Belaruss Protestants Want Their President Gone

Published: Aug. 19, 2020, 3:52 p.m.

Transcribed highlights of the show can be found in our episode summaries.\nBelarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has been in office for 26 years. After last week\u2019s elections, he says he\u2019s won yet another term. But Belarusians are saying enough is enough, with thousands of them taking to the streets in protest and demanding new elections. Lukashenko has shot down this request thus far.\nThe majority of Belarusians identify as Christian. Of the country\u2019s roughly 10 million, 73 percent are Orthodox and 12 percent Catholic, according to Pew Research Center data.\xa0Though the Protestant community is tiny, it has not been silent.\nLast week, the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists in Belarus, the United Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith in Belarus, and the Religious Association of Full Gospel Communities in Belarus released a joint statement asking for prayer.\xa0\nProtests in 2010 played a key role in changing Protestants\u2019 minds on Lukashenko and the government, says Geraldine Fagan, the editor of the East-West Church Report and author of Believing in Russia \u2013 Religious Policy after Communism.\xa0\n\u201cI think particularly since then, there's been an increasingly strong pro-democracy movement within the church,\u201d said Fagan. \u201cAnd that has interacted with the other pro-democracy movements and has just gradually built momentum over the years. I think this is just the dam bursting basically. People just are not prepared to tolerate the restrictions that are actually impinging upon their consciences essentially.\u201d\nFagan joined global media manager Morgan Lee and editorial director Ted Olsen to discuss the arrival of Protestant Christianity in Belarus, what religious freedom looks like in the former Soviet country, and what the global church can learn from Belarusian Christians.\xa0\nTake Quick to Listen\u2019s survey!\nWhat is Quick to Listen?\xa0Read more\nRate Quick to Listen on\xa0Apple Podcasts\nFollow the podcast on\xa0Twitter\nFollow our hosts on Twitter:\xa0Morgan Lee\xa0and\xa0Ted Olsen\nMusic by\xa0Sweeps\nQuick to Listen is produced by\xa0Morgan Lee\xa0and\xa0Matt Linder\nThe transcript is edited by\xa0Bunmi Ishola\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices