, one of the most important inter-Orthodox events
in the last century. During the working sessions, many official
documents were approved concerning six major subjects on the
agenda of the Orthodox Church:
the mission of the Orthodox Church in the contempo-
rary world;
Orthodox diaspora;
autonomy and its proclamation means;
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Orthodox Patriarchate of
34
Alexandria, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, the Orthodox Patriarchate of

Jerusalem, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Bulgarian
Orthodox Church, the Georgian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church of Cyprus,
the Greek Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church of Poland, the Orthodox Church of
Albania, and the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.
The Armenian Apostolic Church, the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Syrian
35
Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Eritrean
Orthodox Church.
130
holy matrimony and obstacles thereto;
the meaning of fasting in the contemporary world;
Orthodox Church relations with the entire Christian
world.
Units making up the Romanian Orthodox Church are par-

ishes, monasteries, deaneries, vicarages, dioceses (episcopate
and archepiscopate) and metropolis. Romania’s Patriarchate has
10 metropolises (of which 6 are in the country and 4 are abroad),
made up of 40 dioceses (episcopates and archepiscopates) with
14,633 religious units, of which 11,327 parishes.
According to data from the 2011 census, 86.45% of to-

tal population declared that they belong to the Romanian
Orthodox Church, most of them ethnic Romanians (96.46%), fol-
lowed by ethnic Roma (2.92%), ethnic Ukrainians (0.24%), eth-
nic Hungarians (0.16%), and other nationalities. There are 12,783
priests and deacons employed by and active in the Romanian
Orthodox Church, who receive part of their salary from the State
budget, while the number of clerics whose salaries are paid from
own funds is over 1,500.
In 2017, Orthodox Romanians abroad continued to orga-

nize themselves and develop. There are currently 14 dioceses,
with 1,303 parishes and branches, served by 1,098 clerics. In
2018, 26,008 baptisms, 5,132 marriages, and 3,504 funerals were
held in the Orthodox parochial communities in the diaspora.
There are 194 units part of the Romanian Patriarchy with

activities in the area of moveable church patrimony, of which 13
museums and museum collections, and 63 centres for the pro-
tection of the patrimony.
In 2018 the Romanian Orthodox Church carried out char-

itable activities through 815 socio-philanthropic foundations:
146 soup kitchens and bakeries, 43 institutions that offer med-
ical and pharmaceutical services, 104 children’s daycare cen-
tres, 20 daycare centres for the elderly, 47 residential centres for
the elderly, 31 social services offices and community centres, 48
family centres, 98 information, counselling, and resource cen-
tres, 15 shelters (for the homeless, victims of domestic violence,
and trafficked persons), 16 camps, 48 educational centres, and
131
another 87 institutions/services, 61 social kindergartens and af-
terschools, 14 protected housing units, 106 information, coun-
selling, and resource centres, 2 adult education institutions, 18
emergency centres (for homeless persons, victims of violence
and trafficked persons), 26 camp campuses, 48 educational cen-
tres, and another 101 institutions/services involved in a variety
of activities. Social foundations provided assistance to 104,957
beneficiaries, as follows:
36,216 children in social foundations of the church, es-
pecially from poor and limited means families, and children with
parents abroad;
4,718 persons with disabilities, speaking, sight, and hear-
ing disabilities, drug addicts, persons with other types of addic-
tions, and persons infected with HIV/AIDS;
34,329 elderly persons from church social protection
foundations, social transit centres, and night-time shelters, el-
derly persons on their own or who cannot leave their homes,
those abandoned by their families, and those with very serious
health problems;
24,329 unemployed persons, adults in difficulty, victims
of trafficking, victims of family violence, freed prisoners, and vic-
tims of natural disasters;
4,718 persons in other categories.
Expenses incurred to support all social assistance and phil-

anthropic activities of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2018,
at the level of the Romanian Patriarchate, amounted to RON
114,142,717. There are 513 priests who provide pastoral services
in military units, penitentiaries, hospitals, and social protection
foundations.
The “Donate Blood! Save a Life!” national campaign of

the Romanian Patriarchy, which is intended to inform and
bring to the attention the real need for blood for transfusions
in Romanian hospitals, received the support of 3,500 donors in
2018, to collect over 16 tons of blood.
The Romanian Orthodox Church has 28 theological semi-

naries, with a variety of specializations: pastoral theology, cul-
tural patrimony theology, religious tourism guides, Philology,
Natural Sciences, Social Sciences; 7 Orthodox theological high
schools; one pedagogical high school, and one technological
high school, with theology classes. The Romanian Orthodox
132
Church also has 11 theological university schools (Bucharest, Iași,
Sibiu, Craiova, Cluj, Constanţa, Târgoviște, Pitești, Alba Iulia, Arad,
and Oradea) and 4 theological departments in other universities
(Timișoara, Galaţi, Baia Mare, and Reșiţa). The most important
media institutions of the Romanian Patriarchate are Trinitas TV,
Trinitas Radio, Lumina newspaper, and the Basilica news agency.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs makes 13,885 contribu-

tions to clerical staff salaries for: 1 patriarch, 8 metropolitans, 10
archbishops, 19 bishops, 3 assistant bishop to the Patriarch, 16 as-
sistant bishops, 1 administrative patriarchal assistant, 32 patriar-
chal counsellors, 5 patriarchal secretaries, 2 ecclesiastical general
inspectors, 21 administrative diocesan vicars, 13 patriarchal chan-
cellery secretaries, 193 diocesan counsellors, 27 diocesan secretar-
ies, 121 diocesan inspectors, 28 exarchs, 154 deans, 444 abbots, 3
hegumens, 9,483 clerical positions requiring 65% of the base sala-
ry and 3,300 clerical posts requiring 80% of the base salary.
Ukrainian Orthodox Vicarage
The Ukrainian Orthodox Vicarage integrates Ukrainian Orthodox

believers in Romania and has a special canonical regimen; it is
under the jurisdiction of the Romanian Patriarchy, but also en-
joys administrative self-rule. According to the 2011 census there
are some 40,000 Ukrainian Orthodox believers in Romania, mak-
ing up 0.24% of total Orthodox believers.
The Vicarage has 30 priests serving 32 parishes and 2 mon-

asteries grouped in 2 deaneries (Sighetu Marmaţiei, Maramureș
County, and Lugoj, and Timiș County). In 2017 a diocese of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Vicarage was established in Bucharest
Municipality.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs makes a 65% contribu-

tion of base salary for 21 priests, and an 80% contribution of base
salary for 9 priests. The Ukrainian Orthodox Vicarage receives
salary contributions for one diocesan administrative vicar, one
diocesan counsellor, and one dean.
133
6.1.2. Serbian Orthodox Diocese
The Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Timişoara includes the Ortho-

dox Serbians in Romania, who are under the canonical jurisdic-
tion of the Serbian Orthodox Church. As such it functions as an
autonomous recognized denomination.
According to the 2011 census, there are 18,076 eth-

nic Serbians living in Romania, of which 94.8% are Christian
Orthodox, and most of these (11,112 persons) having declared
that they belong to the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Timişoara,
while the rest (some 6,000 persons) stated that they are mem-
bers of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The three deaneries of the diocese in Timișoara, Arad and

Socol (Caraș-Severin County) oversee 55 parishes and 5 monas-
teries served by 46 priests and deacons. Written records on the
existence of the diocesan monasteries (Baziaş, Cusici, Zlatiţa in
Caraş-Severin County, Bezdin in Arad County, and the “Sfântul
Gheorghe” Monastery in Timiş County), included in the list of
historical monuments in Romania, date back to the 16-18th
centuries.
The Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Timişoara uses the Julian

calendar (“old style”), is led by His Holiness Luchian Pantelici,
Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Buda (Hungary), and has a Bishop’s
locum tenens, Marinco Marcov, since 2010.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs makes 44 clerical sal-

ary contributions for one diocesan administrative vicar, one di-
ocesan inspector, 30 clerical positions (65% contribution of base
salary), and 12 positions (80% contribution of base salary).
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church is the world community of Christian be-

lievers around the world, united by faith and sacraments, under
the leadership and canonical dependence of the Pope in Rome.
In countries with which the Holy See has diplomatic relations,
the Sovereign Pontiff periodically appoints a Papal Ambassador
who has the title of Apostolic Nuncio.
134
The Catholic Church is present in Romania with its Latin
rite (Roman Catholic Church), Byzantine rite (Romanian Church
United with Rome), and Armenian rite (Armenian-Catholic
Ordinariate), as well as small communities of Maronite and
Chaldean Catholics.
The Episcopal Conference provides the leadership for all

Catholic believers in Romania, bringing together the country’s
Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic Bishops. The plenary meet-
ing of the Conference takes place twice a year (in spring and
fall) and there is an option to call an extraordinary session. The
Romanian Episcopal Conference has two sections: the Latin sec-
tion and the Council of Greek Catholic Hierarchs. Presidents and
Vice Presidents of the Episcopal Conference are elected alter-
natively from each of the two churches present in the Catholic
Church in Romania. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Chișinău
(Republic of Moldova) has the status of permanent invitee at the
Romanian Episcopal Conference.
The Catholic Church has several monastic orders and con-

gregations on Romanian territory, including the Society of Jesus,
the Augustinian Assumptionist Monastic Order, the St. Francis
de Sales Society, the Carmelite Order, the Order of Friars Minor
Conventual, the Piarist Order, the Congregation of Missionaries
of Charity, the Congregation of the Oblates of the Assumption
(Missionary Sisters), the Congregation of the Immaculate
Heart, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Franciscan
Missionary Sisters of Assisi, the Congregation of Jesus, the
Daughters of Saint Mary of Divine Providence, the Order of St.
Basil the Great, the Daughters of Saint Paul, the Order of Canons
Regular of Prémontré (Premonstratensians), the Congregation of
the Daughters of Charity Saint Vincent de Paul, and the Sisters of
the Congregation of the Mother of God.
6.1.3. Roman Catholic Church
The Latin Church has been present in Romania for over a thou-
sand years. The Latin rite had a powerful presence in Transylva-
nia during the Middle Ages, as well as in other historic Romanian
provinces. The oldest Catholic Episcopate of those currently
active on Romanian territory is that of Alba Iulia, established
in the 11th century. The Roman Catholic Church of Romania is
135
organized based on the Code of Canon Law, recognized officially
by the Romanian State by government Ordinance no. 1218/2008.
There are 6 Roman Catholic dioceses in Romania: two

archdioceses (in Bucharest and Alba Iulia) and 4 dioceses (in Iași,
Timișoara, Oradea, and Satu Mare), with a total of 690 parishes.
According to the 2011 census, there were 870,774 mem-

bers of the Roman Catholic Church, of which 57.47% are ethnic
Hungarians, 34.16% ethnic Romanians, 2.43% ethnic Germans,
etc. These are served by 9 bishops and approximately 900 priests.
The Roman Catholic Church is engaged in a wealth of char-

itable activities. The church has established kindergartens, or-
phanages, homes for the elderly, soup kitchens, and medical
clinics and centres through its “Caritas” associations, other asso-
ciations, and directly through parishes and monastic organiza-
tions. Training of religious staff takes place at the Roman Catholic
Theological Institutes in Iași, Alba Iulia, and Roman, as well as at
the School of Catholic Theology at the Universities of Iași and
Bucharest, and the University of Babeș-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs makes 772 clerical

salary contributions for one metropolitan, one archbishop, 5
bishops, 3 assistant bishops, 4 vicar generals, 5 diocesan admin-
istrative vicars, 17 diocesan counsellors, one diocesan inspector,
4 diocesan secretaries, 35 deans, one exarch, 5 abbots, one sec-
retary general, 488 clerical positions (65% contribution of base
salary), and 201 positions (80% contribution of base salary).
6.1.4. The Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic
The Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic, was es-
tablished in Transylvania at the end of the 17th century, a union
of some Romanian Orthodox Christians and the Catholic Church.
The Greek Catholic Church has functioned as one of the two Ro-
manian churches in Transylvania for two and a half centuries.
With the establishment of the communist regime in 1948, the
Greek Catholic Church was abolished by the Romanian State by
Decree no. 358/1948, and believers were forced to convert to Or-
thodoxy or the Latin Catholic rite. According to this same decree,
136
all its properties were taken over by the State, except its church-
es and diocesan houses, which were transferred to the Roma-
nian Orthodox Church. After the December 1989 Revolution,
one of the first measures taken by the Romanian State was the
passage of Decree-Law no. 9 of 31 December 1989, which abro-
gated Decree no. 358/1948, and officially recognized the Roma-
nian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic. The Romanian
Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic, is organized accord-
ing to the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, recognized
officially by government Ordinance no. 1218/2008. According to
the Code of Canons, the Romanian Church United with Rome is
a sui juris church; it has the rank of a major archdiocese (immedi-
ately below that of the Patriarchy), and is run by the Holy Synod,
whose President is His Eminence Lucian Mureșan, ordained as a
Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.
The 2011 census showed there are 150,593 Greek Catholic

believers, representing 0.8% of the population that declared
their religious affiliation; of these, 82.71% are ethnic Romanians,
10.72% ethnic Hungarians, 4.32% ethnic Roma, 0.8% ethnic
Ukrainians, and 0.57% ethnic Germans.
The Greek Catholic Church has 6 dioceses whose canoni-

cal jurisdiction includes 5 vicarages, 75 deaneries, 939 parishes,
some 560 places of worship, about 900 priests, and over 25 mo-
nastic orders and congregations. The 6 dioceses that make up
the Holy Synod of the Romanian Church United with Rome are:
1) The Archdiocese of Alba Iulia and Făgăraş, with head-
quarters in Blaj, whose canonical jurisdiction includes Alba (par-
tial), Braşov, Cluj (partial), Covasna, Harghita, Mureş, and Sibiu
counties.
2) The Diocese of Oradea has canonical jurisdiction over
Arad (partial), Bihor, Satu Mare (partial), and Sălaj (partial)
counties.
3) The Diocese of Cluj-Gherla, with headquarters in Cluj-
Napoca, has canonical jurisdiction over Alba (partial), Bistriţa-
Năsăud, Cluj (partial), Maramureş (partial), and Sălaj (partial)
counties.
4) The Diocese of Lugoj has canonical jurisdiction over
Alba (partial), Arad (partial), Caraş-Severin, Hunedoara and Timiş
counties, and includes two vicarages in Timișoara and Hațeg.
5) The Diocese of Maramureş, with headquarters in
137
Baia-Mare, has jurisdiction over Maramureş, Satu-Mare (partial),
Sălaj (partial), and Suceava counties, and includes a vicarage in
Baia Mare for Ukrainian Greek Catholic believers.
6) The “Sfântul Vasile cel Mare” Diocese in Bucharest has ju-
risdiction over Oltenia, Muntenia, and Dobrogea.
The Holy Synod of the Romanian Church United with Rome

has jurisdiction over the Romanian Greek Catholic Diocese of
Canton-Ohio in the United States.
Training of clerical staff takes place at the Greek Catholic

University of Theology in Cluj-Napoca, in three departments (Blaj,
Cluj, Oradea), and at the Greek Catholic University of Theology in
Baia Mare. The Greek Catholic Church also has 8 theological high
schools, included in the State education network.
There are numerous associations that operate under the au-

thority of the Greek Catholic Church, including: Asociaţia Generală
a Românilor Uniţi (AGRU), with headquarters in Cluj-Napoca, and
branches in cities in Transylvania, Banat, and Bucharest, Asociaţia
Tineretului Român Unit (ASTRU), Cercetașii Creștini Români, Asociaţia
culturală Ion Căianu, and Reuniunea Mariană. The Greek Catholic
Dioceses are involved in helping the poor, persons with handicaps,
and the sick, and offering other types of social services through
“Caritas” type associations and several monastic orders.
ary contributions for one major archbishop, 5 bishops, 3 assistant
bishops, 5 vicars general, 2 diocesan administrative vicars, 16 di-
ocesan counsellors, one diocesan inspector, 4 diocesan secretaries,
45 deans, one exarch, 12 abbots, 309 clerical positions (65% contri-
bution of base salary), and 134 clerical positions (80% contribution
of base salary).
Armenian Catholic Ordinariate
At the end of the 17th century, the Armenians of Transylvania

joined the Catholic Church, maintaining their traditional rite to
officiate in the Armenian language. A diocese was organized
with a seat in the city of Gherla. By the Concordat with the
138
Vatican in 1927-1929, the Armenian Catholic ecclesiastical unit
was recognized on 5 June 1930 as a self-governing diocese.
After 1948 the Armenian Catholic diocese came de facto

(but not de jure) under the administration of the Roman Catholic
Diocese of Alba Iulia. In 1991 the Roman Catholic Archbishop
of Alba Iulia was appointed Apostolic Administrator ad nu-
tum Sanctae Sedis (i.e. ad interim). In this way, the Armenian
Catholic Ordinariate became part of a sort of pastoral union
with the Romanian Catholic Diocese of Alba Iulia, which current-
ly has 4 Catholic Armenian rite parishes: Gherla, Gheorghieni,
Dumbrăveni and Frumoasa.
6.1.5. Armenian Church Diocese
The Armenians settled in Romania as far back as the 11th and

12th centuries, and the ruler, Prince Alexander the Good, estab-
lished the Suceava diocese for them in 1401.
The Armenian denomination was recognized in Romania

by the 1928 Law on Religions, followed by the 1931 Law for the
Establishment and Functioning of the Armenian Diocese. In 1949
the organic and administrative statute of the Armenian Church
Diocese of Romania was approved, which mentions the fact that
it is under the dogmatic and canonical authority of Catholicos of
All Armenians in Ejmiatsin, but it regulates, runs, and administers
all religious, cultural, foundational, and trustee matters in con-
formity with Romanian legislation.
The Armenian Church Diocese is under the jurisdiction of the

