Indicator history

 Although religious freedom is generally respected, there are policies and practices that generate discrimination, as they place obstacles in the exercise of religions other than the mainstream religion (Christian orthodox).

In the field of education, children in public primary and secondary schools are required to take instruction in the Greek Orthodox religion. Primary school students of other religions may be exempted from attending religious services and instruction at the request of their guardians. Students in secondary education may be exempted from religious instruction on grounds of religion or conscience and may be exempted from attending religious services on any grounds at the request of their guardians, or their own, if they are over the age of 16. But there are problems, often highlighted in repeated reports of the equality body: no exemptions are foreseen from religious celebrations and no alternative teaching or other creative activity is offered to the children exempted for the duration of the religious instruction class.  Students occasionally suffered negative reactions from teachers and fellow students when taking advantage of the exemption from religious instruction. Those children from religions other than Christian orthodoxy who chose to stay in the classroom during the religious class could well hear from the teacher insulting comments about their religion. In October 2010 the Ombudsman's Office issued a report addressing religious exemptions in school, a result of a complaint previously filed with the office. In the complaint, the parents of a 13-year old Jehovah's Witness student said the school delayed their child's exemption from religious instruction for several months and, when the student was finally excused from religious instruction, the school did not make arrangements for the student to engage in supervised school activities during the time of religious instruction class, as required by the regulation. Also, the child was not exempted from attending school performances containing religious content. The investigation concluded that there were gaps and omissions in the implementation of the exemption procedure. In September 2011 another equality body report highlighted the problematic practice of priests visiting schools in order to conduct confessions. The procedure involved the students being notified in advance of the priest’s visit, who are then requested to enroll without informing or securing the parents’ consent; then the students go to a church within the school or to another designated place during school time and under the supervision of the school staff and confess to the priest. The report concluded that this “school sanctioned” procedure nullifies the allegation of “free will”amongst the students to decide if they want to confess or not and creates tensions for those children who do not want to confess to the orthodox priest.   

The Ministry of Interior’s 2011 budget provides €814,300 for the conservation of 17 mosques and other Islamic places of worship in the government-controlled area. The Department of Antiquities budget for the year for the conservation of the 17 mosques, which are considered historical monuments, was €32,500 plus labour costs. Of the 17 mosques, only eight were open for public use, despite increased demand caused by rising numbers of Muslim asylum seekers, migrant workers, and students.

Over the years, the Buddhist community faced difficulties finding a site for a permanent temple in Nicosia due to an inability to obtain necessary permits from local municipalities. The group purchased land in the countryside to construct a new temple after a Nicosia municipal official threatened to close any unauthorized Buddhist temples; however, only 6 percent of the land can be used to build habitable structures and the group is seeking a variance from the regulation. In the meantime, the community was using a meditation center in Nicosia as a temple. In the past, the Buddhist community had reported disturbances by local police, which however appear to have phased out.

The Bahai community faces difficulty burying its dead, since cemeteries generally exist only for recognized religious groups. As a result, Bahai burials take place in cemeteries for foreign residents used by other denominations.

The Jewish community is not supplied with a water source for its cemetery from the Larnaca municipality; the lack of water makes it difficult for the community to perform traditional cleansing after burials. They reported that the government was unresponsive to repeated requests to locate suitable land for the construction of a synagogue; consequently, religious services are held in a private residence.

Several religious groups reported difficulties obtaining visas and residency permits from the government for clergy and student volunteers from countries outside the European Union. Applications and renewals were not processed in a timely manner, and some groups reported that members were thus forced to leave the country rather than risk being blacklisted for staying in the country illegally.

Conscientious objectors, including religious ones, are exempt from active military duty; however, they are legally required to complete an alternative military service and perform reservist duty in the Greek Cypriot National Guard. During the previous reporting period, the Ombudsman's Office investigated complaints from some conscientious objectors about the procedures used by the government to confirm their conscientious objector status and eligibility for alternative military service. The legislative duration of alternative service for conscientious objectors is longer than military service, rendering it a punitive measure.

During the military swearing-in ceremony, Orthodox clergy lead a common prayer; while recruits may be excused from taking part in the prayer, minority religious groups reported that this option was rarely used, because recruits did not want to bring negative attention to themselves.

There are regular vandalisations of mosques especially in the course of or shortly after far-right mobilizations. On 05.11.2010 the Larnaca mosque was vandalized following clashes between anti-racists and far–right demonstrators a few days before.

The Jewish community's Hanukkah display in Larnaca was also vandalized on 30.11.2010 and on 01.12.2010.Vandals spray-painted the light bulbs of a menorah representation placed at a public location near the community's center and painted targets, swastikas, and stylized letters "SS" on and near the display.