صحافة بلادي صحيفة إلكترونية مغاربية متجددة على مدار الساعة تعنى بشؤون المغرب الجزائر ليبيا موريتانيا تونس
Algeria:A recent report by the European Center for Law and Justice has brought to light the reality of religious freedom inAlgeriaWith a special focus on the situation of Christians, in the context of a renewed debate on the balance between protecting religious identity and ensuring freedom of belief.
According to the data provided in the report, and circulated by international media, the percentage of Christians in Algeria remains limited, as it does not exceed about 0.3 percent of the total population, or approximately 156 thousand people, distributed between a Catholic minority and a Protestant majority, an important part of which is concentrated in the Kabylie region.
The report indicated that the legal framework regulating the practice of religious rituals for non-Muslims, especially since 2006, adopts a system of prior authorization to open places of worship, in addition to strict regulatory conditions, which the report’s authors considered a factor that contributed to the reduction in the number of churches, especially Protestant ones, with the closure of a number of them recorded in recent years.
On the other hand, the Algerian Constitution stipulates the freedom to practice religious rituals, provided that applicable laws are respected, which, according to observers, raises the problem of interpreting the limits of this freedom in light of legal requirements that criminalize insulting the Islamic religion or its symbols, in order to preserve public order and the religious identity of society.
The report also highlighted a disparity in the situation of Christian denominations, as the Catholic Church operates within a recognized legal framework, while some Protestant churches face greater difficulties, especially with regard to obtaining licenses or maintaining places of worship, in the absence of accurate official data on religious affiliations.
The publication of this report coincides with talk about an upcoming visit by Pope Leo XIV toAlgeriaIt is a visit that is expected to carry religious and political dimensions, at a time when international human rights organizations have called for using this occasion to raise issues of basic freedoms, most notably freedom of belief.
Source:“My press”
