Russian Church stands for the state right to restrict activities of some religious communities and support others

States have right to interfere in religious sphere for the sake of national security, support positive and restrict negative tendencies in religious sphere, the Moscow Patriarchate official believes.

"Today only the blind doesn't see that there are religious communities worthy of support and there are phenomena which are as dangerous as Nazism and Fascism, banned in many countries. And we should adequately respond to this reality," head of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin said at a seminar in Moscow.

According to him, the state cannot remain neutral in the sphere of world outlook, religious and public spheres, but today such neutrality is considered "an unshakable norm of international law" though in fact "many researchers and public figures, including Western ones, realize that this idea is incompatible with life."

"Today we need to think if the principle of equality of religious associations before law is adequate to modern realities as this principle is unknown to legislations of majority of western countries, but appeared in post-Soviet legal systems in the period of ultraliberal euphoria of early 90s," the priest said.

"From one hand, it is evident that these measures are taken to secure society from invasion of religious extremism from abroad and various destructive forces that grow inside these or those countries. I fully support this tendency. I believe that state and society have right to secure themselves from destructive outside expansion," the priest said.

Father Vsevolod urged to back up those religious communities that "aim at peace, mutual dialogue and constructive public endeavor."