Armenian Apostolic Church, whose spiritual centre is in Ejmiatsin
(in Armenia), residential seat of Catholicos, Supreme head of All
Armenians. The Armenian Diocese is run by an archbishop or a
bishop, assisted by two diocesan vicars: a vicar general and an ad-
ministrative vicar. The central body of the diocese is the diocesan
Congress, and the higher executive body is the Diocesan Council.
The latter has three committees: the spiritual church committee,
the cultural committee, and the economic committee. The paro-
chial leadership bodies are made up of the Parochial Assembly, the
Parochial Council (curator), and Parochial Committees. There are 10
parishes in the Armenian Diocese of Romania, served by 4 priests,
3 deacons, and 2 cantors, with 16 churches and 6 denominational
139
cemeteries. The most important communities are in Bucharest and
Constanţa. The other communities in this country are made up of 12-
20 families. There are two Armenian monasteries in Suceava County,
registered as historical monuments, in Zamca and Hagigadar, and
these are the only Armenian monasteries in Europe.
The 2011 census registered 393 Armenian believers, of which

212 are ethnic Armenians, 115 are ethnic Hungarians, and 55 are eth-
nic Romanians.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs makes 11 clerical sala-

ry contributions for one archbishop, one vicar general, one dioc-
esan administrative vicar, 2 diocesan counsellors, one diocesan
secretary, one dean, 3 clerical positions (65% contribution of
base salary), and one clerical position (80% contribution of base
salary).
6.1.6. Old-Rite Orthodox Church of Romania
The Old-Rite Orthodox Church of Romania was established by

the Old Believers (Russian Starovers) in the first part of the 18th
century. They refused the liturgical reforms of Patriarch Nikon of
Moscow (1652-1658); state persecutions to which they were sub-
jected led some Starovers to take refuge in the Romanian Coun-
tries, where they formed the Lipovenean community.
The first Lipovenean communities in Romania were docu-

mented in the Suceava villages of Lipoveni (1724) and Manolea
(1743). In 1846, the Old-Rite Metropolis of Fântâna Albă was es-
tablished in northern Bukovina, led by Metropolitan Ambrozie.
The event marked the aggregation of Old-Rite Christian com-
munities in an autonomous church, which included all Old-Rite
believers in Europe, America, and Australia. Ambrozie’s succes-
sors (Kirill, Arkadi, etc.) also held the title of Metropolitans, and
were recognized as spiritual leaders of all Old-Rite Christian be-
lievers in the world, a status and recognition they still have to-
day. At present, the Primate of the Old-Rite Orthodox Church of
Romania is Father Lavrentie Izot.
On 28 June 1940, following the occupation of northern

Bukovina by the Soviet Union, the Old-Rite Christian Metropolis
140
moved from Fântâna Albă to Brăila, where it is still located today,
with prerogatives of spiritual leadership over all co-religionists
throughout the world. Old-Rite Russian Christians follow the tra-
ditional Orthodox ordinances, celebrate services in the Slavonic
language according to pre-Nikonian liturgical practices, and fol-
low the unrevised Julian calendar.
According to the 2011 census, the Old-Rite Christian Church

of Romania has 32,558 believers, of which 17,268 (53.03%) are
ethnic Russian Lipovans, and 13,667 (42%) ethnic Romanians,
organized in 43 parishes with 59 places of worship. The ad-
ministrative organization of the Old-Rite Orthodox Church of
Romania includes the following dioceses: the Old-Rite Orthodox
Archdiocese, with its seat in Brăila County, the Tulcea Diocese,
with its seat in Tulcea Municipality, the Slava Diocese, with its
seat in the town of Slava Rusă, Tulcea County, and the Moldova
Diocese, with its seat in Târgu-Frumos, Iași County.
The canonical jurisdiction of the 4 dioceses is divided as

follows:
The Fântâna Albă Diocese, with its seat in Brăila, includes
the Russian Old-Rite Orthodox parishes in Brăila and Galaţi
Counties, Bucharest Municipality, Borduşani (Ialomiţa County),
and the town of Fântâna Albă (in Ukraine).
The Slava Diocese includes the Russian Old-Rite
Orthodox parishes in the villages of Slava Rusă, Tulcea County,
Slava Cercheză, Carcaliu, Ghindăreşti, Jurilovca, and 2 Mai, the
towns of Cernavodă and Năvodari, the Municipality of Constanţa,
and parishes in Bulgaria.
The Diocese of Bukovina and Moldavia includes the
Russian Old-Rite parishes in Iaşi, Vaslui, Neamţ, Suceava, and
Botoşani counties.
The Tulcea Diocese includes the Russian Old-Rite par-
ishes in Tulcea Municipality, the towns of Sulina and Mahmudia,
and the villages of Sarichioi, Periprava, Chilia Veche, Mila 23, and
Sfiştovca.
The Russian Old-Rite Christian Orthodox Faith does not

have its own theological education system, and priests are cho-
sen from among believers considered apt to officiate religious
services, familiar with the Slavonic language, the specific as-
pects of the church, and its canons. As of 2003, with the approval
141
of the Romanian Orthodox Church leadership, a class has been
established at the Orthodox Theological Seminary of Iași for the
students of the Russian Old-Rite Christian Orthodox Church.

salary contributions for one metropolitan, one assistant bish-
op, 2 vicar bishops, 3 diocesan counsellors, 2 abbots, 36 cleri-
cal positions (65% contribution of base salary), and 16 clerical
positions (80% contribution of base salary).
6.1.7. Reformed Church of Romania
The Christian Reformed denomination, based on the theology of

John Calvin, came to Transylvania very rapidly, as early as the 16th
century, organized and institutionally recognized in the 1564-
1580 period, with the establishment of the Reformed Diocese of
Ardeal.
After the Great Union of 1918, the Reformed parish-

es in Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș left the jurisdiction of the
Hungarian diocese, to form a new diocese, with its seat in Oradea.
According to the 2011 census, the Reformed Church of

Romania has 600,932 members, of which (93.78%) are ethnic
Hungarians, 3.3% ethnic Romanians, and 2.74% ethnic Roma,
united in two dioceses with 709 preaching stations and 887
ministers:6
The Reformed Diocese of Ardeal, with its seat in Cluj-

Napoca, includes the Reformed believers in the Transylvanian
counties. The diocese is divided into 15 deaneries: Aiud, Brașov,
Călata (Huedin), Cluj, Dej, Gurghiu (Reghin), Hunedoara, Mureş,
Mureş-Câmpie, Odorheiu Secuiesc, Sfântu Gheorghe, Târnava,
Târgu Secuiesc, Turda, and Ținutul Pădurii.
The Reformed Diocese near Piatra Craiului, with its seat in

Oradea, includes the believers in Banat, Crişana, and Maramureş.
The parishes of the diocese are organized in 9 deaneries: Bihor,
Baia Mare, Satu Mare, Carei, Eriu (Marghita), Arad, Timişoara,
Şimleul Silvaniei, and Zalău.
142
The denomination’s governing bodies are: the Synod (for
the church in its entirety, responsible for church legislation and
essential truths of faith); the Diocesan General Assembly (for
each diocese); the Deanery General Assembly (for each dean-
ery); the Parish Assembly (for each parish). The executive bodies
are the Conductor Council - at the diocesan level; the Deanery
Council – at the deanery level; the Parish Council – at the par-
ish level. Reformed clerical staff are trained in Hungarian at the
Protestant Theological Institute in Cluj-Napoca.
ry contributions for one bishop head of worship, 2 vicar bishops,
8 counsellors, 23 deans, 529 clerical positions (65% contribution
of base salary), and 227 clerical positions (80% contribution of
base salary).
6.1.8. Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania
The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession is founded

on the teachings of Martin Luther (1483-1546), initiator of the
Protestant Reformation. Lutheran Reform spread among the
Saxon population of Transylvania in the middle of the 16th cen-
tury, following contacts with religious life in western Europe and
with universities in Germany.
The church’s organizer was Johannes Honterus (1498-

1549), an inhabitant of Brașov. The 1572 Mediaș Synod made the
“Augustan” (Augsburg) Confession the official doctrine of this
church, with a document drawn up in 1530 in Augsburg, as a ba-
sis for propagation and church life.
After the establishment of Austro-Hungarian dualism and

the annexation of Transylvania to Hungary (1867), the church
also took on a socio-cultural function, especially involved in
the organization of educational-denominational life, in order to
maintain a national identity. It continued this function even after
the establishment of Greater Romania (1918). The diocesan seat
was in Biertan as of 1572 and was moved to Sibiu in 1867.
Since December 1989, the Evangelical Church A.C. very

actively restarted its socio-cultural activities to preserve and
143
capitalize on the very valuable cultural church patrimony. The
organic statute of the Evangelical Church A.C. in Romania dates
back to 1861, subject to a series of changes over time.
The organizational structure of the church includes the lo-

cal church, the district church, and the general church. The local
church (community, parish) is a legal entity, and is governed by a
general assembly of representatives of church communities and
a Parish Council (presbyterium).
There are currently 247 communities, organized in 30 in-

dependent parishes and 217 branch communities. The denom-
ination has 262 places of worship, and is served by 32 parish
priests and 7 priests with other responsibilities. The general
church includes five church districts (deaneries) in Sibiu, Braşov,
Sighişoara, Mediaş, and Sebeş. The district governing bodies are
the District Church Congress and the District Consistory. The dis-
trict is led by a deacon.
The parishes together form the General Church. The gov-

erning bodies are the General Church Congress and the Great
Consistory. The 50-person General Church Congress is made up
of members of the Great Consistory, deacons, church district cu-
rators, and clerical and lay delegates. This body deals with the
most important issues of the church, including the choice of
bishop, general curator, and members of the Great Consistory.
The bishop is the head of the General Church.
Prior to 1940, the total number of Evangelical believers was

250,000, organized in over 250 parishes. Following World War II
and subsequent political developments, especially the succes-
sive waves of emigration in the last few decades, the number
of believers dropped significantly, and the 2011 census recorded
5,399 believers (of which 53.6% are ethnic Germans, 27.8% eth-
nic Romanians, and 14.4% ethnic Hungarians).
Evangelical Church A.C. priests receive their training in

German at the “Lucian Blaga” University, School of Theology, in
Sibiu.
As of 1961 the Evangelical Church A.C. has become a mem-

ber of the World Council of Churches, and joined the Lutheran
144
World Federation in 1963, also collaborating as a member in the
Conference of European Churches. It currently has strong ties to
the Evangelical Church of Germany, especially the “Gustav Adolf-
Werk” and the “Martin-Luther-Bund,” as well as a series of mem-
ber churches (Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, Renania, Westfalia,
etc.). The Evangelical Church A.C. edits the monthly Kirchliche
Blätter magazine.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs makes 47 clerical salary

contributions for one bishop head of worship, one secretary gen-
eral, 3 diocesan counsellors, and 42 clerical positions (65% con-
tribution of base salary).
6.1.9. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Romania
The Evangelical Lutheran Church has the same doctrine and his-
tory as the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession. Af-
ter the Great Union in 1918, the Hungarian and Slovak Lutheran
parishes in Greater Romania formed a church distinct from that
of the Transylvanian Saxons, and has remained as such until this
day.
According to the 2011 census, the Evangelical Lutheran

Church of Romania has 20,168 members (some 62% ethnic
Hungarians, 16% ethnic Germans, 12% ethnic Slovaks, and some
9.8% ethnic Romanians). The Evangelical Lutheran Church is or-
ganized on the basis of a synodal-Presbyterian system, with a
bishop as its head, elected by the general assembly of parishes.
Its supreme representative body is the Synod.
Synod members ex officio with voting rights are the dio-

cese and deanery Presidia, the supreme general notary, the ju-
nior curator, and the legal counsellor of the parish. A further
30 persons are elected from the three deaneries (Brașov, Cluj-
Napoca, and Nădlac), both clergy and lay persons. The church’s
supreme representative body is the Synod, which usually meets
every three years. Between Synod sessions, executive authori-
ty is vested in the Presbyterian diocese, made up of the bishop,
the senior curator-general, the deputy bishop, the internal mis-
sion referent, the principal diocesan counsellor, deans, the presi-
dent of the Theological Commission, the catechetical referent,
145
the diaconal referent, and the media officer. The Presbyterian di-
ocese usually meets annually.

ary contributions for one bishop head of worship, one diocesan
administrative vicar, 2 diocesan counsellors, 30 clerical positions
(65% contribution of base salary), and 14 clerical positions (80%
contribution of base salary).
6.1.10. Hungarian Unitarian Church
The Unitarian Faith was established in Transylvania through the

efforts of Francis Dávid (1520-1579), a reformer from Cluj, who
taught anti-trinitarianism. The church was established in 1568,
the year the Edict of Turda for freedom of conscience and reli-
gion at the Diet of Turda (6-13 January 1568) was proclaimed. The
name “unitarian” comes from Latin, whose noun unus relates to
the indivisible entity of God. Unitarian spirituality encourages the
propagation and practice of religious tolerance, an openness to
the knowledge of religious diversity, the respecting of freedom of
conscience, a commitment to social and civic responsibility, and
the primacy of reason and consciousness.
In 2012, the Unitarian Church of Transylvania and the

Unitarian Church of Hungary merged under the name of Hungarian
Unitarian Church. The church has 137 parishes, grouped in 6 dean-
eries in Romania and one diocese in Hungary. The organization of
this Church is based on the synodal-Presbyterian principle, which
means that lay persons have an important role, that leadership is
collective, and that basic church units are autonomous. The high-
er authority, the diocesan bureau, the church associations, and
most church institutions have their seat in Cluj.
There are two Unitarian Church high school-level theo-

logical institutions that offer more than just theological educa-
tion, with real specialization and the humanities: Liceul Teoretic
Unitarian “János Zsigmond” in Cluj-Napoca and Liceul Teoretic
Unitarian “Berde Mózes” in Cristuru-Secuiesc. Since 1948, Unitarian
priests have been trained at Institutul Teologic Protestant in Cluj,
which was established through the unification of the Romanian
Theological Academies of Protestant churches.
146
In order to carry out their mission in various areas, the church
established several associations (i.e. Asociaţia “Dávid Ferenc,”
Asociaţia Literară Unitariană, Asociaţia Femeilor Unitariene,
Asociaţia Naţională de Tineret “Dávid Ferenc,” Uniunea Preoţilor
Unitarieni, and Asociaţia caritativă “Providenţa.” The church’s so-
cial and charitable activities can also be seen in the activity of its
85 diocesan branches of the Asociaţia Femeilor Unitariene, but es-
pecially that of the charitable “Providenţa” association.
According to the 2011 census, the Hungarian Unitarian

Church has 57,686 members, of which 96.7% are ethnic Hungarians,
1.8%ethnic Romanians, and 1.4% ethnic Roma.
ary contributions for: one bishop head of worship, one diocesan
vicar, 4 diocesan counsellors, 6 deans, 74 clerical positions (65%
contribution of base salary), and 31 clerical positions (80% con-
tribution of base salary).
6.1.11. The Union of Christian Baptist Churches in Romania
Baptist Christians claim the faith traditions of the 15-16th centu-

ry Anabaptist movements, especially the efforts of John Smith,
who founded the first Baptist Church in Amsterdam in 1609.
The first Baptist Church in Romania was established in 1856 in
Bucharest, and Baptist believers organized under the name of
the Union of Christian Baptist Communities in 1920. It is a recog-
nized religion by Decree no. 553/1944.
At present, the Christian Baptist denomination in Romania

has some 1,800 churches in all regions of the country and
about 700 pastors. According to the 2011 census, there were
112,850 Baptists, of which 80% are ethnic Romanians, 11% eth-
nic Hungarians, and 7.8% ethnic Roma. The church’s governing
bodies are the general assembly, the church committee, and the
church pastor, who serves as Presbyter (elder), also called a bish-
op (supervisor).
The Union of Christian Baptist Churches of Romania

(Baptist Union) is the national representative body of the
Christian Baptist denomination in Romania. The Baptist Union
147
expresses the spiritual and doctrinal unity of Baptist believers in
Romania, and represents the general interests of Baptist church-
es and of the other component parts of the Baptist Church in
Romania. At the territorial level the Baptist Union is structured
as several regional communities: Arad, Bacău, Brăila, Bucharest,
Caraș-Severin, Cluj, Constanţa, Hunedoara, Oltenia, Oradea,
Sibiu, Suceava, Timișoara, Valea Crișului Alb, and the Hungarian
Convention, made up of Hungarian believers.
The supreme leadership body is the Congress, which

meets once every 4 years, and between Congress sessions, it is
the National Conference, which meets yearly. Between National
Conference sessions, the leadership is carried out by an Executive
Committee, which is elected by the Congress, and is made up
of a Chairman, 4 Vice Chairmen, a Secretary General, and an
Assistant Secretary General. The Baptist Church has the follow-
ing educational institutions: the School of Baptist Theology
within the University of Bucharest, not integrated into state ed-
ucation, the “Emanuel” University in Oradea Municipality with 4
schools, 7 high school-level theological schools, and 5 second-
ary schools.
The Baptist Christian Church does not request State funding for
clerical salaries, but only support for the construction and repair
of places of worship.
6.1.12. Christian Church of the Gospel in Romania – Union of Chris-

tian Churches of the Gospel in Romania
The institutional organization of the Christian Community of the

Gospel began in Bucharest in 1899. Recognized by the state in
1933 as a religion, the Christians of the Gospel were constrained
by King Carol II’s regime to merge with the Christians of the Scrip-
ture, forming the Christian Church of the Gospel, with two branch-
es: branch 1 (the actual Christians of the Gospel), and branch 2 (the
current Romanian Evangelical Church). Later, in 1946, the Christian
Church of the Gospel was recognized as a religion, and the two
branches split again after 1989.
As a result of the split of the two branches and the drop

148 in the population, the 1992 census registered 49,393 members,
while the 2011 census recorded 42,495 members (of which 86.6%
ethnic Romanians, 7% ethnic Roma, and 4.6% ethnic Hungarians).
The organizational structure of the Christian Church of the

