site.btaUS Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report for 2017 on Bulgaria

Washington, May 30 (BTA) - The US Department of State has released its annual International Religious Freedom Report for 2017. Its part about Bulgaria reads that the constitution provides for freedom of religion and conscience.

According to the report, religious groups may worship without registering, but registered groups receive certain benefits, including the right to receive state funding, operate schools and hospitals, and receive property tax exemptions.

The constitution recognizes Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the country's
"traditional" religion, and the law exempts the Bulgarian Orthodox Church from registration.

The retrial of 13 regional Muslim leaders charged with spreading Salafi Islam continued, as did the trial against 14 Romani Muslims charged with propagating antidemocratic ideology, inciting war, and aiding foreign fighters, the report recalls.

Jehovah's Witnesses reported continued assaults and harassment and a continuing campaign against them by members of the United Patriots coalition in the national assembly. In June the European Court of Human Rights ruled the government's denial of a registration application by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community constituted a violation of religious freedom.

Schools continued to ban the wearing of religious symbols. Minority religious groups reported increased local prohibitions on proselytizing and the distribution of religious literature. The Muslim community reported difficulty in obtaining construction permits for new places of worship and restitution of property confiscated by the communist regime. Protestants and other minority religious groups reported discrimination by government officials. Jewish organizations expressed concern over the government's failure to prosecute growing anti-Semitism on social media. Nongovernmental organizations and minority religious groups expressed concern over proposals for legislation restricting religious activities.

The government established the position of national coordinator for combating anti-Semitism and adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of anti-Semitism, the report reads.