In Greece there is a significant number of religious minority groups. The Muslim minority in Western Thrace is the main, officially recognised in Greece, and consists of three ethnic groups - the Turks, the Pomaces and the Roma - and three linguistic ones, respectively. A large part, however, falls to the Greek Orthodox faith.
Freedom of belief is guaranteed by the constitution and non-Greek Orthodox religious groups, such as Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and Jews, have their own prayer and faith institutions.
The church-state relations (religious nationalism)
The recent economic and refugee crises
The isolated incidents of attacks against places of worship that occurred in Greece had an impressive increase the last 5 years.
Between 2015 to 2018 there is a 300% increase in cases of attacks against places of worship.
Main target of the attacks: Orthodox Christian Church (temple and place of worship).
Main type of attacks: Vandalism and desecration, burglaries and thefts.
As for minority religions, anti-Semitic acts have increased by 81% in 2018.
Regarding the Greek laws, according to Article 5 of the Constitution ‘All those who are in the Greek territory enjoy the absolute protection of their life, honor and freedom, without distinction of nationality, race, language and religious or political beliefs’.
There are many public authorities that deal with this issue. The most important are listed below. For more information, click on the name of the institution.
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