Gospel is local, in communities with at least 15 members. There
are 671 such communities functioning throughout the coun-
try and these are led by 176 presbyters (elder brothers). The su-
preme body of the Union of Christian Churches of the Gospel is
the National Conference, which meets once every 4 years, and
which elects the members of the Executive Committee from
among the National Council members. The National Conference
and the National Council are made up of delegates of the area,
with the level of representation larger within the National
Conference. The National Council meets twice a year and rep-
resents the church’s leadership structure between National
Conference sessions. The Executive Committee represents the
executive leadership structure and is made up of a chairman,
a vice chairman, and a secretary general. The university level
“Timotheus” Theological Institute in Bucharest, not integrated in
the state education system, a secondary school, a high school in-
tegrated in the state education system, and five biblical schools
are run by the Christian Church of the Gospel.

ary contributions for one president, one union vice president,
one secretary general, one general church inspector, one ad-
ministrative diocesan vicar, one diocesan secretary, one dioc-
esan counsellor, 38 clerical positions (65% contribution of base
salary), and 17 clerical positions (80% contribution of base
salary).
6.1.13. The Romanian Evangelical Church
The Romanian Evangelical Church was established by theolo-

gians Dumitru Cornilescu and Teodor Popescu in the 1920s. In
1926, under their guidance, several hundred believers built the
first church in Bucharest. At the request of the authorities, in or-
der that they might be distinguished from other religious orga-
nizations, they took the name of Christians of the Scripture in
1927, organized officially as an association.
149
Churches were established in a very short time in
Ploieşti, Câmpulung, Târgovişte, Rucăr, Buzău, Piteşti, Bârlad,
and Braşov. As a result of pressure from the political authori-
ties, the Christians of the Scripture united temporarily in 1939
with the Christians of the Gospel. After 1990, the Romanian
Evangelical believers split from the Christians of the Gospel,
forming the Romanian Evangelical Church.
The leadership for the denomination is provided by the

National Brotherhood Council (maximum 21 members), the
Executive Bureau (3 members), and the General Assembly
of Representatives. The National Brotherhood Council car-
ries out missionary activities, and coordinates the activities
of the denomination, including administration and finances.
The Executive Bureau of the denomination, directly

subordinate to the National Brotherhood Council, takes care
of the day-to-day issues of the church, and represents it with
the public authorities as well as with other institutions in the
country and abroad.
The General Assembly of representatives is the su-

preme forum that guides and controls the activities of the
Romanian Evangelical Church and is its main deliberative
and representative (one representative for each 50 believers)
body.
According to the 2011 census, the number of per-

sons who declared that they belonged to the Romanian
Evangelical Church was 15,514 (0.08% of the population
who declared themselves as belonging to a religion), most-
ly ethnic Romanians (67.65%), ethnic Germans (15%), ethnic
Hungarians (9.62%), and ethnic Roma (5.61%). The Romanian
Evangelical Church has 140 preaching stations.

salary contributions for one union vice president, 7 clerical
positions (65% contribution of base salary), and 2 clerical po-
sitions (80% contribution of base salary
150
6.1.14. Pentecostal Union – The Apostolic Church of God of Romania
The Christian Pentecostals claim their name from one of their

most heartfelt beliefs, according to which the believers are bap-
tized by the Holy Spirit, in the same way as the Apostles on the
Pentecost. Pentecostals first appeared in the United States at the
beginning of the 20th century, and the first Romanian commu-
nity was recorded in 1922 in the village of Păuliş, in Arad County.
According to the 2011 census, 362,314 persons indicat-

ed they are members of Pentecostal Union – Apostolic Church
of God, or 1.92% of the total population that declared them-
selves as belonging to a religion. Most Pentecostals are ethnic
Romanians (76.36%), followed by ethnic Roma (19.66%), ethnic
Hungarians (1.77%), and ethnic Ukrainians (1.76%). The Christian
Pentecostal denomination has 3,078 preaching stations (church-
es and branches) and 756 pastors, of which 2,895 preaching
stations and 686 pastors in Romania, and 183 churches and 70
pastors in Europe and Israel. Its organization is decentralized, re-
specting local church autonomy. The denomination has a cen-
tral, collective leadership, represented by a 33-member Church
Council and an Executive Committee of 9 members, headed by
a president.
These bodies are elected at a General Elective Assembly,

the denomination’s highest governing body, which meets once
every four years. There are several regional and territorial com-
munities as intermediaries between the local churches and the
central leadership: Arad, Braşov, Bucharest, Cluj, Constanța,
Maramureș-Sătmar, Oltenia-Argeș, Oradea, Suceava, the Ethnic
Hungarian Pentecostal Community, the Italian Territorial
Community, and the Spanish Territorial Community. The
Christian Pentecostal Church also has authorized Pentecostal
churches in other European Union states and in Israel. One or
several pastors head a local church, depending on the number
of believers, with a committee elected by each church, whose
members also include presbyters and deacons, subordinate to
the pastor.
Pastoral training takes place at the university level at the

Institutul Teologic Penticostal in Bucharest, not integrated into
the state education system, as well as at the seminary school
151
at “Aurel Vlaicu” University in Arad municipality, Arad County.
The Christian Pentecostal denomination has 9 high school- level
schools (2 integrated in public education, and 4 private) and bi-
ble seminaries in the regional and territorial communities.
The Christian Pentecostal Church has a magazine called

“Cuvântul Adevărului,” its main media tool, and is associated
with Radio Vocea Evangheliei. Its social assistance activities are
organized by the denomination in hospitals, homes for the el-
derly, placement centres for children, and penitentiaries through
its local churches and the specialized institutions, such as: Casa
Elim and Centrul Social Samariteanul, which belong to the
“Elim” Pentecostal Church of Piatra-Neamţ; and Centrul Social al
Bisericii Penticostale “Filadelfia” in Suceava municipality. There
are tens of charitable associations and foundations established
by members of the Pentecostal churches, that do not belong to
these churches.
ry contributions for: one president, one union vice president, one
secretary general, 9 diocesan counsellors, 138 clerical positions
(65% contribution of base salary), and 54 clerical positions (80%
contribution of base salary).
6.1.15. Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Romania
The name “Adventist” is originally English and refers to the await-

ing of the Second Advent (the Second Coming of Jesus Christ) or
Parusia (Greek), and the mention of the “Seventh Day” expresses
the specific belief of Adventists: Saturday, the seventh day of the
week being reserved as the Day of God and the day of rest. In the
historic sense, the name “Adventists” refers to all beliefs coming
directly or indirectly from the interdenominational movement
initiated by William Miller (1782-1849), which gathered together
the Sabbatarian and non-Sabbatarian faiths; at present its name
is often shortened to “Seventh-Day Adventists.”
Organized originally in the Romanian Countries in the

1870-1919 period, the Adventists appeared as a result of interna-
tional missions of the Adventist Church. Seventh-Day Adventism
152
was brought to Romania by the Polish missionary Michał Belina
Czechowski (1818-1876), a Franciscan friar, later converted to the
Baptist Faith in London. He converted to Adventism (1856) and
became a missionary in Europe (1864), establishing an Adventist
community in Switzerland. In 1869 he preached in Transylvania,
and in 1870 arrived in Pitești where he converted the sons of
Garabet Hagi Aslan.
In 1920 the approximately 2,000 Adventists organized as

the Romanian Union of Evangelical Communities of Seventh-Day
Adventists and established a publishing house and print shop
named “Cuvântul Evangheliei,” as well as the Institutul Biblic
[Biblical Institute] (1923). The Seventh-Day Adventist Church be-
came officially recognized as a religion in 1925 – sometimes tol-
erated, other times persecuted, as were other similar religious
communities. During Ion Antonescu’s dictatorship, the Adventist
association was declared illegal, but became a recognized reli-
gion again in 1946 by Decree-Law no. 407/1946.
In Romania there are six Adventist Conferences (federa-

tions): Muntenia (with its seat in Bucharest), Moldova (Bacău),
northern Transylvania (Cluj-Napoca), southern Transylvania
(Târgu-Mureș), Banat (Arad), and Oltenia (Craiova). These form
the Union of Conferences, with its seat in Voluntari (Ilfov County),
which supervises and promotes the Adventist Church mission in
the entire country.
The Adventist Church has an accredited university with a

variety of specializations (Cernica, Ilfov); four high school-level
schools (in Bucharest – Ştefan Demetrescu” and “Mihai Ionescu;”
and in Cluj-Napoca and Craiova); a post-secondary nursing
school (in Brăila), several elementary and secondary schools, and
kindergartens.
There is also the Asociaţia Conștiinţa și Libertate, Asociaţia

studenţească AMiCUS, Editura Viaţa și Sănătate (Pantelimon,
Ilfov) and other publishing houses, the Institutul de Studii Biblice
prin Corespondenţă (Sola Scriptura, Şcoala de Sabat by age
groups - Primii paşi, Grădiniţă, Primară, Juniori, Companioni,
Majori) and the biblical vacation school, 3 special health centres,
one charitable hospital (Viziru, Brăila), a clinic (Bucharest), homes
for the elderly and children; an association for persons with
153
disabilities, a humanitarian agency (ADRA România), a human-
itarian service for penitentiaries; a media centre that adminis-
ters the Speranţa TV television station and tens of radio stations
of Radio Vocea Speranţei throughout the country, an associa-
tion for support and initiative (ASI), centres for youth (“Respiro,”
Moieciu, Brașov; Sătic, Argeș), Asociaţia Sănătate şi Temperanţă
with a variety of activities, such as Expo-sănătate, “Adio, ţigări!;”
and Asociaţia pentru Sănătate, Educaţie şi Familie (ASEF).
At present the Adventist Church has 1,095 places of wor-

ship; the pastoral body of the church is made up of some 400
pastors. According to the results of the 2011 census, the num-
ber of persons who declared themselves as belonging to the
Adventist community was 80,944, mostly ethnic Romanians
(79.6%), ethnic Hungarians (9.86%), ethnic Roma (8.39%), and
ethnic Ukrainians (1.6%).
The Adventist Church does not request financial support from the
State for clerical salaries, but only for the building and repair of
places of worship.
6.1.16. Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania – Jewish Faith
Although the presence of Jews was registered much earlier in

various documents, the first Jewish communities are document-
ed as having settled in the Romanian space in the 16th and 17th
centuries, under the protection of the Romanian Princes, who
offered them freedom of belief, and recognition of rabbinical
courts and specific educational institutions. Prince Constantin
Brâncoveanu treated the Jewish communities of the Romanian
Countries as a sort of guild. The position of Chief Rabbi, Haham-
bashia, was established in Moldavia in 1719.
The political emancipation of the Jews became a reality

with the Constitution of 1923, and in 1928 the Jewish commu-
nities became unified under the name of the United Federation
of Jewish Communities. Nevertheless, the end of the period be-
tween the two Wars and the years of the Second World War
were marked by restrictions of citizen and religious rights and
freedoms of the Jews, culminating in the Holocaust.
154
According to the statute of organization and functioning
of the Jewish Faith, the denominational activity of the Jewish mi-
nority in Romania is administered by the Federation of Jewish
Communities, which includes all communities and municipali-
ties in the country, with its seat in Bucharest. Of the 39 communi-
ties and 21 municipalities, the most important were in Bucharest,
Oradea, Timişoara, Cluj, Arad, Iaşi, Târgu Mureş, Bacău, Brăila,
Satu Mare, Piatra Neamţ, Focșani, Sighetu Marmaţiei, Galaţi,
Botoşani, Brașov, and Deva.
The governing bodies of local communities are the gen-

eral assembly, the governing committee, and the commission of
censors. The following are clerical positions of the Jewish Faith:
Chief Rabbi (religious leader of the Faith; Grand Rabbi; Rabbi;
Hakham (ensures that ritual meat meets Jewish standards);
Chazzan (cantor), who participates in the officiating of religious
services; Melamed (leads Talmud and Torah courses); Sofer (tran-
scribes holy texts on special parchments); Dayan (Rabbinical
judge); Mashgiach (supervises food preparation and certifies the
food is kosher); and Baal Koreh (chanter of the Torah).
There are 87 Jewish temples and synagogues on Romanian

territory. Many of these have been declared historic or archi-
tectural monuments, and are protected by law (such as the
Coral Temple and the Great Synagogue of Bucharest, the Great
Synagogue of Iaşi, the Orthodox Zion Synagogue of Oradea, the
Synagogue of the Timișoara Citadel, the Temple of the Deported
in Cluj, the Baal Shem Tov Synagogue in Piatra Neamţ, the
Temple in Târgu Mureș, and the Great Synagogue of Botoșani).
The Jewish Community also has 832 cemeteries in 738 towns, ad-
ministered by the Jewish religious communities of those areas.
According to the 2011 census, the number of ethnic Jews in

Romania was 3,271, and 3,519 persons declared that they belong
to the Jewish Faith.
The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs makes 8 clerical salary

contributions for one president, one vice president, one secretary
general, one director, one assistant director, 3 religious counsel-
lors , 1 clerical position (65% contribution of base salary).
155
6.1.17. Islam
The beginning of Islam in Romania is linked to the arrival of the

Pechenegs and Cumans in the 11th and 12th centuries, and es-
pecially with the Turco-Tatar conquest of the Khanate of the
Golden Horde in the 13th century. However, it is only in the 14th
and 15th centuries that the first stable Muslim communities ap-
peared, as a result of the instauration of Ottoman suzerainty
over the Romanian Countries. With the takeover of Dobrogea by
the Romanian State in 1877-1878, Muslim believers were orga-
nized into four muftiates.
There was a single muftiate in 1943, with its seat in

Constanța. Muslim believers were ethnic Turks, Tatars, and
Romanians, and their status as an officially recognized religion
dates back to 1928, by Law no. 54/1928 on the General Status of
Religious Faiths.
The religious activities of the Muslim Faith are led by the

Mufti, elected by secret ballot from among the Imams. A syn-
odal body, known as the Sura Islam, which meets periodically to
resolve any administrative and organizational problems of the
religion, assists the Mufti. The community is the basic unit of the
Muslim Faith, which includes all Muslim believers in a town, and
is governed by a committee of 5, 7, or 9 members elected for a
period of four years.
At present there are 50 active Muslim communities and 20

branches, with 55 Imams, scattered throughout Constanţa (63
units), Tulcea (4 units), one unit each in Brăila and Galaţi Counties,
and in Bucharest. There are two types of Muslim places of wor-
ship (a total of 81) in Romania: Jamia (mosque) and Masjid. The
Muslim Faith has the concessions to 124 cemeteries.
According to the 2011 census, there are 64,337 Muslims

in Romania, making up 0.34% of the population who have de-
clared their religious affiliation; most of these are ethnic Turks
(41.81%), ethnic Tatars (31.18%), ethnic Romanians (9.76%), and
a significant number of persons belonging to various ethnic
groups not separately registered in the census (6,906 believ-
ers, or 10.76% of the Muslim population), of which 67.27% live
in Constanța County, 14.04% in Bucharest Municipality, 5.11%
156
in Tulcea County, and the remainder in different urban centres,
such as Brăila, Cluj-Napoca, Călărași, Galați, Giurgiu, Drobeta-
Turnu Severin, and Ilfov County.
The only educational institution for the training of imams

is the Colegiu Naţional Kemal Ataturk in Medgidia, which has a
theological class.

ry contributions for one mufti, 6 administrative heads, 45 clerical
positions (65% contribution of base salary), and 10 clerical posi-
tions (80% contribution of base salary).
6.1.18. Jehovah’s Witnesses Religious Organization
The first Christians belonging to the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith

who appeared in Romania were attested in 1911. In 1920 they
established the first central seat in Cluj-Napoca. On 21 April
1937, the Ministry of Religious Affairs issued an order, pub-
lished in Romania’s official gazette, Monitorul Oficial, and in
newspapers, which prohibited the activities of the Jehovah’s
Witnesses in Romania. Although this order was contested in
court, another order was issued against the Jehovah’s Witness-
es in June 1938. On 2 August 1938, the central seat of the Jeho-
vah’s Witnesses in Bucharest was closed. After World War II, on
11 July 1945, the Jehovah’s Witnesses had their status as recog-
nized religion restored. When the communists took power, the
Jehovah’s Witnesses were once again declared illegal by Jus-
tice Minister Decision no. 86.310 of 8 August 1949.
From 1949 to 1989 the Jehovah’s Witnesses were perse-

cuted by the totalitarian regime. Persecutions were in the form
of humiliations, arrests, imprisonment for various periods, in-
cluding for life, sentencing to hard labour on the canal or in
Danube Delta work camps.
After the 1989 fall of communism the Jehovah’s Witnesses

regained their legal standing on 9 April 1990 by Civil Sentence
no. 1.148/1990, pronounced by Bucharest Sector 1 Court in
Record no. 1.174.1990, which makes it a legal entity.
157
On 22 May 2003, the Ministry of Culture and Religious
Affairs in Romania granted the Jehovah’s Witnesses Religious
Organization recognized religion status, and the Romanian gov-
ernment subsequently issued government Ordinance H.G. no.
658/2008 which confers state recognition on the organization and
functioning of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Religious Organization.
For the first time, the 2011 census recorded officially the mem-
bers of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Religious Organization, at 49,280
believers, or 0.26% of the population, of which most are eth-
nic Romanians (71.21%), 22.72% ethnic Hungarians, 3.65% eth-
nic Roma, and 1.7% ethnic Ukrainians. The Jehovah’s Witnesses
faith is based on norms and principles of the Sacred Scripture.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are organized in congregations, and regu-
larly hold meetings for Bible study. Some 20 congregations make
up a constituency. The general congregations are made up of
Jehovah’s Witnesses from a certain area or town. Several congre-
gations make up a parish.
The activities of the congregations are overseen by a group

of congregation elders. The congregations are visited periodically
by traveling overseers, or congregation elders, who serve as su-
pervisors of the parish. The elders are assisted by deputy minis-
terial servants. All of these are servants of the denomination and
serve without remuneration. A parish is made up of some 20
congregations, while several parishes make up a circuit. The ad-
ministrative structure includes 541 congregations, 29 parishes,
and 2 circuits. In Romania the activity of all congregations is su-
pervised by a group of “elders,” appointed by a Governing Body,
which serves at the central seat at Str. Teleajen no. 84, Sector 2,
Bucharest. The organization carries out its activities in some 350
places of worship, called Kingdom Halls, as well as in rented spac-
es. The official site of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is www.jw.org and
it is translated into some 750 languages. The site contains publica-
tions in about 930 languages, and it is the site with the most lan-
guages in the world. The magazines published by the Jehovah’s
Witnesses are called Watchtower and Awake! Jehovah’s Witnesses
also provide services to the community.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses Religious Organization does not request

