Legal Features of the Status of Traditional Religions in Russia

This article analyzes the legislation of the Russian Federation regulating the exercise of the right to freedom of conscience and the activities of religious associations. The purpose of the study was to discover the peculiarities in the formation of the concept of traditional religion, to identify the norms characterizing the special legal status of traditional religious organizations as a separate legal institution in the legal system of the Russian Federation. As a result of the study, the following legal features were identified: the difference in the status of religions in the preamble of the Law on Freedom of Conscience; division of religious associations into religious groups and religious organizations; restriction of the rights of local religious organizations operating for less than ten years; exemption from mandatory reporting of religious organizations funded exclusively from national sources; establishment of legal regulation of missionary activities; introduction of mandatory certification of clergy who studied abroad; consolidation of the values of traditional religions in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

traditional religion, the freedom of conscience and religion, religious association, religious organization, church, state-confessional relations