Putin signs anti-evangelism law – July 7, 2016

This week marks the anniversary of when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that greatly restricted when religious groups, including Evangelicals, could preach or evangelize.

An anti-terrorism measure commonly called the “Yarovaya law,” after one of its sponsors, Irina Yarovaya, the proposal came in part to help the Russian Orthodox Church, which viewed non-Orthodox Christian missionaries as a concern.

“Since the fall of the Soviet Union, some in Russia have expressed concern about the perception of well-funded foreigners coming in to build their congregations at the expense of Russian Orthodoxy, weakened by the Soviet system,” wrote Elizabeth A. Clark for the Religious Freedom Institute in 2016.

“Protecting Russian Orthodoxy, however, has come to be perceived as being aligned with national strategic interests. In 2000, a Russian federal policy statement on national security stated that ‘[e]nsuring the national security of the Russian Federation also includes the protection of its ... spiritual and moral heritage’ and ‘includes opposing the negative influence of foreign religious organizations and missionaries.’”

Pope Eugene III dies – July 8, 1153

This week marks the anniversary of when Pope Eugene III, the head of the Roman Catholic Church who launched the Second Crusade, died after serving less than a decade as pontiff.

An abbot when he was elected pope, Eugene III called for a second crusade when the Crusader state capital of Edessa fell to Muslim forces. Despite the impressive forces amassed for the war, the goals of the campaign were not achieved.

Additionally, Eugene III struggled with political turmoil in Italy, with a bitter rivalry occurring between himself and the Italian religious reformer Arnold of Brescia, a critic of clerical wealth.

“With Rome in a state of anarchy, by early 1146 Eugenius was forced into exile by his archenemy, the Italian reformer Arnold of Brescia,” noted Britannica.

“Eugenius returned to Italy in June 1148 and in July excommunicated Arnold, who denounced Eugenius as ‘a man of blood’ and spread the revolt against him.”

Mexican bishops vote to suspend worship – July 11, 1926

This week marks the anniversary of when Catholic Church bishops in Mexico voted to suspend worship in the Latin American nation as a protest to the policies of President Plutarco Elías Calles.

Anticlerical sentiment against the Catholic Church had been on the rise in Mexico since the Mexican Revolution, with Calles building on previous efforts to push religion to the margins of society.

In response to Calles passing a law prohibiting priests from wearing clerical garb or criticizing the government, Mexico’s bishops voted to suspend all worship in public, to take effect on Aug. 1 of that year.

“The President denied that he planned to interfere with religious functions and said that his actions were not discriminatory, but that the actions of some clergy would be considered rebellious,” explained the history website Indigenous Mexico.

“On August 1, members of the Regional Confederation of Labor — including government employees — paraded through the streets of Mexico City and other important cities to show their support for the government’s religious regulations. President Calles and Secretary of Labor Morones reviewed the parade from the balcony of the Municipal Palace.”

Tensions between the Catholic Church and the federal government would only get worse, however, and eventually led to the religious uprising known as the Cristero Revolution.