State funding for clerical salaries
158
6.2. Religious Associations
What is a religious association?
A religious association is a legal entity made up of at least 300

members, Romanian citizens or residents in Romania, that form
an association in order to express a religious belief.
How is the religious association status obtained?
The procedure for obtaining this legal status involves the reg-
istration of the religious association in the registry of religious
associations, established at the court registry in the territorial
constituency where the association has its seat. To become es-
tablished as a religious association it is necessary to obtain the
advisory opinion of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs.
To obtain this advisory opinion, the respective association

submits a request to the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs,
accompanied by the documentation set out in Art. 41, point
(2), letters a-c, of Law no. 489/2006 and Order no. 15/12.03.2012,
published in the official gazette, Monitorul Oficial, no. 222 of
03.04.2012.
Associations established on the basis of government

Ordinance O.G. no. 26/2000 on associations and foundations
and newly-established associations may obtain this advisory
opinion.
What documents are needed to obtain the religious association sta-

tus?
articles of association (original), which must contain the

name of the faith, that may not be the same or similar to any
other recognized religious faith or religious association, the in-
formation and signatures of the associates, seat, initial patrimo-
ny, at least two gross salaries on the economy, composed of the
contribution in kind or money of the associates, as well as the
main leadership bodies.
confession of faith and statutes of the faith, which
must include central and local organization structures, leader-
ship, administration, and control methods, establishment and
159
dissolution methods, rights and obligations of members, main
activities which the faith knows how to carry out to attain its
spiritual aims, other specific provisions of the respective faith;
documents proving location of seat and initial patrimony;
advisory opinion from the State Secretariat for Religious
Affairs;
proof of the availability of the name, issued by the
Ministry of Justice
Three days from the submission of the application and

documents required by Art. 41, point (2), the judge appointed
by the Court President, will verify the legality of all documents,
and will determine by decision that the faith may be registered
in the Registry for religious associations. Once it has been duly
registered, the decision which stipulates its registration is com-
municated ex officio to the local financial bodies of the area in
which the seat of the newly-recognized religious association is
located, for tax purposes.
According to the law, religious associations may be exempt-

ed from taxation for their religious activities, according to Fiscal
Code Law no. 227/2015, with its subsequent changes and amend-
ments. Religious associations may establish legal entity subsidiar-
ies, in accordance with their statutes.
Do recognized religious associations receive tax breaks?
According to provisions in Art. 44, para. (1) of Law no. 489/2006

on Religious Freedom and the General Status of Religions and
Art. 456 d), and 464, para. (1)d of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fis-
cal Code, religious associations are exempt from paying taxes on
places of worship and the land on which these stand.
160
What organizations have received an advisory opinion from the
State Secretariat for Religious Affairs for their establishment as/
transformation to religious associations?
By 1 May 2019, the following associations received an ad-

visory opinion:
No. Religious associations Headquarters Advisory opinion
Societatea Creștinilor
str. Romulus nr. 67, sector 3, no. 1/30.03.2007;
1 Nouapostolici — România
București Ministry of Culture and Religious
(S.C.N.A.R.)
Affairs
Asociația Religioasă Arad, str. Andrei Șaguna, no. 2/23.04.2007;

2
„Nazarineană” nr. 71, jud. Arad Ministry of Culture and Religious
Affairs
Asociația „Adunările lui str. Răsăritului nr. 59, sector 6, no. 3/17.09.2007;
3
Dumnezeu din România” București Ministry of Culture and Religious
Affairs
Asociația „Biserica Ortodoxă de Mănăstirea Slătioara, com. no. 4/19.11.2007;

4
Stil Vechi din România” Râșca, jud. Suceava Ministry of Culture and Religious
Affairs
no. 5/19.11.2007;
Asociația Adventiștilor de Ziua a str. Negoiu nr. 24, Făgăraș,
5 Ministry of Culture and Religious
Șaptea— Mișcarea de Reformă jud. Brașov
Affairs
no. 6/04.12.2007;
Asociația „Centrul Creștin Timișoara, b-dul Liviu
Aletheia” Rebreanu, nr. 121, jud. Timiș
Affairsr
no. 7/04.12.2007;
Asociația „Centrul Creștin str. Munteniei nr. 30,
Metanoia” Timișoara, județul Timiș
Affairs
no. 8/19.12.2007;
Asociația Religioasă Biserica str. Azurului, nr. 4, Târgu
Credinței din România Mureș, județul Mureș
Affairs
no. 9/21.05.2008;
Asociația Creștină a Romilor str. Oltului nr. 2, Târgu Mureș,
Betesda jud. Mureș
Affairs
161
no. 10/16.06.2008;
Asociația Religioasă Apostolică str. Soarelui, nr. 47, Pâncota,
Filadelfia jud. Arad
Affairs
Asociația Religioasă „Centrul str. Poet Grigore Alexandrescu no. 11/30.10.2009;

11 Creștin Speranța Vieții nr.23, Târgoviște, jud. Ministry of Culture, Religious
România" Dâmbovița Affairs and National Heritage
no. 12/29.01.2010;
Asociația Religioasa Apostolică str. Victoriei, nr.51, Târnăveni,
12 State Secretariat for Religious
„Templul Lui Dumnezeu” jud. Mureș
Affairs
no. 13/06.04.2010;
Asociația Religioasă Creștină
13 com. Deda, nr. 352, jud. Mureș State Secretariat for Religious
„Emanuel”
Affairs
no. 13b/20.05.2010;
Asociația Comunităților Baha'i bd. Magheru nr. 27, ap. 24, et.
din România 3, sector 1, București
Affairs
No advisory opinion; by
Asociația Religioasă „Centrul str. Calea Aradului, nr. 15A,
15 Timişoara Court Decision no.
Creștin Timișoara” Timișoara, jud. Timiș
174/20.04.2007
Asociația Religioasă Biserica no. 15/16.09.2010;

str. Comșești, nr. 5, sector 5,
16 Creștină Penticostală State Secretariat for Religious
București
„Evanghelia” Affairs
no. 16/10.12.2010;
bd.Muncii, nr. 1, Scornicești,
17 Asociația Creștin Ecumenică State Secretariat for Religious
jud. Olt
Affairs
no. 17/10.05.2011;
Asociația Religioasă Apostolică str. Piața Gării, nr. 1, ap. 3,
„Cetatea Sionului” Târgu Mureș, jud. Mureș
Affairs
no. 18/05.03.2013;
Asociația Biserica Apostolică a str. Marcus Aurelius nr. 70,
Credinței în Isus Hristos IAFCJ etaj 1, Alba Iulia, jud. Alba
Affairs
Asociația Religioasă Uniunea no. 19/05.06.2013;

str. Victoriei nr. 75, Negrești
20 Creștină Penticostală a Biserici- State Secretariat for Religious
Oaș, jud. Satu Mare
lor Botezate cu Duhul Sfânt Affairs
162
Asociația Religioasă Uniunea no. 20/10.01.2014;

str. Ioan Flueraș, nr. 54, Arad,
21 Internațională a Bisericilor State Secretariat for Religious
jud. Arad
Penticostale a Romilor Affairs
no. 21/21.10.2014;
Asociația Religioasă „Locașul șos. Fundeni, biroul nr. 2,
Duhului Sfânt” sector 2, București
Affairs
no. 22/03.12.2014;
Asociația Religioasă Apostolică str. Liviu Rebreanu nr. 1,
Miracolul Creștin Alba Iulia, jud. Alba
Affairs
no. 23/01.09.2016;
str. Sinaia, nr. 17,
24 Asociația Religioasă Harvest State Secretariat for Religious
Arad, jud. Arad
Affairs
No. 24/11.10.2016;
Asociația Religioasă „Centrul str. Bucovinei, nr. 65,
Creștin Exodus” Timișoara, jud. Timiș
Affairs
str. Laguna Albastră, nr. 56 no. 25/24.11.2016;

26 Asociația Umanitară Religioasă A, satul Corbeanca, com. State Secretariat for Religious
Corbeanca, jud. Ilfov Affairs
no. 26/27.12.2016;
„Asociația Religioasă Râul aleea Gura Câlnăului, nr. 12-
Vieții” 22, sector 3, București
Affairs
No. 27/02.05.2017;
„Asociația Religioasă a Bisericii str. Tudor Arghezi, nr. 8,
Lumina” Timișoara, jud. Timiș
Affairs
str. Alexandru cel Bun, No. 28/09.06.2017;

Asociația Religioasă
29 bl. nr. 6, ap. 44, etaj. 3, sc .D, State Secretariat for Religious
„Credința Străbună”
Roman, jud. Neamț Affairs
no. 29/25.07.2017;
Uniunea Bisericilor Penticostale str. Doina nr.19,
Holiness- Filiala din România Oradea, jud. Bihor
Affairs
no. 30/23.11.2017
str. Izbiceni, nr. 5, sectorul 1,
31 Asociația Creștină Renovatio State Secretariat for Religious
București
Affairs
163
no. 31/12.12.2017
Asociaţia „Comunitatea jud. Sălaj, Str. Sărmaş, nr.1
Creştină Evanghelică Harul” mun. Zalău
Affairs
no. 32/14.12.2017
State Secretariat for Religious
Asociaţia Biserica Creştină com. Fundata, str. Principală Affairs, based on the provision of
33
Ortodoxă Valahă nr. 119, jud. Braşov the High Court of Cassation and
Justice in file no. 2150/62/2015
by Decision no.3965/11.12.2017
Asociația Uniunea Adunărilor

str. Bolnog, nr. 48, no. 33/12.03.2018
34 Penticostale a Romilor
Săcele, jud. Brașov State Secretariat for Religious
‚Philadelphia”
Affairs
Asociația Religioasă Uniunea no. 34/02.05.2018,

str. Laminoriștilor, nr. 31, ap.3,
35 Bisericilor Penticostale a lui State Secretariat for Religious
Câmpia Turzii, jud. Cluj
Dumnezeu Affairs
no. 35/09.01.2019,
Str. Principală, nr. 15, comuna
Asociaţia Creștină ”Neemia”- State Secretariat for Religious
36 Brăteiu, satul Brăteiu, jud.
Brăteiu Affairs
Sibiu
6.3. Associations and foundations with religious activities
Associations and foundations that carry out religious activi-

ties, established on the basis of government Ordinance O.G. no.
26/2000 are not required, but may request to be registered by
the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs.
By 1 May 2019, there were 829 registered associations and

foundations, of which approximately a third carry out activities
on behalf of recognized religions, while the rest are made up of
members who share different religious faiths.
164
chapter 7
Legislation Relating to Religious Life
Law no. 489 of 28 December 2006 on Religious Freedom and the Ge-
neral Status of Religions
CHAPTER I
General Provisions
Art. 1 (1) The Romanian State observes and guarantees the fun-
damental right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion for any
individual on Romanian territory, in conformity with the Romanian
Constitution and international treaties to which Romania is a party.
No one shall be prevented from or coerced into adopting an

opinion or religious belief contrary to his/her persuasion, and no one
shall be subjected to any discrimination, pursued, or placed in a posi-
tion of inferiority on account of his/her religion or faith, his/her mem-
bership or non-membership in a religious group, association, or faith,
or for the exercise, according to the law, of his/her religious freedom.
Art. 2 (1) Religious freedom includes the right of every individu-

al to have or embrace a religion or faith, to manifest it individually or
collectively, in public or in private, through practices and rituals spe-
cific to that religion, including through religious education, as well as
the freedom to preserve or change one’s religious beliefs.
The freedom to manifest one’s religion or faith cannot be sub-

ject to any restrictions other than those required by law, and which
are necessary in a democratic society for the protection of public safe-
ty, public order, health or morals, or for the protection of fundamental
human rights and liberties.
Art. 3 (1) Parents or guardians have the exclusive right to opt for
166
the religious education of their under-age wards, in accordance with
their own convictions.
The religion of a child who has turned 14 years of age cannot be

changed without his/her consent; a child who has turned 16 years of
age shall have the right to choose his/her own religion or faith.
Art. 4 Any person, religion, religious association, or religious

group in Romania shall be free to establish and maintain ecumenical
and brotherly relations with other individuals, religions, or religious
groups, and with inter-Christian and inter-religious organizations, at
both national and international levels.
Art. 5 (1) Any person shall have the right to manifest his/her re-
ligious beliefs collectively, in accordance with his/her own convictions
and the provisions of this Law, both within religious structures with
legal entity status and within religious structures without legal entity
status.
The religious structures with a distinct legal entity status as reg-

ulated by this Law are religions and religious associations, and the re-
ligious structures without a distinct legal entity status are religious
groups.
Religious communities shall be free to choose the associative

structure within which they wish to manifest their religious beliefs:
religion, religious association, or religious group, in observance of this
Law.
In their activities, religions, religious associations, and religious

groups are under an obligation to abide by the Romanian Constitution
and laws, and to not be a threat to public safety, order, health, morals,
and fundamental human rights and freedoms.
The processing of personal data concerning religious beliefs or

membership in religions is hereby forbidden, except in the organiza-
tion of a national census sanctioned by law, or in a situation where the
concerned individual has given his/her explicit consent to this effect.
It is forbidden to compel an individual to declare his/her religion

in any relation with public authorities or private-law legal entities.
167
Art. 6 (1) A religious group is a form of association of individuals,
with no legal entity status, who, without any preliminary procedure,
freely adopt, share and practice the same religion.
(2) A religious association is a private law legal entity, estab-

lished according to this Law, and made up of individuals who adopt,
share, and practice the same religious beliefs.
(3) Under this Law, a religious association may become a recog-

nized religion.
CHAPTER II
Religions
Section I Relationship between the State and Religions
Art. 7 (1) The Romanian State recognizes the spiritual, educa-

tional, social-charitable, cultural and social partnership role of reli-
gions, as well as their status as factors of social peace.
(2) The Romanian State recognizes the important role of the

Romanian Orthodox Church and that of other churches and faiths in
Romania’s national history and in the life of Romanian society.
Art. 8 (1) Recognized religions are public-utility legal entities.

They shall be organized and shall operate autonomously, according
to the Constitution and this Law, and based on their own by-laws or
canonical codes.
(2) Furthermore, components parts of recognized religions are

legal entities, as mentioned in their own by-laws or canonical codes,
provided they meet the conditions set forth therein.
(3) Religions shall operate in accordance with the laws and their
own by-laws and canonical codes, whose provisions are applicable to
their own followers.
(4) The name of a religion may not be identical to that of anoth-

er recognized religion in Romania.
Art. 9 (1) There is no State religion in Romania; the State is

168
neutral towards any religious persuasion or atheistic ideology.
(2) Religions are equal before the law and public authorities.
The State, through its authorities, shall neither promote nor support
the granting of privileges or the institution of discrimination towards
any religion.
(3) Public authorities shall cooperate with religions in matters of

common interest and shall support their activities.
(4) The Romanian State, through its apposite public authorities,

shall support spiritual-cultural and social activities carried out in other
countries by religions recognized in Romania.
(5) The central public authorities may conclude partnerships

with recognized religions in areas of common interest, as well as
agreements for regulating certain aspects specific to the tradition of
religions, and which shall be subject to approval by law.
Art. 10 (1) Expenditures for maintaining religions and their activ-

ities shall be financed primarily from their own incomes, as generated
and managed according to their by-laws.
(2) Religions may institute contributions from their worshippers

in order to support their activities.
(3) The State shall promote citizen support for religions through
tax exemptions, and shall encourage sponsorship of religions, under
the law.
(4) Upon request, the State shall support the salaries of clerical
and non-clerical staff of recognized religions through contributions,
based on the number of their worshippers who are Romanian citizens
and based on their real needs of subsistence and activity. The State
shall grant higher contributions for the salaries of the clerical person-
nel of low-income religious units, under the rules established by law.
(5) No one may be coerced, through administrative means or

other, to contribute to the funding of a religion.
(6) Upon request, recognized religions may receive material

support from the State for expenditures relating to the operation of
169
religious units, repairs, and new buildings, based on the number of
worshippers as per the latest census and based on their real needs.
(7) The State shall also support the activity of recognized reli-
gions in their capacity as providers of social services.
(8) Upon request, public authorities shall grant to any individual

the right to receive counselling according to his/her religious beliefs,
by facilitating their access to religious assistance.
Art. 11 State support also consists in tax exemptions, stipulated

by law.
Art. 12 The use of funds received from the State or local bud-
gets and the observance of the destination of assets received as prop-
erty or in use from local or central public authorities shall be subject
to State control.
Art. 13 (1) Relations between religions, as well as between reli-

gious associations and groups shall be based on mutual understand-
ing and respect.
(2) Any form, means, act or action of religious defamation and

antagonism, as well as the public offense of religious symbols are for-
bidden in Romania.
(3) Preventing or interfering with the freedom of exercise of a

religious activity carried out in accordance to the law shall be pun-
ished under the rules of criminal law.
Art. 14 (1) Every religion must have a national governing or rep-

resentative body.
(2) Religious units, including subdivisions without legal entity

status, shall be established and organized by religions according to
their own by-laws, regulations and canonical codes.
(3) For administrative purposes, the creation of a new religious

unit must be reported to the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.
(4) By law, religious units recently established as legal entities

may request and be granted financial support.
170
Art. 15 The seals and stamps used by a religion or by a local reli-
gious unit must include the official name by which the respective reli-
gion was recognized, or the acronym thereof.
Art. 16 (1) Recognized religions may use any language in the

exercise of their activities. Financial and accounting records must be
kept in the Romanian language.
(2) In their official relations with the authorities of the State, re-
ligions shall use the Romanian language.
Section II
Recognition of religion status
Art. 17 (1) State recognized religious status shall be awarded by

government Decision, based on a proposal by the Ministry of Culture
and Religious Affairs, to religious associations that, by their activities
and number of worshippers, provide guarantees of sustainability, sta-
bility, and public interest.
(2) Recognition of by-laws and canonical codes is granted pro-

vided these do not, by their contents, threaten public safety, order,
health, morals, or fundamental human rights and liberties.
Art. 18 A religious association requesting recognized religion

status may apply to the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, and
will provide the following documents:
- proof that it is legally established and has been operating un-

interruptedly on Romanian territory as a religious association for at
least 12 years;
- the original membership lists containing a number of

