Despite the fact that Catholicism in Kazakhstan is a minority religion, the activities of the Catholic Church in the country are respected, including the government of the country. This fact is confirmed once again by the Christmas greetings sent to the Catholic clergy and citizens of Kazakhstan professing Catholicism.
Congratulations were received from the Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dariga Nazarbayeva, and from the Minister of Information and Public Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dauren Abaev.
Dariga Nazarbayeva in her congratulations emphasized that the Christmas holiday “unites people in the desire to do good deeds, strengthens the moral foundations of our society,” adding that “the celebration of the Nativity of Christ clearly confirms that in Kazakhstan people of the most diverse faiths are successfully developing their traditions, culture, and customs’’.
Dauren Abaev in his letter expressed his gratitude “for the tireless support of the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbasy N. Nazarbayev on convening the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, promoting his values and ideas in the global world’’ and wished that Christmas would bring “to all followers of Christianity positive changes, peace, well-being and prosperity.
In Kazakhstan Catholics are about one percent of the population.
The government of the country, despite the fact that the state is secular, respects representatives of various confessions represented in Kazakhstan, which is also confirmed by the fact that official holidays have been established for the most important holidays of the majority religions of Kazakhstan: Kurban Ait among Muslims, about 70% of the population, and the Nativity of Christ among the Orthodox, representing the second largest religion in the country.
Cover photo by Alevtina Samusseva
