Debate Over What Children Should Believe in Tuva

(Forum 18) – The traditionally Buddhist Russian republic of Tuva, bordering north-west Mongolia, closed a Christian children’s home, Forum 18 News Service was told by a religious affairs official, as “the children go to church and pray without the permission of their parents or guardians.” This is disputed by a former resident, Anna Mongush, who told Forum 18 that the real reason for the closure was that the only non-Christian staff member alleged in court that the home was a “sect,” after she was sacked for theft, and the state authorities “thought they could get something from its closure.” Highlighting broader confusion over religious education policy, Bible translator Vitali Voinov noted that neither Russia’s Constitution, nor the religion law, allow for faith-based orphanages and that much in school religious education depends upon individual teachers. Some tell pupils that they should be Buddhists and visit shamans, while forbidding them from attending Christian churches.