Romanian citizens resident in Romania equal to at least 0.1% of the
population of Romania, according to the latest census;
- its own declaration of faith and statutes for organization and

operation, that will include the following: name of the faith, its central
and local organizational structure, its forms of governance, adminis-
tration, and control, its representative bodies, its manner of establish-
ing and dismantling religious units, the status of its employees, as well
171
as provisions specific to the respective faith.
Art. 19 (1) The Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs shall sub-
mit the recognition documentation to the government within 60 days
of the date the application was filed, accompanied by its own consul-
tative opinion based on the documentation on file.
(2) If the documentation is incomplete or the by-laws contain

provisions that are contrary to the law, such documentation shall be
sent back to the applicant, accompanied by relevant explanations, in
order that this documentation may be amended or supplemented,
and the completion deadline shall be extended accordingly.
Art. 20 (1) The government shall return a justified decision for

the granting or denial of the application within 60 days of receiving
the consultative opinion.
(2) That government decision shall be published in the Official

Gazette, Part I, and the law provides that this may be challenged in
court.
(3) In cases where the application is denied, a religious associa-

tion may repeat the process for recognition of its status of recognized
religion only if it is able to produce evidence that the grounds for de-
nial have ceased to exist.
(4) The rights and duties pertaining to fully recognized religion

status may be exercised as of the date the government decision to
grant recognition goes into effect.
Art. 21 Based on a proposal by the Ministry of Culture and

Religious Affairs, the government may withdraw the recognized re-
ligion status when that religion’s activities seriously threaten pub-
lic safety, order, health, morals, or fundamental human rights and
liberties.
Art. 22 (1) For the purpose of obtaining full recognition, amend-

ments and supplements to the statutes on the organization and oper-
ation or to canonical codes shall be reported to the Ministry of Culture
and Religious Affairs.
(2) By law, administrative documents issued on the basis of this

172
Section, as well as failure to issue such documents by their legal dead-
line, may be challenged in court.
Section III
Personnel of recognized religions
Art. 23 (1) Religions elect, appoint, hire, or terminate personnel

according to their own by-laws, canonical codes, or regulations.
(2) The personnel of religions may be disciplined for violating

the religion’s doctrinal or moral principles, based on that religion’s by-
laws, canonical codes, or regulations.
(3) Clerical and assimilated personnel of recognized religions

may not be compelled to reveal facts entrusted to their knowledge or
learned during the exercise of their functions.
(4) The exercise of a priestly function or any other function that

may be presumed to include the exercise of a priestly office, without
the explicit authorization or agreement from the religious structures,
whether these be legal entities or not, is punishable under the provi-
sions of criminal law.
Art. 24 (1) Employees and the insured personnel of recognized

religions, whose pension trusts are part of the public social security
system, shall be subject to the relevant public social security law.
(2) Employees and the insured personnel of recognized reli-

gions, who have their own private pension trusts or pension funds
shall be subject to regulations adopted by the leadership of their re-
ligions, according to their by-laws and in agreement with the general
principles of relevant public social security law.
Art. 25 Clerical and assimilated personnel of recognized reli-

gions, as well as monastic personnel belonging to recognized reli-
gions shall be exempt from military service.
Art. 26 (1) Recognized religions may have their own religious

courts for internal disciplinary matters, according to their by-laws and
internal regulations.
173
(2) Internal disciplinary matters are subject exclusively to by-
laws and canonical regulations.
(3) The existence of such internal jurisdictional organs does not

preclude the applicability of Romanian law on infractions and crimi-
nal violations.
Section IV
Assets of recognized religions
Art. 27 (1) Recognized religions and their units may own and ac-
quire, as property or in administration, movable assets and real estate,
of which they may dispose according to their own by-laws.
(2) Sacred assets, namely those devoted directly and exclusive-

ly to religious rites, as established through a religion’s own by-laws
based on its traditions and practices, may neither be seized nor are
they subject to a statute of limitations, and may be disposed of only in
accordance to by-laws specific to that religion.
(3) The provisions in paragraph (2) do not affect the recovery of

sacred assets having been wrongfully expropriated and forfeited by
the State in the years 1940-1989, or of those taken over by the State
without any title.
Art. 28 (1) Local religious units may have and maintain, on their
own or in association with other religions, denominational cemeteries
for their worshippers. Denominational cemeteries shall be managed
according to the regulations of the religion that owns these. The de-
nominational identity of historic cemeteries is protected by law.
(2) In localities that do not have a local public cemetery and

where certain religions do not have their own cemetery, deceased
members of those religions may be buried according to that religion’s
rites in the existing functional cemeteries.
(3) The stipulations in paragraph (2) do not apply to cemeteries

belonging to the Jewish and Muslim Faiths.
Local public administration authorities are under obligation to

establish local public cemeteries in every village and town.
174
Village or town cemeteries shall be organized in such manner
as to include appropriate sections for every recognized religion, if
so requested by the religions that operate in the respective village
or town.
Art. 29 (1) By law, religions have the exclusive right to produce

and sell objects and goods needed for their religious activity.
(2) The use of musical works in the activity of recognized re-

ligions shall be exempt from the dues normally owed to the copy-
right authorities.
Art. 30 Churches or similar assets located in other countries

and owned by the Romanian State or religions may be the object of
bilateral agreements signed by the Romanian State, at the request
of interested parties.
Art. 31 (1) The assets that a religion acquires in any manner –

by contributions, donations, inheritance – as well as any other assets
that become the legal property of a religion ,may not be subject to
any subsequent claims.
(2) Individuals who leave a recognized religion may not lay

claims to the assets of that religion.
(3) Asset-related disputes between recognized religions shall

be settled amicably and, failing that, shall be subject to common
law litigation.
(4) In the event that a religion is stripped of its recognized sta-

tus, by this Law or following its dissolution, the destination of its as-
sets shall be stipulated in its by-laws.
Section V
Education organized by recognized religions
Art. 32 (1) The teaching of religion in the public and private ed-
ucation system is guaranteed by law for recognized religions.
(2) By law, the personnel teaching religion in public schools

shall be appointed in agreement with the religion they represent.
175
(3) In the event that a teacher commits serious violations of his
religion’s doctrine or morals, that religion may withdraw its agree-
ment that he/she teach religion, which will lead to the termination
of that person’s working contract.
(4) Upon request, in a situation where the school cannot pro-

vide teachers of religion who are members of the religion of which
the students are members, such students may produce evidence of
studies in their respective religion provided by the religion of which
they are members.
Art. 33 (1) By law, religions have the right to establish and

manage educational facilities for the training of their religious staff,
of religion teachers, as well as of other specialists needed in their re-
ligious activity.
(2) By law, every religion is free to establish the form, levels,

numbers and curriculum for their own educational plans.
Art. 34 (1) Religions develop their own educational plans and

curricula for undergraduate theological studies and the curricula for
the teaching of religion. Such plans and curricula shall be submitted
to the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs for review, and to the
Ministry of Education and Research for approval.
(2) For higher education, educational plans and curricula shall

be developed by the educational institutions, based on agreement
with the respective religions, and shall be subject to approval by the
University Senates.
Art. 35 (1) By law, the teaching personnel of theological edu-

cation facilities integrated in the public education system shall be
recognized by the Ministry of Education and Research, based on a
preliminary agreement from the relevant bodies of the respective
religions.
(2) The teaching personnel of theological education facili-

ties not integrated in the public education system shall be appoint-
ed by the relevant bodies of the religions concerned, according to
their by-laws. The personnel teaching religion in schools must meet
the requirements of Law no. 128/1997 on the Status of Teaching
Personnel, with its subsequent amendments and changes.
176
Art. 36 (1) In children’s institutions operated by public agen-
cies, or by private entities or religions, religious education shall be
provided to the children according to the religion to which they
belong.
(2) In children’s institutions, irrespective of their financing en-

tity, religious education for children whose religion is not known
shall only be provided based on agreement of persons in whose
charge they are, according to applicable law.
Art. 37 The salaries of teaching and administrative personnel

in theological educational facilities that are not part of the public
education system shall be provided by the religions. Upon the re-
quest of religions, the State, through the Ministry of Culture and
Religious Affairs, may contribute to their salary, proportionally to
the number of that religion’s worshippers.
Art. 38 Diplomas and certificates of theological studies

obtained in other countries shall be recognized according to
applicable legal provisions.
Art. 39 (1) By law, recognized religions have the right to

establish and manage religious education facilities at all levels,
and for all disciplines and specializations.
(2) Diplomas for the graduates of private educational fa-

cilities of a religion shall be issued according to applicable le-
gal provisions.
(3) By law, the State shall provide financial support for de-
nominational education.
(4) Denominational educational facilities shall have or-

ganizational and operational autonomy, according to their
standards and canons, and in observance of legal provisions
applicable to the national education system.
(5) Pupils or students may enrol in denominational edu-

cation, irrespective of their religion or persuasion, and they are
guaranteed freedom of religious education according to their
own religion of persuasion.
177
CHAPTER III
Religious associations
Art. 40 (1) Religious freedom may also be exercised in reli-

gious associations, which are legal entities comprised of at least
300 members, citizens of Romania or residents in Romania, who
associate in order to manifest a religious belief.
(2) A religious association receives legal entity status by be-

ing registered in the Religious Association Registry, which will
exist in the Clerk’s Office of every Trial Court in whose jurisdic-
tion the association’s head office is located.
Art. 41 (1) Any one of the members, based on a power of

attorney provided by the other members, may apply for the reg-
istration of that association in the Religious Association Registry.
(2) The registration application shall be accompanied by

the following documents:
- notarized articles of incorporation, which shall include

the name of the religious association – which cannot be identi-
cal or similar to that of a recognized religion or religious associa-
tion – identification and signature of the members, head office,
starting assets worth the equivalent of at least two national
gross monthly salaries, contributed in currency or in kind by the
members, as well as the first governing structures;
- declaration of faith and statutes of the religious associ-

ation, which must include: its central and local organizational
structure for government, administration and supervision, man-
ner of establishing and dismantling of local units, rights and ob-
ligations of members, main activities the association intends to
undertake in order to attain its spiritual goals; other stipulations
specific to that particular religious association;
- evidence of existence of a head office and starting assets;
- consultative opinion from the Ministry of Culture and

Religious Affairs;
178
- evidence from the Ministry of Justice that the chosen
name is available.
Art. 42 (1) Within 3 days of applying for registration and fil-

ing the documents required under Art. 41 (2), a judge, appoint-
ed by the court’s Chief Justice, shall verify their legal compliance
and shall return a decision to list the association in the Religious
Association Registry.
(2) Once the registration is complete, the judicial decision

to that effect shall be automatically announced to the local fis-
cal authority that has jurisdiction in the area of the association’s
head office, for tax registration, and will include the registration
number assigned in the Religious Association Registry.
Art. 43 Religious associations may establish subsidiaries

that have legal entity status, according to their by-laws, under
the procedure stipulated in Art. 41 and 42.
Art. 44 (1) Religious associations shall receive tax exemp-

tions related to their religious activity, under Law no. 571/2003
on the Tax Code, with its subsequent amendments and changes.
(2) Religious associations shall also be subject to relevant

provisions of Article 10 (2), Art. 15, Art. 16 and Art. 28 of this Law.
Art. 45 A jurisdictional court of law shall rule to dissolve

a religious association when that association, through its activi-
ties, poses a serious threat to public safety, order, health, morals,
and the fundamental human rights and liberties, or when that
religious association pursues a goal different from the one for
which it was established.
Art. 46 The provisions in this Article shall be in effect in

conjunction with those in Government Ordinance no. 26/2000
on Associations and Foundations, as approved with amend-
ments and changes through Law no. 246/2005.
Art. 47 (1) Existing associations, established in accordance

with the laws on associations and foundations, whose main ob-
jectives are the exercise of a religious belief, who desire to ob-
tain the status of religious association, must apply to their local
179
Trial Court for a transformation of said association, to be strick-
en from the Registry of Associations and Foundations, and for
its registration in the Registry of Religious Associations at the
Clerk’s Office of the same Trial Court, accompanied by the rel-
evant documentation stipulated in Art. 41.
(2) The application must bear the signatures of the legal

governing structures of the association, and must explicitly re-
quest the transformation of the original association into a reli-
gious association.
The delegate-judge shall rule both on the transformation

of the association and on its registration, and shall establish for
how long the association has had the exercise of a religious faith
as its objective.
The duration of operation determined by the court shall

be taken into consideration and added to the overall period of
existence of the religious association with a view to the latter’s
acquiring recognized religion status.
Art. 48 (1) In all manner of motions and judicial action con-

cerning the acquisition or loss of religious association status
each session shall be conducted in the presence of a Prosecutor
and a representative summoned from the Ministry of Culture
and Religious Affairs.
(2) Decisions or rulings returned by a court of law in cases

concerning religious associations may be legally appealed with-
in 15 days of pronouncement in court.
CHAPTER IV
Transitory and final stipulations
Art. 49 (1) As of the date this Law was enacted, there are
18 fully recognized religions in Romania, as indicated in the
Appendix that constitutes an integral part of this Law.
(2) Within 12 months of the enactment of this Law, the

recognized religions existing in Romania and included in the
Appendix to this Law, shall submit their by-laws and canonical
180
codes to the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, in order to
obtain full recognition.
(3) Recognition shall be granted through the government

decision mechanism, based on a proposal from the Ministry
of Culture and Religious Affairs, and shall be published in the
Official Gazette of Romania, Part I. The provisions of Art. 17 (2)
shall apply accordingly.
-------------------------------
*) Law no. 489/2006 went into effect 3 days from the date
of 8 January 2007, date of its publication in Romania’s official ga-
zette Monitorul Oficial, Part I
Art. 50 (1) Any amendment or change to this Law shall be

made following preliminary consultation with recognized reli-
gions, and in observance of the legal regulations on decision-
making transparency.
(2) The representatives of religions have the right to take

part, as guests, in debates in Parliament and in those of its
Committees discussing draft legislation pertaining to religious
life, religious activities, denominational education, social assis-
tance, and national heritage issues that involve religions.
Art. 51 As of the date this Law is enacted, Decree no.

177/1948 on the General Status of Religions, published in the
Official Gazette of Romania, issue #178 of 4 August 1948, as sub-
sequently amended and changed, as well as any other provi-
sions contrary to this Law, are herewith repealed.
-------------------------------
*) See footnote for Art. 49 (1).
181
Framework Law no. 153/2017 of 28 June 2017 concerning the pay scale
of staff paid from public funds (extracts)
CHAPTER III
Religions
Base salaries for clerical staff working in budget units
Management Staff
Level of
No. Position Base Salaries
Studies Incentive Rate
1 Priest Year 2022
Grade I s 4,000 1.60
Grade II s 3,900 1.56
Permanent s 3,850 1.54
Beginner s 3,700 1.48
2 Priest
Grade I m 3,700 1.48
Permanent m 3,650 1.46
Beginner m 3,550 1.42
NOTE:
Conditions to occupy professional grades are determined by

government ordinance. The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs is
authorized to certify the assimilation of positions of other religions
with that of a priest.
Base salaries are foreseen for pay grade 0. Base salaries for pay
grades 1-5 are set according to an increase in pay grade 0 pay base ac-
cording to provisions in Art. 10 of the present law.
182
B. Compensation for management staff of recognized reli-
gions and central religious units, assimilated with that of public digni-
tary positions.
Maximum Positions with

No. Position number of which they are
positions assimilated
1 Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church 1 Presidents of
the Senate and
Chamber of
Deputies
2 Major Archbishop, Romanian Orthodox Church and 11 Secretaries and Head
Roman Catholic Metropolitans of the Senate and
Chamber of Deputies
3 Archbishop, Head of faith (metropolitan, bishop, 22 Minister

mufti, head rabbi, president of the union,
president)
4 Bishop, patriarchal bishop-vicar 34 Vice Presidents

of Permanent
Patriarchal Councils
in the Senate and
Chamber of Deputies
5 Bishop-vicar, bishop helper, auxiliary bishop, chief 26 Senators, Deputies

priest-vicar
183
C. Leadership staff positions of religions and religious units,
other than those assimilated with public dignitary positions
Number of posts that receive Equivalent education

