Belarus’s Protestants Want Their President Gone

Quick to Listen

Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2020

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Transcribed highlights of the show can be found in our episode summaries. Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has been in office for 26 years. After last week’s elections, he says he’s 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. The majority of Belarusians identify as Christian. Of the country’s roughly 10 million, 73 percent are Orthodox and 12 percent Catholic, according to Pew Research Center data. Though the Protestant community is tiny, it has not been silent. Last 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. Protests in 2010 played a key role in changing Protestants’ minds on Lukashenko and the government, says Geraldine Fagan, the editor of the East-West Church Report and author of Believing in Russia – Religious Policy after Communism. “I think particularly since then, there's been an increasingly strong pro-democracy movement within the church,” said Fagan. “And 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.” Fagan 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. Take Quick to Listen’s survey! What is Quick to Listen? Read more Rate Quick to Listen on Apple Podcasts Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow our hosts on Twitter: Morgan Lee and Ted Olsen Music by Sweeps Quick to Listen is produced by Morgan Lee and Matt Linder The transcript is edited by Bunmi Ishola Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find clear answers to tough questions about Christianity.
0:11.1	Learn to explain your faith with courage and compassion.
0:14.5	Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail del Rosario at Apologeticsky.com.
0:22.3	Belarus is president, Alexander Lukashenko, has been in office for 26 years.
0:27.5	After last week's elections, he says he won yet another term.
0:32.2	But Belarusians are saying enough is enough, with thousands of them taking to the streets
0:36.5	in protest and demanding new elections. So far, Luk thousands of them taking to the streets and protest and demanding
0:37.9	new elections. So far, Lukashenko has shot down this request. The majority of Belarusians
0:44.9	identify as Christian. The country's roughly 10 million people, 73% are Orthodox and 12% are Catholic,
0:52.2	and those numbers are from Pew Research Center data from a couple of years ago.
0:57.0	Though the Protestant community is tiny, it has not been silent on political matters.
1:02.0	Last week, the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptist in Belarus,
1:06.0	the United Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith in Belarus,
1:09.0	and the Religious Association of Full Gospel Communities in Belarus released a joint statement asking for prayer. And it said in part,
1:16.9	pray for all people, for those in charge, that they have the fear of God, and remember that
1:21.3	there is a supreme judge over them who we will all give account to. It also said, pray for an
1:26.7	end to the violence and bloodshed, and for all those affected in their families.
1:30.9	Pray that the Lord will save us from hatred, vengeance, and resentment.
1:34.6	We wanted to get a sense of the political, but also religious situation in this Eastern European nation.
1:42.8	You are listening to Quick to Listen, where we go beyond hashtags and hot takes to discuss a major
1:48.5	cultural event.
1:49.7	I'm Morgan Lee, global media manager here at Christianity Today.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Christianity Today, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Christianity Today and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.