Hungary's 348 other faiths and denominations were stripped of their legal status as religious organisations and lost their tax exempt status and entitlements to state subsidies.
This is not entirely true. The religiou$ organization$ need to register to continue receiving government funding.
There is no separation of church and state. THAT is the problem. They didn't go far enough, IMHO. If your God or Gods are so wonderful, won't He/She/It/They keep your personal brand of faith flourishing? Why should a Hungarian Catholic, for example, be forced to hand over their earnings to the Watchtower, or Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, etc.?
That, to me, is true religious persecution: Coercing citizens (both believers and non-believers alike) to finance faiths and CULTures they cannot support in good conscience. Some of which, as we know, spread divisiveness and even call for their extermination.
~Sue
August 8th, 2011
Parliament could consider applications for more churches in autumnBy MTI
A further eight to ten religious organisations could apply for official church status during parliament’s autumn session, state secretary in charge of church issues Laszlo Szaszfalvi told MTI on Saturday.
Szaszfalvi said that, so far, the Hungarian Anglican, Methodist, Pentecostal and Seventh-Day Adventist churches, as well as two Islamic congregations, the Buddhists and some other parties had indicated they wished to be officially registered as churches.
Applications for church status are to be submitted to the Justice Ministry, which will pass them on to parliament for a decision, Szaszfalvi said. He promised that his secretariat would ensure “the least bureaucracy and the utmost speed” in the registration process.
Szaszfalvi also said that the government would ensure that religious organisations that run social institutions or schools but that are not considered churches under Hungary’s new church law would continue to receive per capita funding from the central budget in 2011 and 2012. He added, however, that the details of the financing must still be settled.
The new church law, passed by parliament on July 12, recognises 14 churches; other organisations will need approval by two-thirds of Parliament to be registered as a church or religious congregation.
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August 15th, 2011
Church bill was aimed at Scientology, portal reports
By Hungary Around the Clock
Excluding Scientology from the list of recognised churches was one of the key goals of amendments made by Fidesz to the church bill submitted by the Christian Democrats, news website Origo has reported.
Sources who know the details of the decision but who asked that their name be withheld said Speaker László Kövér initiated the changes at a meeting of the Fidesz executive prior to the vote in Parliament expressly to ensure that Scientology would not be granted church status.
The law, due to enter into force on January 1, recognises only 14 churches, but Parliament has the power to add other churches to that number.