No. Position
monthly salary support positions
1 union vice president, 52 Higher education
administrative patriarchal professor, educational
vicar, secretary-general, grade I, with 40+ years
patriarchal counsellor, first teaching experience
rabbi
2 patriarchal secretary, 41 Higher education
general church inspector, professor, educational
administrative diocesan vicar, grade I, with 22-25
episcopal vicar years teaching
experience
3 secretary of the patriarchal 732 Higher education
chancellery, diocesan professor, educational
secretary, diocesan inspector, grade II, with 10-14
exarch, dean years teaching
experience
4 staret, superior, father superior 466 Higher education
professor, educational
grade II, with 2-6 years
teaching experience
**) According to Art. 61(2) of Law no. 2/2018 – State Budget Law
for 2018 published in Romania’s Monitorul Oficial (official gazette),
Part I, no. 4, of 3 January 2018, the number of positions for clerical staff
hired in recognized religion units in Romania that receive monthly sal-
ary support, according to provisions in Chapter III(C) in Annex I is in-
creased by one position, or from 52 positions to 53 positions under no.
1 of the above Table – position “union vice president, administrative
patriarchal vicar, secretary-general, patriarchal counsellor, first rabbi.”
**) According to Art. 61(2) of Law no. 2/2018 – State Budget Law
for 2018 published in Romania’s Monitorul Oficial (official gazette),
Part I, no. 4, of 3 January 2018, the number of positions for clerical staff
hired in recognized religion units in Romania that receive monthly sal-
ary support, according to provisions in Chapter III(C) in Annex I is in-
creased by two positions, or from 732 positions to 734 positions under
no. 3 of the above Table – position “secretary of the patriarchal chan-
cellery, diocesan secretary, diocesan inspector, exarch, dean.”
184
D. Clerical staff employed in units of tier-one faiths in Romania
Number of posts
that receive
No. Position Equivalent education positions
monthly salary
support
1 Priest, deacon, pastor, preacher, 15,272

imam, rabbi, cantor*, officiant
2 With higher education 10,991 Professor with higher

education
3 Grade I 3,040 Educational grade I
4 Grade II 3,250 Educational grade II
5 Permanent 2,440 Permanent
6 Beginner 2,261 Beginner
7 With medium education 4,281 Teacher, educator, master
instructor, with mid-level
education
8 Grade I 664 Educational grade I
9 Grade II 783 Educational grade II
10 Permanent 1,690 Permanent
11 Beginner 1,140 Beginner
**) In Judaism
Regulations that are specific to clerical staff belonging to legally

recognized religions that carry out activities in the country.
ART 1(1) The Romanian state supports those faith that are rec-
ognized according to Law no. 489/2006 on religious freedom and the
general status of religions, republished, at their request, for salaries of
clerical staff.
(2) Clerical staff that benefit from provisions of the present law
retain their status of employee of recognized religion.
185
SECTION 1
State support for clerical staff salaries
ART. 2 (1) State salary support for clerical staff who carry out
activities in the country on behalf of religions legally recognized in
Romania is determined as follows:
- management staff of religions, whose work is considered

equivalent to that of public dignitaries, receive a monthly allowance,
the only form of remuneration for the respective staff. This serves as
the basis for calculating and setting the rights and obligations in con-
nection with salary income.
- management staff of religions, other than those in point a), re-

ceive monthly salary support according to the positions they hold, at
the level of base salaries set according to law for pre-university state
education staff, based on equivalents.
- clerical staff that carry out their activities in religious units re-
ceive monthly salary support worth 65% of base salary set by law for
pre-university state education staff, according to level of studies, their
professional grade, and length of time engaged in clerical activity for
Romanian recognized religions, based on equivalents.
(2) By exception from provisions in para. (1)c), clerical staff that

carry out activities in religious units with low income may receive
monthly salary support amounting to 80% of base salary set by law for
pre-university state education staff, according to level of studies, pro-
fessional grade, and length of time engaged in clerical activities in reli-
gious units, based on equivalents.
Criteria according to which religious units are considered low

income, based on para. (2) are set by Secretary of State for Religious
Affairs ordinance.
(4) Clerical staff may benefit from provisions in para. (2) up to

30% of the total for clerical positions for which support is offered for
salaries from the state budget.
186
(5) The number of positions set according to para. (4) will be dis-
tributed among the recognized religions, according to the number of
believers, the latest census, and real needs.
(6) The central religious units, based on the number of posi-

tions communicated annually, will justify to the State Secretariat for
Religious Affairs the proposals for the choice of religious units whose
clerical staff are to receive monthly support according to provisions in
para. (2), who meet conditions and criteria in para. (2) and (3).
(7) The lists of religious units whose clerical staff receive month-
ly support according to para. (2), and the changes thereto, are pro-
posed by the central religious units and approved yearly by the State
Secretary for Religious Affairs.
(8) Clerical staff of religious units that obtain income from rent-
als, leasing, and concessions of properties are not eligible for provi-
sions in para. (2).
SECTION 2
Other rights of clerical staff
ART. 3 Conditions to fill religious unit clerical staff professional

grades provided for in Art. 2 (1)c are approved by the State Secretariat
for Religious Affairs, based on a proposal made by recognized religions.
ART. 4 Only those rights set according to provisions contained

in Art. 2, including all contributions specified by law, are provided
from the state budget through the budget of the State Secretariat for
Religious Affairs.
ART. 5(1) An amount, set by annual budget laws or by laws to

rectify the state budget, not to be lower than the amount set by law
for the year 2017 *), is allocated from the state budget through central
religious units to support Romanian religious settlements outside the
country’s borders, that carry out special activities to maintain linguis-
tic, cultural, and religious identity of Romanians outside the country’s
borders.
*) According to provisions in Art. 61, para. (4) of Law no. 2/2018

– State Budget Law for 2018 published in Romania’s official gazette,
187
Monitorul Oficial, Part I, no. 4 of 3 January 2018, for the support of re-
ligious settlements outside the country’s border that carry out special
activities to maintain the linguistic, cultural, and religious identity of
Romanians who live outside the country’s borders, according to provi-
sions in Annex no. I, Chapter III – Religions, letter E, Art. 5 of Framework
Law no. 153/2017, with subsequent changes and amendments, the
monthly amount of EUR 249,000 will be allocated.
(2) The amount provided for in para. (1) is allocated to the

central units of recognized religions by the State Secretariat for
Religious Affairs, through the budget of the General Secretariat of the
government.
(3) The purposes of the amount provided for in para. (1) is set
by the central units of recognized religions outside Romania’s borders,
with the management of those religious units, and will be used to sup-
plement salaries of clerical staff of these respective units, including for
the payment of all contributions provided for by law. The obligation to
justify the manner in which this amount is used falls on the central re-
ligious units in Romania, through submission of documents stipulated
in laws in effect.
(4) The amount provided for in para. (1) may be modified annu-
ally through the State Budget Law or laws to rectify the state budget.
ART. 6 Rights set per legal provisions in effect continue to be

granted to staff employed by the recognized Romanian religions, ac-
cording to the laws, for which the provisions of the present law are not
applicable.
ART. 7 (1) The manner in which funds allocated from the state
budget are used, according to the present law, is subject to the con-
trol of the General Secretariat of the government, through the State
Secretariat for Religious Affairs and other bodies entitled by law.
(2) The number of positions for clerical staff may be raised yearly
by state budget law.
(3) As an exception to provisions in para. (2), the State Secretariat

for Religious Affairs may modify the number of positions stipulated in
letter D by transforming some positions with mid-level studies to high-
er studies, depending on the needs, or reduce the number of positions
188
in no. 2 and increase the number by the same in no. 1, with classifica-
tion in the total number of positions approved.
SECTION 3
State support for non-clerical staff salaries of recognized religions
ART. 8 (1) Units belonging to the recognized religions in Romania,

as well as legally authorized and accredited educational theology units
and institutions under the control of the former and not integrated in
State education, respectively clerical staff training units, receive support
from the State and local budgets in the form of contributions, to supple-
ment the salaries that cannot be covered by own funds of the central
and local religious units.
(2) Units and contributions stipulated in para. (1) will be chosen by

the management of religious centres, according to criteria set by them.
ART. 9 (1) Financial support for non-clerical staff employed by rec-

ognized religions in Romania is provided, upon request, based on an-
nual budget provisions, as follows:
a) from local budgets:
i) 19,899 contributions for non-clerical staff employed in the re-

ligious units in the country listed in Art. 8 of the present annex. The
monthly contribution is set by the annual budget laws or by laws to rec-
tify the State budget, not to be lower than the amount set legally for
the year 2017.
ii) Associated amounts needed to pay all contributions set by law;
b) from the state budget:
i) 300 contributions for non-clerical staff hired by educational

theology units and institutions, respectively clerical staff training units,
as per Art. 8 of the present annex. The monthly contribution is set by an-
nual budget laws or by laws to rectify the state budget, not to be lower
than the amount set legally for the year 2017;
ii) 42 contributions for non-clerical staff sent to serve in set-

tlements of the Romanian Orthodox Church abroad. The monthly
189
contribution represents the equivalent in RON of 50% of the net rights
in foreign currency, as equivalent with positions of Romanian staff sent
to carry out activities at diplomatic missions, of consular officers, and of
other types of Romanian representatives abroad; *)
*) According to provisions in Art. 61, para. (3) of Law no. 2018

– State budget law for 2018 published in Romania’s official gazette
Monitorul Oficial, Part I, no. 4 of 3 January 2018, the number of contribu-
tions is raised to 57 for non-clerical staff serving in Romanian Orthodox
Church settlements abroad, contained in Annex I, chapter iii – Religions,
letter E, Art. 9, para. (1) letter b) point (ii) of Framework Law no. 153/2017,
with subsequent changes and amendments.
iii) Associated amounts needed to pay all contributions set by law.
(2) The number of contributions according to para. (1) may be

changed by annual budget laws or by laws to rectify the State budget.
(3) In setting the breakdown amounts from certain state budget

incomes in order to balance local budgets, attention will be paid also to
the allocation of funds to apply provisions in para. (1) letter a).
(4) The local public administration authorities will approve the

supplementing of the number of positions for non-clerical staff em-
ployed in units belonging to recognized religions in Romania, whose
financial support is provided according to provisions in para. (1) letter
a), and this will be communicated to the State Secretariat for Religious
Affairs.
(5) The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs will approve the sup-
plementing of the number of positions for non-clerical staff employed
in units belonging to recognized religions in Romania, whose financial
support is provided according to provisions in para. (1) letter b).
(6) Local public administration authorities may approve the sup-

plementing of the number of positions for non-clerical staff employed
in units belonging to recognized religions in Romania, bearing in mind
the number of believers in each faith, with financial support being pro-
vided from own local budget income.
190
Law no. 227/2015 of 8 September 2015 concerning the Fiscal Code
Text in effect as of 20 May 2018
Text updated with the use of the LEX EXPERT legislative comput-
er product on the basis of modifying laws, published in the Romanian
official gazette Monitorul Oficial, Part I, by 17 May 2018.
ART. 15
Special taxation rules
(1) In the case of the following Romanian legal entities the types
of non-taxable income below are considered for the calculation of
taxes:
(a) for recognized religions income obtained from the produc-

tion and sale of objects and products needed for religious activities,
according to the law, income obtained from rents, income obtained
from relinquishing/disposal of tangible assets, other income obtained
from economic activities or those of a nature provided for in para. (2),
income from damages in the form of cash, obtained as a result of rep-
aration measures provided for by laws relating to reconstitution of
right of property, provided the respective amounts are used in the
current year and/or in the coming years for the maintenance and op-
eration of religious units, for construction, for repairs and consolida-
tion of places of worship and ecclesiastical building, for education, to
supply of social services, in their own name or in partnership, accredit-
ed in legal conditions, for specific actions or other non-profit activities
of recognized religions, according to Law no. 489/2006 concerning re-
ligious freedom and the general status of religions, republished;
ART. 154
Categories of individuals exempted from paying social health

insurance
(1) The following categories of individuals are exempted from

paying social health insurance:
o) monastic staff of recognized religions, on the lists of the State

Secretariat for Religious Affairs;
191
ART. 456
Exemptions
(1) No taxes/fees are owed on buildings that:
d) are intended as places of worship, belonging to officially rec-

ognized religions, religious associations and local branches thereof,
and rectories, excepting rooms used for economic activities;
e) funeral buildings in cemeteries and crematoria
f) buildings used by state educational units and institutions,

denominational or private, authorized to function temporarily or ac-
credited, excepting rooms that are used for economic activities that
generate income other than school fees, food service, and accommo-
dation fees for pre-schoolers, pupils, and students, as well as build-
ings used as daycare centers, as defined by and functioning according
to Law no. 263/2007 on the establishment, organization, and opera-
tion of daycare centers, with subsequent changes and amendments;
2) Local councils may decide to exempt or reduce taxes/fees for

the following buildings:
d) buildings used solely by non-profit organizations for non-

profit activities;
f) buildings restituted according to art. 1, para. (10) of govern-

ment Emergency Ordinance no. 94/2000 on the restitution of im-
movable assets that belonged to recognized religions in Romania,
republished, with subsequent changes and and amendments, for a
period during which the owner maintains its public interest use;
ART. 464
Exemptions
(1) Tax/fee exemptions for land for:
(d) land that belongs to officially recognized religions and reli-

gious associations, as well as local branches thereof, excepting surfac-
es that are used for economic activities;
192
e) land belonging to cemeteries and crematoria;
f) land used by state education units and institutions, denom-

inational or private, authorized or functioning temporarily or ac-
credited, excepting spaces that are used for economic activities that
generate income other than school fees, food service, and accommo-
dation fees for pre-schoolers, pupils, and students, as well as build-
ings used as daycare centers, as defined by and functioning according
to Law no. 263/2007 on the establishment, organization, and opera-
tion of daycare centers, with subsequent changes and amendments;
(2) Local councils may decide to exempt or reduce taxes/fees for

the following buildings:
(b) buildings restituted according to art. 1, para. (10) of gov-

ernment Emergency Ordinance no. 94/2000 on the restitution of im-
movable assets that belonged to recognized religions in Romania,
republished, with subsequent changes and amendments, for a period
during which the owner maintains its public interest use;
f) land belonging to associations and foundations used exclu-

sively for non-profit activities;
ART. 476
Exemptions
(1) The following are exempt from paying fees for certificates,
notices, and authorizations:
c) Urban planning certificates and building permits for places of

worship and annex constructions;
193
Government Ordinance no. 82 of 30 August 2001 regarding the establi-
shment of forms of financial support for religious units belonging to the
recognized religion communities in Romania, republished
Art. 1. (1) Units belonging to recognized religions in Romania,

as well as authorized and legally accredited theological, educational
institutions that are subordinate to the faith communities and are not
integrated in the state educational system, receive support from the
state and local budgets in the form of contributions, to supplement the
salary rights that are not covered by own funds of the respective cen-
tral and local religious units.
(2) The units and contributions mentioned in para. (1) will be

chosen by the governing bodies of the religious centres, in conformity
with criteria set by them.
Art. 2. (1) Financial support for non-clerical staff hired in the

country’s religious units, mentioned in art. 1, is granted according to
the limit of yearly budgetary provisions, as follows:
from the local budgets:
- 17,500 contributions for non-clerical staff hired in the coun-

try’s religious units as per Art. 1. The monthly contribution is at the level
of the gross national minimum wage, and may be indexed by govern-
ment ordinance, based on a rise in consumer prices;*
- the correspondent amounts, necessary for the payment of

contributions to the state social security budget, and the funds for un-
employment benefits and social health insurance;
from the state budget:
- 300 contributions for non-clerical staff hired in the units and

institutions of theological, educational institutions mentioned in Art. 1.
The monthly contribution is at the level of the gross national minimum
wage, and can be indexed by government ordinance, based on a rise
in consumer prices;
- 30 contributions for non-clerical staff sent to serve abroad

in the settlements of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The monthly
194
contribution represents the equivalent in RON of 50% of the rights in
foreign currency, set as a net quantum, as equivalent with positions for
Romanians serving in diplomatic missions, consular offices, and other
forms of Romanian representation abroad;**
- the related amounts, needed to pay the contributions to the

State social security budget, and to the funds for unemployment ben-
efits and social health insurance.
(2) The number of contributions mentioned in para. (1) may be

modified by yearly budget laws or by State budget revision laws.
(3) In setting the breakdown amounts of some of the State

budget income in order to balance local budgets the allocation of
funds to meet provisions in para. (1) letter a) will also be considered.
(4) The approval for supplementary non-clerical positions em-

ployed in units belonging to the recognized religions in Romania who
receive financial support as per provisions in para. (1) letter a), comes
from local, public administrative authorities, proportional to the num-
ber of believers of each religious group, and is communicated to the
State Secretariat for Religious Affairs.
(5) The approval of supplementary non-clerical positions em-

ployed in units belonging to the recognized religions in Romania,
whose financial support is provided as per provisions in para. (1) letter
b), is granted by the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs.
(6) Local public administrative authorities may approve the sup-

plementing of the number of positions for non-clerical positions hired
by units belonging to the recognized religions in Romania, proportion-
al to the number of believers of each religious group, with financial as-
sistance to come from own funds of local budgets.
(7) Non-clerical staff that receive support in the form of state

budget contributions and from local budgets are auxiliary staff of reli-
gious groups that carry out activities that are ancillary to the religious
activity needed to fulfill the latter.
(8) Included in the category of non-clerical staff according to

para. (7) is the function of cantor or church singer, except in the case of
the Jewish Faith, where the function is clerical.
195
*) In conformity with provisions in Framework Law no. 153/2017
concerning uniform salaries for staff paid from public funds, published
in the official gazette, Monitorul Oficial al României, Part 1, no. 492, of
28 June 2017, with subsequent changes, Annex 1. Occupational family
of budgetary “education” functions, Chapter III, Religions, Art. 9, para.
(1) letter a) pt. i), 19,899 financial contributions are made to support
non-clerical staff in religious units belonging to recognized religions in
Romania. The monthly contribution quantum is set by annual budget
laws or state budget amendments, not to be lower than the quantum
set for 2017, according to the law.
**) In conformity with provisions in Law no. 2/2018 State

Budget Law for 2018, Art. 61, para. (3), published in the official gazette,
Monitorul Oficial al României, Part 1, no. 4, of 3 January 2018, the num-
ber of contributions for non-clerical positions sent to serve in Romanian
Orthodox Church settlements abroad is increased, according to Annex
no. I, Chapter III – Religions, letter E, Art. 9, letter b) pt. (ii) of Framework
Law no. 153-2017, with subsequent changes and amendments.
Art. 3. (1) Funds for the restoration and preservation of plac-

es of worship, considered historical monuments and national, cultur-
al, and patrimonial assets belonging to officially recognized religions
in Romania, are allocated from the State budget, based on estab-
lished budget limits, and from the budget of the State Secretariat for
Religious Affairs. These funds will supplement own funds needed to
maintain and operate religious units with low or no income, to fit out or
maintain museums owned or administered by these, to build or repair
administrative diocesan headquarters or religious centres, and theo-
logical education units belonging to recognized religions, to construct
and repair places of worship, to acquire buildings needed to carry out
the activities of the religious units, including social and medical assis-
tance activities, to build, fit out, and repair buildings for social assis-
tance and medical services carried out by these units, and to support
activities of an internal or international nature carried out by Romanian
recognized religions.
(2) Work to preserve and restore places of worship that are

considered historical monuments is carried out according to provisions
in Law no. 422/2001 on the protection of historical monuments, repub-
lished, with subsequent amendments.
(3) Funds may be allocated from local budgets to supplement

