Hungarian churches divided over new religion law

Warsaw, Poland, July 15 (ENInews)--Christian leaders in Hungary have given
mixed reactions to a restrictive new law on religion, with larger
denominations welcoming its curbs on church activities and smaller groups voicing
fears for their future.

"We wanted a new law to make it more difficult to establish churches here
- and we're happy the present government has now done something," said
Zoltan Tarr, general secretary of the Hungarian Reformed Church, which claims
around a fifth of the country's 9.9 million inhabitants as members.

"We're very much for freedom of worship and believe everyone should have
the right to practice their religion. But this law represents a positive
step, since it excludes quite a few communities here which don't legitimately
qualify as churches.