Countering extremist activities of religious associations: International experience of legal regulation

Abstract

Everyone can freely profess any religion, i. e. to be a member of a religious association or to be an atheist. This is what practically all existing legal norms concerning freedom of conscience and faith say. However, restrictions on the spread of new religious movements, destructive cults and sects, individual religious rites and ceremonies, and extremist worldviews are regularly introduced by legislatures in different countries. Such legislative acts can be divided into two main categories in accordance with the logic of law enforcement practice: prohibitive and restrictive. Prohibitive laws provide for a direct ban on any actions, restrictive ones provide for a number of conditions under which the norm is used as a means of partial prohibition. Prohibitive and restrictive measures against religious extremists are considered as the activity of the State to ensure the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. This article analyzes the international experience of legal regulation of the activities of destructive religious associations — new religious movements, cults and sects, in particular, countering their extremist activities, and also examines the possibility of implementing the norms of international law in this area.