Legal framework for religious activity in post-Soviet Kazakhstan: from liberal to prohibitive approaches

Religious activity is a very sensitive area of government regulation in Kazakhstan. After some post-soviet years of liberalization, the government has decided to return to soviet-style relations with a large amount of attention on the control and supervision of religious areas. The Law ‘On Religious Activity and Religious Associations’ adopted in 2011 was the result of such a decision. This article analyses the legal framework for religious activity, the model of relations between state and religious associations in modern Kazakhstan, the public attitude towards regulation in the religious field, the legal and social consequences of the adoption of current law, as well as the problems of its implementation and the government’s administration of religious activity in Kazakhstan. The author reaches the conclusion that more liberal legislation and law-enforcement practice is unlikely without changes in the political system, the public attitude towards religion and views on secularity.