Uzbekistan is a country with a rich history, culture, and potential.

In recent years, especially when the new President, Shafkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, came into office, the country has seen significant positive changes in many areas of life. In particular, I would like to highlight the sphere of the country's religious life.

The Committee on Religious Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan began to actively cooperate with all religious movements. In 2018, a new composition was approved and the Council for Confessions, a public consultative body under the Committee, was approved and continued to expand as the Council began to include representatives of all religious denominations operating in the country.

Currently, new legislation is being drafted on freedom of conscience and religion. The Council for Denominations is also involved in this process. In the outgoing year, a special meeting was held to discuss proposals from all religious confessions.

This bill includes changes that simplify the process of registering religious organizations. For example, the number of founders is reduced from 100 to 50 people. The state registration fee has been reduced and a clause has appeared that in case of a refusal to register, the money will be returned. All this is pleasing because it will greatly facilitate the process of registering churches and getting them to function fully and fruitfully.

An important indicator of significant positive changes in the religious life of the country is the fact that eight new churches were registered in 2020.

For example, the Church of Seventh-day Adventist Christians in Samarkand was registered, which for a long time did not have registration. I would like to note that the Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA) under the Cabinet of Ministers rendered great support and assistance in this. The Executive Secretary of the CRA, Bekzod Kadyrov, held a number of consultations with the pastor of the Samarkand church, Yuri Rybalkin, to collect the documents necessary for registration, which caused the administration of the Uzbekistan field to promptly collect and submit a package of documents.

It is also encouraging that positive changes are noted not only by religious organizations within the country but also by international communities. In recent years, a large number of foreign missions have come to Uzbekistan, which met with representatives of all religious organizations and could see with their own eyes the positive changes in the religious and public sphere. An example of this is two significant events: on December 11, 2018, the US Department of the United States removed Uzbekistan from the list of countries with limited religious freedom. Most recently, on December 7, 2020, the country was removed from the list of countries with control over religious freedom. In other words, the international community has fully expressed its confidence in the state in matters of religious freedom.

On December 21, 2020, a Council for Confessions was held, where a report on the work for the year was presented. Chairman of the CRA, Abdugofur Akhmedov, expressed his sincere gratitude to all members of the Council for the work done in the cause of tolerance and building society. All members were presented with certificates of honor and gifts.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Uzbekistan, as an integral part of society, glorifies the Almighty and welcomes such active and positive changes in the sphere of the country's religious life. Adventists of Uzbekistan repeatedly pray for the prosperity of the President and the government of the country, so that in good deeds God would help to wisely and progressively lead the country to development and prosperity!

This article was originally published on the Euro-Asia Division’s news site