Dominica - Kerk In Nood

BHUTAN
AREA
47,000Km²
BHUTAN
RELIGIOUS ADHERENCE
POPULATION
695,821
REFUGEES
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Buddhists 84%
Hindus 11.4%
Ethnoreligionists 3.4%
Christians 0.9%
Catholics 0.1% / Protestants 0.3% / Other Chr. 0.5%
Others 0.3%
INTERNALLY DISPLACED
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The Constitution, which came into force in 2008, recognises religious freedom,
and Mahayana Buddhism, previously the State religion, is now described as
“Bhutan’s spiritual legacy”.
The king is accorded the role of “protector of all religions” (Art. 3) 1 .
Full religious freedom is guaranteed for all citizens, and all forms of coercion are
forbidden in regard to people’s religious choices (Art. 7. 4).
The large Hindu community is respected and even the small Christian minorities
enjoy sufficient freedom in their charitable work and apostolate, despite being
prohibited from engaging in public worship. But there is still no legislation permitting
the recognition of legal status to the non-Buddhist communities 2 .
Restrictions on the entry into the country of foreign religious personnel have also
been abolished and there are no specific rules concerning the publication of religious
materials.
In March 2011 Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati (India), was able
to make an unofficial visit to several small Catholic and Protestant communities
in the country 3 .
Religious instruction is permitted only in schools run by religious communities but
not in State schools.
No significant institutional changes have been reported, nor have there been
significant incidents concerning the subject of religious freedom during the period
covered by this report.
1 www.Constitution.bt/TsaThrim%20Eng%20(A5).pdf
2 U.S. Department of State – International Religious Freedom Report for 2011
3 AsiaNews, March 22 nd 2011