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STATE POLICY IN THE FIELD OF RELIGION: KAZAKHSTAN 2017

G. Nadirova, S. Kaliyeva, A. Mustafayeva

Abstract

The draft of “The Conception of State Policy in the Religious Sphere for 2017-2020” was developed in Kazakhstan on behalf of the Head of State, but it has not yet been approved by the Parliament. Nevertheless, it is obvious that it will be rubber-stamped, like most other documents initiated by the President. The purpose of this paper is to analyze what changes in the sphere of social relations and, in particular, in the religious situation in the country, this conception embodies. Methodology. In the course of the work, situation analysis methods were used, such as observation, examination of documents, and comparison, as well as explicative methods, such as content analysis. The major findings of the research 1. The religious situation and religious discourse in Kazakhstan have undergone significant changes over the past few years that is reflected in a number of laws, legislative acts and the text of the Conception under consideration. 2. The initially declared desire of the country's leadership to develop democratic rights and freedoms has, under the influence of a number of external and internal factors, given way to a policy of tightening control over the religious activities of organizations, groups and individuals suspected of religious radicalism and extremism. 3. “The Conception of State Policy in the Religious Sphere for the Years 2017-2020” in its present version does not provide answers to important questions about the reasons for the radicalization of certain youth groups, and, therefore, does not indicate ways to solve this problem in principle. 4. Securitization of certain spheres of society allows the state apparatus to take practically any, including unpopular measures. This study examines the obvious and hidden motivations for the formation of state religious policy in Kazakhstan.

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