196
own funds needed to maintain and operate religious units with low
or no income, to fit out or maintain museums owned or administered
by these, to build or repair administrative diocesan headquarters or re-
ligious centres, and theological education units belonging to recog-
nized religions, to construct and repair places of worship, to acquire
buildings needed to carry out the activities of the religious units, in-
cluding social and medical assistance activities, to build, fit out, and
repair buildings for social assistance and medical services carried out
by these units.
Art. 4. Oversight of the destination of allocated funds is sub-

ject to the control of legally-assigned bodies.
Art. 5. The government will approve the methodological

norms of application of the provisions of the present ordinance, at
the proposal of the Ministry of Public Administration and the State
Secretariat for Religious Affairs.
Art. 6. The present ordinance goes into effect as of 1 January

2002.
Art. 7. Concomitant with the present ordinance going into ef-

fect is the abrogation of government Ordinance no. 72/2000 on the es-
tablishment of certain forms of financial support for low or no income
religious units belonging to approved religions in Romania, published
in the official gazette, Monitorul Oficial al României, Part I, no. 407 of
29 August 2000, with subsequent amendments, approved and modi-
fied by Law no. 244/2001, published in Monitorul Oficial al României,
Part I, no. 289 of 1 June 2001, as well as any other contrary provisions,
with the exception of those provisions in Art. 1, para. (1) in govern-
ment Ordinance no. 38/1994 on the establishment of some forms of
financial support for low or no income religious units and the granting
of indemnities for hierarchs and management staff of approved reli-
gions, published in Monitorul Oficial al României, Part I, no. 225 of 19
August 1994, approved by Law no. 130/1994, published in Monitorul
Oficial al României, Part I, no. 354 of 21 December 1994, and of gov-
ernment Emergency Ordinance no. 203/1999 on the establishment of
some forms of financial support for low or no income religious units in
the Orthodox Diocese of Covasna and Harghita, published in Monitorul
Oficial al României, Part I, no. 649 of 30 December 1999, approved by
Law no. 25/2001, published in Monitorul Oficial al României, Part I, no.
116 of 7 March 2001.
197
Emergency government Ordinance no. 19 of 17 March 2005 con-
cerning the construction of the Architectural Complex of the People’s
Salvation Cathedral with subsequent changes and amendments
In order to build the People’s Salvation Cathedral, a symbol

of two thousand years of Christian faith on Romanian territory,
considering the need to make available a suitable location
for the construction of the architectural complex, to allow for its
completion in the shortest possible time,
owing to the fact that these elements are in the public in-
terest and constitute extraordinary circumstances,
according to Art. 115, para. (4) of the Romanian Constitution,
republished,
the government of Romania adopts the present Emergency
Ordinance.
Art. 1 (1) The Architectural Complex of the People’s Salvation

Cathedral, a symbol of two thousand years of Christian faith on
Romanian territory, will be built in Bucharest Municipality, on Calea
13 Septembrie, Sector 5, according to plans drawn up and legally
approved.
(2) Funds for the construction of the Architectural Complex

of the People’s Salvation Cathedral will be made available by the
Patriarchy of the Romanian Orthodox Church, by the Romanian gov-
ernment, according to limits set for amounts allocated yearly for this
purpose through the budget of the Ministry of Culture and Religious
Affairs, as well as by local public administration authorities.
(3) The Romanian government and other central and local

public authorities involved have the obligation to provide, at the re-
quest of the Patriarchy of the Romanian Orthodox Church, all neces-
sary support, according to the provisions of the law.
Art. 2 (1) The land measuring 110,000 sqm, situated in Bucharest

Municipality, at Calea 13 Septembrie, Sector 5, identified and bound-
ed according to the annex that is part of this Emergency Ordinance,
turns from a public state domain to a private state domain.
(2) The title for the land mentioned in para. (1) will be provid-
ed free of charge to the Patriarchy of the Romanian Orthodox Church,
198
and is destined exclusively for the construction of the Architectural
Complex of the People’s Salvation Cathedral.
(3) The transfer of the land mentioned in para. (1) will take place
based on a protocol signed between the interested parties, within 30
days of the Emergency Ordinance going into effect.
ART. 3 The state public property land, located in Bucharest,

at Calea 13 Septembrie, Sector 5, constitutes the difference between
the acreage stipulated in Law no. 137/2000 on the legal status of the
appertaining land at the Romanian Parliament Palace and the acreage
mentioned in Art. 2, para. (1), and retains its legal status.
ART. 4 (1) Once the present Emergency Ordinance goes into

effect, Law no. 137/2000 concerning the legal status of the appertain-
ing land at the Romanian Parliament Palace, published in the official
gazette, Monitorul Oficial al României, Part I, no. 348 of 26 July 2000,
as well as government Decision no. 718/1991 on the approval of the
techno-economic study of the “Casa Republicii” investment objec-
tive, published in Monitorul Oficial al României, Part I, no. 237 of 25
November 1991, is modified accordingly.
(2) On that same date, Law no. 441/2004, concerning the con-
struction of the People’s Salvation Cathedral, published in Monitorul
Oficial al României, Part I, no. 1.004 of 1 November 2004, and gov-
ernment Decision no. 468/2003 concerning the transfer of state pub-
lic property to the administration of the Patriarchy of the Romanian
Orthodox Church, published in Monitorul Oficial al României, Part I,
no. 289 of 25 April 2003, with subsequent amendments, and other
contrary dispositions, are abrogated.
199
Government Decision H.G. no. 44 of 13 February 2013
Concerning the Organization and Operation of the State

Secretariat for Religious Affairs
On the basis of art. 108 of the Romanian Constitution, repub-

lished, and aArt. 26, para. (1) of Emergency government Ordinance no.
96/2012 concerning measures for the reorganization of central public
administration and the amendment of certain normative acts,
the government of Romania adopts the following ordinance.
ART. 1 (1) The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs will be orga-
nized and will operate as a specialized central public administration
body, a legal entity, subordinate to the government and coordinat-
ed by the Prime Minister through the Prime Minister’s Chancellery,
financed entirely by the State budget through the budget of the
Secretariat General of the government.
(2) The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs draws up and pro-
vides for the implementation of a strategy and policies in the area of
religious life.
(3) The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs has its headquar-
ters in Bucharest Municipality, 40 Nicolae Filipescu Street, Sector 2.
ART. 2 As part of its activities, the State Secretariat for Religious

Affairs ensures that fundamental rights and freedoms, enshrined in
the republished Romanian Constitution and in Law no. 489/2006 on
Religious Freedom and the General Status of Religions, as well as in-
ternational treaties and conventions to which Romania is a party, and
is governed by the fundamental principle that religions recognized
by law are free, autonomous, and equal before the state authorities.
ART. 3 The general objective of the State Secretariat for Religious

Affairs is the development of a partnership between the central and
local public administration authorities and religions recognized by
law in social, cultural and educational areas, through the promotion
of relations of respect and cooperation between religions recognized
by law, for the benefit of the whole of society.
200
ART. 4 The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs has the fol-
lowing attributes:
1. administers the relations of the State with all recognized re-

ligious groups and associations in Romania;
2. supports all religious groups and associations to ensure that

they fully participate in the country’s social and spiritual life;
3. participates in the amicable resolution of conflicts between

religions and between these and religious associations, in order to
prevent or eliminate any forms, means, or acts of religious division.
4. monitors the application of internal and international nor-

mative acts in the area of respect for religious freedoms;
5. provides a connection between religions recognized by law

and the Ministries and other central and local administration bod-
ies, in order to ensure that the freedoms and autonomy of these re-
ligions are respected, and to prevent and eliminate any abuses, by
the application of the Law;
6. reviews applications for the recognition of new religions,

compiles the documentation required by law, and makes proposals
to government for their recognition;
7. issues advisory opinions prior to the granting of religious as-

sociation status;
8. advises the government on the recognition by the State of

public utility status for non-governmental organizations in the area
of religious life, in keeping with legal norms;
9. grants foreign missionaries the agreement notices re-

quired for the issuing of long-stay visas for religious activities or for
an extension of temporary stay rights for the purpose of religious
activities;
10. keeps a record of and makes payments into the Unified

National Health Social Insurance Fund for the monastic personnel of
religions recognized by law who receive no income from work, pen-
sions, or other sources;
201
11. collaborates with the educational system, and records the
educational plans and analytical programs for the teaching of religion
drawn up by the legally recognized religions;
12. supports recognized religions in the organization and car-

rying out of activities of religious and social assistance in the army,
prisons, hospitals, homes for the elderly, orphanages, and other insti-
tutions, as well as for special needs families;
13. supports recognized religions in their activities to record,

maintain, preserve, restore, and put to good use real estate and other
cultural assets and properties belonging to these religions and/or be-
ing used by these, in keeping with applicable legislation;
14. records the election or appointment of persons due to take

over leadership functions, and of the clerical and lay personnel of le-
gally recognized religions, including those involved in theological ed-
ucation, who are not integrated in the public education system, in
order to allocate financial support from the state budget for the pay-
ment of salaries of religious personnel, in accordance with the law;
15. keeps a record of the religious units of recognized religions

that are requesting assistance for paying the salaries of their clerical
staff;
16. initiates foreign affairs activities with similar state institu-

tions in other countries and with international non-governmental or-
ganizations that promote and guarantee the respecting of religious
freedom and of other fundamental human rights, and participates in
activities organized by these;
17. draws up studies and documentary syntheses on religious

life in Romania, as well as on the activities of faith and religious com-
munities in other countries; invites national and international experts
for debates it organizes on the theory and secular and ecclesiastical
practices in these domains;
18. manages public financial resources allocated for the supple-

menting of funds needed for the salaries of clerical personnel, based
on legal provisions;
19. provides financial assistance, according to the laws, for:

202
construction work, based on technical and economic
approval in keeping with legislation in effect, and repairs of plac-
es of worship belonging to recognized religions;
the restoration and conservation of places of worship
that have been designated as historic monuments belonging to
recognized religions;
the restoration and conservation of assets that are
part of the national cultural heritage belonging to recognized
religions;
supplementing their funds, when required for the up-
keep and operation of religious units with low or no income;
the furnishing and upkeep of museums owned by or ad-
ministered by religious units;
the acquisition of buildings needed by religious units to
carry out their activities, including social and medical assistance;
supporting social and medical assistance activities orga-
nized by legally recognized religions in hospitals, orphanages,
homes for the elderly, and other forms of assistance;
supporting national and international activities carried
out by legally recognized religions;
building, furnishing, and repairing buildings due to be-
come establishments for social and medical assistance;
construction and repair of administrative headquarters
of diocese or religious centres;
construction and repair of theological education institu-
tional headquarters owned by recognized religions;
20. controls the way in which funds received by religions from

the State budget are used, in accordance with specific appropriation
and in keeping with legal provisions;
21. supports religions, upon request, in the organization of their

accounting and statistics, in accordance with specialized legislation,
ensuring their collaboration with competent institutions.
(2) The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs also carries out oth-
er attributes stipulated by law, as well as tasks assigned by the Prime
Minister.
ART. 5 The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs promotes the

development and implementation of laws and governmental strat-
egies relating to religious life; it approves proposed normative acts
203
having a potential impact on religious life issued by other governmen-
tal and administrative bodies.
ART. 6 (1) The direction of the State Secretariat for Religious

Affairs is provided by a Secretary of State, appointed by decision of
the Prime Minister.
The Secretary of State is a tertiary authorizing officer.

The Secretary of State runs the entire activity of the
State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, and represents it in rela-
tion to other ministries, other public authorities and organiza-
tions, and with other individuals and legal entities in the country
and abroad.
The Secretary of State may issue orders, opinions, and
instructions, as part of his attributions.
ART. 7 The staff needed to carry out the activities of the

State Secretariat for Religious Affairs is made up of civil servants
and contracted staff, appointed and/or hired according to legal
provisions. The maximum number of staff is stipulated in Art. 10,
point (1).
ART. 8 Financing for the activities of the State Secretariat for

Religious Affairs comes from the State budget, through the budget of
the Secretary General of the government.
ART. 9 The transfer of patrimonial responsibilities pertaining to

the area of religious affairs will be accomplished based on a proto-
col between the Secretary General of the government, the Ministry of
Culture, and the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs within 15 days of
the present decision going into effect.
ART. 10 (1) The maximum number of positions approved for its

own apparatus is 29, excluding the dignitary and his cabinet.
(2) The organizational structure of the State Secretariat for

Religious Affairs is included in an annex which is an integral part of
this decision.
(3) The means for functioning, the detailed organizational struc-

ture, and its own organizational and operational regulations will be
approved by order of the Secretary of State.
204
ART. 11 As per the maximum number of positions in the new
organizational structure, the hiring of staff takes place in compliance
with the legal regimen applicable to each category of staff, by order
of the Secretary of State, within 45 days of this ordinance going into
effect.
ART. 12 As of the date that this ordinance goes into effect, gov-
ernment Decision no. 22/2010 on the organization and operation of
the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, published in the official ga-
zette, Monitorul Oficial al României, Part I, no. 17 of 11 January 2010,
with subsequent changes and amendments, is abrogated.
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS
ARE RECOGNIZED RELIGIONS?
The 18 religions and 36 religious associations, as well as the
over 800 associations and foundations that operate based
on government Ordinance No. 26/2000, are part of civil so-
ciety. All religious organizations in our country are non-gov-
ernmental associations, not part of public administration,
and they operate based on private law.
HOW MANY RECOGNIZED RELIGIONS

ARE THERE IN ROMANIA?
There are 18 recognized religions functioning in Romania:

1. Romanian Orthodox Church
2. Serbian Orthodox Bishopric of Timișoara
3. Roman Catholic Church
4. Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic
5. Archbishopric of the Armenian Church
6. Old-Rite Orthodox Church of Romania
7. Reformed Church of Romania
8. Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in
Romania
9. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Romania
10. Hungarian Unitarian Church
11. Union of Christian Baptist Churches of Romania
12. Christian Church of the Gospel in Romania – Union of
Christian Churches of the Gospel in Romania
13. Romanian Evangelical Church
14. Pentecostal Union – The Apostolic Church of God of
Romania
15. Seventh Day Adventist Christian Church of Romania
16. Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania
17. Islam
18. Jehovah’s Witnesses Religious Organization
HOW MANY RELIGIOUS
ASSOCIATIONS ARE
FUNCTIONING IN ROMANIA?
There are 36 religious associations organized according to

Law no. 489/2006 on Freedom of Religion and the General Status
of Religion, and over 800 associations and foundations orga-
nized according to Ordinance no. 26/2000 on associations and
foundations.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN SOURCES

OF FINANCING FOR THE 18
RECOGNIZED RELIGIONS?
Own income
The 18 recognized religions finance themselves to a great

extent through their own private revenues (contributions
and donations from believers, production and sale of reli-
gious objects, grants, European projects, revenues from the
administration of their private properties, and others).
Central budget financing
The Romanian State offers financial assistance to the recog-

nized religions from the State budget, usually through the
State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, for the payment of sal-
aries (generally 65% and 80% for low-income communities),
or remuneration for religious leadership. The State Secretariat
for Religious Affairs also administers budget funds earmarked for
the construction and repair of places of worship. Religious per-
sonnel posted to public institutions (army, police, penitentia-
ries) are paid either by the specific ministries/institutions, by
the recognized religions themselves, or by both (in the case
of hospitals). Educational personnel (religion teachers, theol-
ogy education professors) are paid through the Ministry of
Education. For theology education institutions that are not
part of the public system, the State offers a contribution to
the salaries of teaching personnel, amounting to RON 1,812
per month, per person in 2018.
207
Local budget financing
The local authorities may finance, by county/local council or-

dinance, the construction or repair of places of worship and
projects initiated by recognized religions.
Financing on the basis of partnerships
Recognized religions may also collaborate with Romanian

State institutions on the basis of specific collaboration pro-
tocols.
Accessing European funds
Recognized religions, sub-divisions thereof, and connected

institutions (associations, foundations, etc.) may participate
in various project competitions as part of the national and
European programs for financing activities and specific in-
stitutions.
By redirecting 2% of income tax
Citizens may redirect 2% of annual income tax from salaries

and social security to religious units and non-governmental
organizations by submitting a form annually to the Financial
Administration.
DOES THE ROMANIAN STATE FINANCE

ONLY THE ACTIVITIES OF THE
ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH?
No, by law the Romanian State finances the activities of all 18

recognized religions, provided they request such financing
(some religions do not accept financing from the state for
religious activities)
208
HOW ARE THESE FUNDS
ALLOCATED, BY WHOM, AND
BASED ON WHAT PRINCIPLES?
Recognized religions determine how they spend their own
income, in accordance with the law. Income allocated by the
State budget through the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs
is distributed to the recognized religions according to the
principles of proportionality to the number of believers and
that of the real needs of the religions, in keeping with the law.
WHY ARE PUBLIC FUNDS ALLOCATED

TO SUPPORT THE ACTIVITIES OF
RECOGNIZED RELIGIONS?
Recognized religions in Romania are considered institutions
of public utility, because they provide public services, partici-
pate in the development of Romanian societal identity, define
public values, and build social solidarity; they play an impor-
tant role in society in the social, educational, socio-charita-
ble, and cultural life; they have the status of social partners of
the State, and are recognized as social peacemakers; and they
contribute to the development of civil society.
The Romanian State has committed to provide financial sup-
port to recognized religions ever since it built its own patri-
mony on confiscated church assets, back in the second half of
the 19th century, through a process culminating in the 1863
secularization of all monastic assets. In the communist peri-
od there was a new wave of expropriations of properties be-
longing to religions. This is why the Romanian State allocates
public funds to religions, on the one hand, as a form of com-
pensation for those expropriations, and on the other, to pro-
mote social and educational roles, and social partnerships of
the State.
WHAT IS THE SOCIAL CHURCH

