Strasbourg Court Overturns Russian Ban on Salvation Army

A new decision from the European Court of Human Rights has found that the Russian government was wrong in assuming that Salvation Army members would “inevitably break Russian law”, World Net Daily reports.

There was no evidence before the domestic courts that in seven years of its existence the applicant branch, its members or founders had contravened any Russian law or pursued objectives other than those listed in its articles of associations, notably the advancement of the Christian faith and acts of charity, the court said.

Moreover, the court said the discriminatory action taken by the Russian government against the Salvation Army was a serious and dangerous assault against religious freedom.

The ruling has cleared the way for the Salvation Army to regain its humanitarian footing in Russian.

The Salvation Army had been denied recognition by the Russian government and forced to liquidate its assets because of the use of the word “army” in the name, as well as the corporate structure which recognized an international headquarters in London.

The government concluded the Salvation Army’s Book of Order and Regulations “leads one to conclude that the charter assumes that the members of the organization will inevitability break Russian law” even though the organization’s goals are to feed the poor and meet the needs of the homeless.

Read Another Article

Waldorf School Opens in California Town
B.C. mother of seven sues faith-based counsellors

Related News Articles Topic(s): Salvation Army Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Salvation Army Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog