Religious intolerance in Greece.

Scope and historical note

This page records reports from the late twentieth century about religious-freedom disputes in Greece. The material concerns Jehovah’s Witnesses, Evangelical Christians, a Muslim minority, Scientology and other religiously related questions. The events and legal outcomes belong to their original period; laws, institutions and terminology may have changed since publication.

Jehovah’s Witnesses and places of worship

Historical reports described a permit system that required religious groups seeking to operate places of worship to obtain administrative approval, alongside the involvement of local Orthodox authorities. In the village of Gazi in Crete, hostility toward a Jehovah’s Witness meeting place was followed by property damage and gunfire in 1987. Four local Witnesses then sought official permission for their meetings.

The dispute moved through the Greek courts. An initial criminal court acquitted the defendants, but an appeal resulted in convictions, short prison sentences and fines. The case was later brought before European human-rights institutions, where the restrictions were examined under the protection of freedom of thought, conscience, religion and assembly.

• 1987: The local dispute began and the four worshippers were charged under older legislation.
• 1993: Greece’s Supreme Court upheld the convictions and the meeting hall was sealed.
• 1995: European institutions found that the permit regime placed excessive obstacles on religious practice and referred the matter to the European Court of Human Rights.

Evangelical Christians and anti-proselytism rules

Another case involved three Evangelical officers in the Greek Air Force who were convicted under anti-proselytism legislation after discussing their faith with others. Their sentences were converted into fines and later suspended. The European Court of Human Rights subsequently held that the application of the law violated Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, finding that the restrictions were too broad and insufficiently predictable.

The historical dispute illustrates a recurring tension: a state may regulate coercion or abuse, but restrictions on peaceful religious communication must also respect freedom of conscience and equal treatment. The court’s decision did not simply endorse every form of proselytism; it assessed whether the specific criminal restrictions were compatible with protected religious freedom.

Muslim minority rights

Reports from the period also discussed the Muslim minority in western Thrace, including people who identified culturally or ethnically as Turkish. The concerns described in the archive included citizenship decisions made under a former provision, disputes over the appointment of muftis, delays affecting mosque repairs, unequal educational resources and allegations of surveillance or discrimination.

The former citizenship provision was abolished in 1998, although the archive noted that people affected by earlier decisions faced difficulties seeking restoration of citizenship. Other issues, including religious administration and minority education, remained part of wider debates about the relationship between national identity, minority rights and religious freedom.

Scientology and other religious questions

In 1997 an Athens court ordered the closure of an organization operating as the Center of Applied Philosophy, associated with the Church of Scientology, after describing its practices as harmful. The case attracted criticism from the organization, and the charges were dismissed by an appeals court in 1999.

The archive also records controversies about religious symbols on national identity cards, taxation and ownership of church property, the operation of Evangelical groups, and the recognition of modern Pagan associations. These episodes show how questions about public administration can become questions about equal citizenship and freedom of belief.

What this archive helps readers examine

• How licensing systems can affect minority places of worship.
• Why freedom of religion includes both personal conviction and peaceful communal practice.
• How courts distinguish legitimate public-order concerns from disproportionate interference.
• Why historical reports should be checked against current Greek and European legal sources before being used for present-day decisions.

References and source trail