Despite claiming to be a defender of Christian values, Viktor Orban’s government has long faced accusations from critics that it restricts religious freedom at home. A UN expert has now also raised concerns.
Alexander Faludy, October 18, 2024
Dr Nazila Ghanea (R), United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, holds a press conference in Budapest, Hungary, on 17 October 2024: Photo: BIRN
Christian leaders in Hungary have expressed their worries that church-state relations now uncomfortably resemble those during the Communist era, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) said on Thursday.
Dr Nazila Ghanea, who is also professor of International Human Rights Law at Oxford University, made the remarks at a press conference in Budapest to announce her “Preliminary observations and recommendations” regarding the state of “freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief” in the country. The document is the outcome of a 10-day fact-finding mission.
“I am not saying they are the same thing,” commented Ghanea when comparing the experiences of churches under Communism and under Hungary’s present government. Yet, she reported that during her visit, “a number of actors said that a church finding itself in this relationship that may then lead them to compromises reminded them of it.”
The background to Ghanea’s remarks is Fidesz’s introduction of a highly restrictive “Church Law” in 2011 and its amendment in 2018 following strong international criticism, including from the European Court of Human Rights. The law’s early operation caused the legal dissolution of about 350 bodies previously recognised as concerned with religion or belief. The ECHR issued two separate rulings (in 2014 and 2017) in favour of the adversely affected communities.
The 2018 law has also proved contentious. Some religious leaders, she reported, are unhappy with the current set-up. This involves a tiered legal structure for the recognition and subsidy of religious communities according to standards which are unclear. The risk of arbitrary treatment is heightened given that, as Ghania’s statement notes, the requirement of a two-thirds majority vote in parliament “has been criticised for politicising the matter of registration”, which should instead “be based on objective criteria”.
A 2022 analysis by economic outlet G7 using data from Hungary’s Central Statistical Office put public expenditure on officially recognised churches as amounting to 1.4 per cent of Hungarian GDP. Among the beneficiaries, the Roman Catholic and Reformed Churches (Hungary’s two largest) received the lions’ share. Notable generosity has also been shown to the Russian Orthodox Church, the (Pentecostal) Faith Church and the Chabad ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
Ghanea stated, however, that “there were many questions raised within religious organisations and beyond as to the price that may be paid” for such support. Further, she observed, deep integration between the government and favoured churches has caused some faith leaders to worry that the situation “can compromise their independent voice… [and] they become part of a system rather than independent of it and able to offer critique to moral and ethical questions.”
During the press conference, Ghanea also addressed the situation of the Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship (known locally as MET). Allies claim MET has been subjected to a long campaign of official discrimination and harassment. Ghanea observed that discrimination against faith communities may not only happen via direct legislation, but also through tax and other laws. “I think this applies also through the mechanism by which MET was criminalised and restricted… and that’s a problem,” she said.
Officially, following diplomatic protocol, Ghanea’s visit, occurred “at the invitation of the government”. In reality, however, such trips happen only when the Special Rapporteur has reason to worry that FoRB may be endangered in a country.
Dr Ghanea will present a full report of her findings regarding the situation in Hungary at a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2025.
Copyright BIRN 2007