STATE PARTNERSHIP?
The social partnership means that the Romanian State recogniz-

es the expertise of recognized religions in spiritual, educational,
209
socio-charitable, and cultural areas, and is interested in consult-
ing as often as it deems necessary in this capacity on public pol-
icy reforms in these areas.
On the other hand, the social partnership between the State

and religions is a form of recognition of the important role
played by these not only in religious life, but also in the educa-
tional sector, in the network of socio-charitable and social in-
clusion organizations in Romania, and in cultural activities. The
state thus expresses its willingness to develop joint projects
with all 18 religions in all the above-mentioned areas.
WHY IS THE NUMBER OF

RELIGIONS LIMITED?
As is the case in other European states, the Romanian State has

set relatively strict criteria for the recognition of religions pre-
cisely because of the important role they have in society. The
criteria for gaining recognized religion status were set because
organizations that aspire to the status of social partner of the
State must demonstrate their credibility, stability, sustainabil-
ity, and public utility in order to justify the investment of time
and resources on the part of the state to support such part-
nerships. Religious groups that do not have this legal recogni-
tion are free to function and carry out public activities based
on common law. Their activities are not limited by public
authorities.
WHY DOES THE LAW SET STRICTER

CONDITIONS FOR THE RECOGNITION
OF RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS?
The State grants religious communities legal recognition as re-

ligious associations and this status comes with certain fiscal ad-
vantages. Obtaining the status of religious association, based
on Law No. 489/2006, opens the way, after meeting certain le-
gal criteria, to obtain the status of recognized religion. The State
Secretariat for Religious Affairs has given approval for 35 re-
ligions to be recognized as religious associations, of which 16
have submitted to this institution copies of the court judgment
which attests their registration process as religious associations.
210
WHAT OTHER TYPES OF
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONSARE
OPERATING IN ROMANIA?
Over 800 associations and foundations that also carry out
religious activities are operating freely, on the basis of gov-
ernment Ordinance No. 26/2000. These may benefit from all
advantages which the Romanian State offers non-govern-
mental organizations. Religious groups that do not have a
legal standing may function freely and carry out their public
activities according to common law. Their activities are not
restricted by public authorities.
ANNEXES
Annex 1. Situation of amounts allocated for the salaries of staff
for construction and repairs of places of worship and other activities
Of which:
YEAR Total Support for BuildinG,
salaries
repairs
1990 16,814 15,694 1,120
1991 32,661 29,231 3,430
1992 141,008 118,338 22,670
1993 629,370 575,350 54,020
1994 2,002,697 1,731,167 271,530
1995 2,705,743 2,290,452 415,291
1996 4,165,736 2,997,036 1,168,700
1997 8,809,587 7,369,437 1,440,150
1998 10,947,815 8,347,875 2,599,940
1999 26,256,196 17,188,236 9,067,960
2000 68,434,671 40,447,371 27,987,300
2001 84,285,808 67,693,308 16,592,500
2002 62,630,921 51,181,321 11,449,600
2003 94,994,803 69,316,363 25,678,440
2004 108,881,385 90,751,585 18,129,800
2005 141,890,789 111,122,500 30,768,289
2006 178,484,990 132,502,990 45,982,000
2007 314,729,598 151,298,543 163,431,055
2008 351,373,638 83,949,388 267,424,250
2009 367,700,856 261,451,356 106,249,500
2010 322,231,883 238,478,383 83,753,500
2011 321,819,440 236,012,375 85,807,065
2012 314,158,126 249,894,126 64,264,000
2013 344,843,488 275,640,988 69,202,500
2014 426,715,194 277,452,694 149,262,500
2015 464,167,780 286,199,396 177,968,384
2016 477,065,515 355,952,640 121,112,875
2017 564,008,599 492,614,865 71,393,734
2018 803,107,368 588,746 441 214,360,927
TOTAL 5,867,232,479 4,101,369,449 1,765,863,030
212
Annex 2. Distribution of funds for salaries, total amounts (RON):
FAITH 2011 2012 2013 2014
Orthodox 185,420,634 195,897,154 216,156,469 217,028,630
Reformed 11,418,549 12,025,755 13,227,527 13,252,584
Roman Catholic 11,279,078 11,881,566 13,059,817 13,123,465
Greek Catholic 7,620,098 8,057,824 8,887,013 8,884,550
Pentecostal 2,371,116 2,494,813 2,745,938 2,806,782
Unitarian 1,662,612 1,751,533 1,926,132 1,939,893
Old Believers 952,992 1,003,963 1,096,731 1,096,349
Islam 808,116 848,688 922,402 926,656
Christians of the
802,330 845,321 936,438 951,618
Gospel
Evangelical-Lutheran 703,527 774,678 842,380 821,627
Evangelical CA 661,445 689,220 746,882 758,414
Serbian Orthodox
629,628 663,273 729,421 1,179,439
Church
Evangelical Church 249,420 262,746 289,006 180,727
Armenian Church 159,054 212,600 258,281 270,229
Judaism 107,436 108,075 118,901 117,732
TOTAL 224,846,035 237,517,209 261,943,338 263,338,695
213
2015 2016 2017 2018 FAITH
224,590,724 280,158,200 392,545,015 485,205,171 Orthodox
13,660,685 16,907,489 23,302,502 28,623,827 Reformed
13,646,138 17,017,659 23,940,208 29,306,831 Roman Catholic
9,239,844 11,552,680 16,422,828 20,621,435 Greek Catholic
2,959,364 3,824,650 5,395,977 6,814,184 Pentecostal
2,104,516 2,551,419 3,475,966 4,380,054 Unitarian
1,128,104 1,379,692 1,992,207 2,539,249 Old Believers
956,239 1,182,109 1,679,638 2,153,510 Islam
Christians of the
997,329 1,267,341 1,813,575 2,251,303
Gospel
828,018 988,572 1,416,517 1,933,995 Evangelical-Lutheran
765,911 951,807 1,362,835 1,828,455 Evangelical CA
Serbian Orthodox
1,239,949 1,571,732 1,249,259 1,487,043
Church
142,895 171,077 234,926 285,660 Evangelical Church
279,629 326,603 377,227 680,495 Armenian Church
151,534 196,614 439,202 635,229 Judaism
272,690,879 340,047,644 475,647,882 588,746,441 TOTAL
214
Annex 3. Statistical data concerning the maximum number
of positions for which the state provides salary support for clerical
staff that carries out activities in the country on behalf of the rec-
ognized religions in Romania, in the 2007-2012 period:
Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

FAITH
Orthodox 13,553 13,819 13,850 13,845 13,844 13,844
Serbian Orthodox 44 44 44 44 44 44
Roman Catholic 755 766 768 768 768 768
Greek Catholic 524 531 531 531 531 531
Reformat 779 789 791 791 791 791
Old Believer 59 59 59 59 59 59
Islam 60 60 60 60 60 60
Armenian Church 10 10 10 10 10 10
Evangelical A.C. 47 47 47 47 47 47
Evangelical Lutheran 48 48 48 48 48 48
Unitarian 116 116 116 116 116 116
Judaism 5 6 7 6 7 7
Evangelical Church 12 12 12 12 12 12
Pentecostal 182 191 191 191 191 191
Christians of the Gospel 60 61 61 61 61 61
Total 16,254 16,559 16,595 16,589 16,589 16,589
215
Annex 4. Statistical data concerning the maximum number
of positions for which the state provides salary support for clerical
staff that carries out activities in the country on behalf of the rec-
ognized religions in Romania, in the 2013-2018 period:
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Year

FAITH
13,848 13,862 13,883 13,883 13,884 13,885 Orthodox
44 44 44 44 44 44 Serbian Orthodox
768 770 771 771 772 772 Roman Catholic
531 533 535 535 535 535 Greek Catholic
791 791 791 791 791 791 Reformat
59 60 61 61 61 61 Old Believer
60 60 61 61 61 62 Islam
10 10 11 11 11 11 Armenian Church
47 47 47 47 47 47 Evangelical A.C,.
48 48 48 48 48 48 Evangelical Lutheran
116 116 117 117 117 117 Unitarian
7 7 7 7 7 8 Judaism
12 12 12 12 12 10 Evangelical Church
191 201 204 204 204 204 Pentecostal
61 61 62 62 62 62 Christians of the Gospel
16,593 16,622 16,654 16,654 16,656 16,656 Total
216
GLOSSARY
Autonomy of religions
from the State
Under Romanian Law no. 489/2006, religious organizations may
function freely, according to their own statutes and canonical
codes, and may conduct their internal affairs without interference
from the State.
Neutrality of the State

with respect to religions
A form of public positioning of the State as non-confessional; it
implies the equal treatment by the State of all religious beliefs and
non-religious convictions. It does not necessarily imply the indif-
ference or “blindness” of the State with respect to the religious
phenomena, but sets the stage for its cooperation with all reli-
gious organizations on equal terms.
Religions
Under Romanian Law no. 489/2006, religions are public utility
and private organizations recognized as such by the State, sub-
ject to certain conditions of membership, presence on Romanian
soil, and some administrative provisions. They are considered so-
cial partners of the State, may provide religious education in pub-
lic schools, and enjoy various public funding and fiscal facilities,
largely derived from their public utility status.
Religious associations
Under Romanian Law no. 489/2006, religious associations are re-
ligious organizations recognized as such by the State, included in
the Registry of Religious Associations, (subject to administrative
and membership conditions), that receive certain fiscal facilities.
218
Religious freedom
One of the fundamental freedoms under a democratic regime,
which includes: the following: the freedom to have a religious be-
lief or non-religious conviction; the freedom to express that belief
or conviction, individually or collectively, in private and in pub-
lic, including through ritual celebrations; the freedom to educate
one’s children in the religion or conviction of one’s choice; the free-
dom to change or renounce one’s religious belief or non-religious
conviction.
Religious groups
Under Romanian Law no. 489/2006, religious communities not
having acquired a legal status as NGOs, religious associations, or
religions may function freely as religious groups, without interfer-
ence from the State.
Religious NGOs
Religious organizations functioning according to government
Decree no. 26/2000 on associations and foundations as regular
non-governmental organizations, do not benefit from any distinct
form of State recognition, or fiscal or other facilities for their spe-
cific religious activities.
Separation of
religion and State
A form of public positioning of the State as non-confessional; un-
like neutrality, it emphasizes the State’s intention of maintaining
a clear differentiation of the respective areas of action and insti-
tutional practices of public authorities and religious institutions.
219
Translator’s
Note
There are terms in the Romanian language, which are widely used
in the original Romanian version of this book, that present a chal-
lenge for translators and readers.
For example, the Romanian word “cult”, which is part of

the name of the institution that prepared and published this book,
Secretariatul de Stat pentru Culte, is often translated into English
with the cognate “cult.” While the word in both languages does
have a religious meaning, in English “cult” has a pejorative sense,
and it would not be proper for it to be used in the English name of
this institution. For this reason the Romanian word “cult,” which
also appears in other contexts throughout the text, is translated
“religious affairs” in the name of the institution, and as “religion”
and/or “faith” in other instances.
A great deal of controversy surrounds the word “religion”

in English. This word is widely used in the book, mostly as a trans-
lation of the Romanian word “culte,” and especially to refer to the
18 recognized religions. It will perhaps assist the reader to un-
derstand from the outset that Romania currently has a three-tier
religious classification system, which includes 18 religions/denom-
inations in the top tier, 36 religious associations, and over 800 as-
sociations and foundations that carry out religious activities. This
book will explain in detail the reason why this classification system
was chosen, why the faiths are categorized in this way, and what
benefits come with the respective categorization. Religious asso-
ciations and associations and foundation that carry out religious
activities have an opportunity to move to the next level of cate-
gorization provided they meet certain criteria. The fact that those
faiths in the top tier are referred to as “recognized religions” does
not in any way mean that the others have not been given a form of
recognition in Romania.
220
The expression “lăcaș de cult,” which originally comes from
a popular expression “a da cuiva locaș,” defined as “to receive
someone in the house; to offer refuge, to host someone,” is now
also used to refer to a holy building, such as “lăcaș sfânt” [literal-
ly “holy house” or “lăcaș dumnezeiesc” [“house of God”]. It would
normally be used to designate a church, but can also refer to the
church-like buildings in other religions or faiths, such as mosques
or temples. Because in English the word church is defined as “a
building used for public Christian worship”, the term “lăcaș de
cult” is translated in this text as “place of worship”, regardless of
the religion or faith to which it refers, unless it refers specifically to
a Christian church.
221
Bibliography
This book was put together on the basis of legislation in effect for religions/
faiths, of data from censuses and data available to the State Secretariat for Religious
Affairs, as well as other sources, with the assistance of the National Institute of
Statistics (Chapter 3), the National Authority for the Restitution of Properties, and
the Romanian Embassies in European Union countries.
Selective Bibliography:
www.culte.gov.ro – State Secretariat for Religious Affairs
www.cdep.ro – Chamber of Deputies – Romanian Parliament (legislative
documents)
www.anrp.ro – National Authority for the Restitution of Properties (data
concerning the restitution of properties belonging to religions/faiths)
Secondary Literature:
BRUSANOWSKI, Paul, Stat și Biserică în Vechea Românie între 1821-1925, Presa
Universitară Clujeană, Cluj-Napoca, 2010.
CONOVICI, Iuliana, Ortodoxia în România postcomunistă. Reconstrucția unei
identități publice, Volumul I, Eikon Cluj Napoca, 2009.
DOBRESCU, C., Casa Bisericii 1902-1919, Tipografia Cărţilor Bisericeşti,
Bucharest, 1920.
FACULTÉ DE DROIT ET DE SCIENCE POLITIQUE D’AIX-MARSEILLE, Religion,
droit et société dans l’Europe communautaire. Actes du XIIIe Colloque de l’Institut
de Droit et d’Histoire Religieux (IDHR) Aix-en-Provence, 19-20 mai 1999, Presses
Universitaires d’Aix-Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, 2000.
LEUȘTEAN, Lucian, Orthodoxy and the Cold War: Religion and Political Power
in Romania, 1947-65, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2009.
MARGIOTTA-BROGLIO, Francesco, MIRABELLI, Cesare, ONIDA Francesco,
Religioni e sistemi giuridici. Introduzione al diritto ecclesiastico comparato, Il Mulino,
Bologna, 2000.
MINISTERUL CULTURII ȘI CULTELOR, Viața religioasă din România, ed. a III-a,
Tipogrup Press, Buzău, 2008.
RAIU, Cătălin, Ortodoxie, postcomunism și neoliberalism, Curtea Veche
Publishing, Bucharest, 2012.
ROBBERS, Gerhard (ed.), State and Church in the European Union, Nomos,
Baden-Baden, 2005.
STAN, Lavinia, TURCESCU,Lucian, Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding
Europe, Oxford University Press, Oxford/ New York, 2011.
222
This book is an over-
view by the State Secretariat for
Religious Affairs of several is-
sues being debated in connec-
tion with the status of religion
in society, and specifically of
those religions recognized by the
Romanian State. The relation-
ship between the State and rec-
ognized religions, especially
with the Romanian Orthodox
Church, has become the focus of
some public figures, politicians,
and the media. Through our ac-
tivities, including the publication
of this work, we wish to contrib-
ute to a balanced debate based on
concrete data, legislation, and an
understanding of the historic evo-
lution of the relationship between
the State and faith organizations
in our country. We are talking
about constitutive elements of na-
tional identity, whose complexi-
ty requires an objective approach,
as an essential condition for civil,
argument-driven debate.
State Secretariat
for Religious Affairs
©2019

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State Secretariat

for Religious Affairs

© 2019 State Secretariat for Religious Affairs

Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României

I. Secretariatul de Stat pentru Culte (Bucureşti)

1. What is the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs?.....................................................9

2. Short Institutional History.........................................................................................15

3. Evolution of the Religious Affiliation Structure........................................................27

4. What Church-State relations exist in democratic countries?....................................39

5. Publicly Debated Issues.............................................................................................97

7. Legislation Relating to Religious Life.......................................................................165

The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs knows how to

This book is intended to be a working instrument for po-

The Romanian model of church-state relations, as it is de-

In order to better understand the main players in Romania’s

To date, the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs has pub-

Within the European and Romanian context in which there

The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs (SSRA) is a special-

To ensure the respecting and promotion of the fundamental

To develop a social, cultural, and educational partnership be-

1.2. Who runs this institution?

The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs is run by a Secretary

1.3. What are its sources of financing?

The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs is entirely financed by

According to government Decision H.G. no. 44/2013 regard-

 promotes the development and implementation of laws

 grants advisory opinion prior to the granting of religious

2 The by-laws of these 18 religions were recognized by government Ordinance in the

supplement salaries for religious staff, in accordance with the

a) the salary system of the country’s religious staff and of

 initiates external relations activities with similar State

The State Secretariat for Religious Affairs is a state insti-

Precursor institutions of the current State Secretariat for

These had as principal attributes the organization of the

2.1. Establishment of the Institution

The establishment of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs

In 1862, concomitant with the administrative unification of

Throughout its existence, this institution has been run

When the modern Romanian state began, political authori-

This was expressed on the one hand by placing religious as-

In the effort to modernize, the State believed that it was

2.2. The State and the dominant Church

A second phase, following the abdication of Alexandru Ioan Cuza,

ownership by the clergy) the State began financing religious staff

The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education contin-

The secularization of church assets was carried out through

2.3. The Church Bureau

The Church Bureau [Casa Bisericii] was established in 1902, based on

variety of public authorities in internal ecclesiastical life. The Church

 the budget surplus of self-supporting places of worship;

Church Bureau expenditures included salaries for

7 This is presently the headquarters of the Ministry of National Education in Bucharest,

In this way the Church Bureau operated like a church

2.4. Recognition of Religious Pluralism

The new regime of religious affairs was hierarchical: it

The first law for general religious arrangements (1928)

The Law for general religious arrangements (1928) stat-

2.5. The Communist Regime

The establishment of the communist regime in Romania led to a

The activities of religious organizations were restricted to

The Greek Catholic Church was forcibly disbanded, the

The Orthodox Church and other religions were subject-

re-systematization of villages and urban areas, and especially of

promotes the development and implementation of laws

grants advisory opinion prior to the granting of religious

initiates external relations activities with similar State

the budget surplus of self-supporting places of worship;