The US Department of State published its annual report on religious freedom, where it also addressed the developments in religious freedom in Armenia last year, the VOA Armenian Service reports.

In this connection, the report states that the Constitution of Armenia recognizes the unique mission of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the spiritual life of the Armenian people, its role in the development of national culture and preservation of national identity. It also states that national minorities in Armenia have the right to preserve and develop their traditions, religion, language, and culture. The report reminds that the country's new criminal code, which came into force on July 1, prohibits obstructing the right to freedom of religion and provides appropriate punishments for respective violations.

According to the report, the majority of religious minorities in Armenia claim that, in general, the Armenian public attitude towards them has been positive over the past year, and a negative coverage of them in the Armenian media is either absent or insignificant.

The report touched also on church-government relations in Armenia, noting that the press in the country continues to discuss what is presented as the deterioration of relations between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the government, and which is related to the government's policy aimed at the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

As per the US State Department report, the Jewish community of Armenia recorded a considerable decline in anti-Semitism last year compared to the previous year. At that time, the basis of the rise of anti-Semitic sentiments in Armenia was the use of Israeli-made weapons by Azerbaijan during the 2020 war. The report notes that hundreds of Jews who came to Armenia from Russia after February 2022 had only positive impressions of Armenia.