Religious freedom important part of Armenia`s democracy - premier 

ArmInfo. Freedom of religion is democracy. There can be no democracy without religious freedom, because being free means being free in the perception of God and in the perception of religion. This was stated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Washington, speaking at the International Religious Freedom Summit.

According to him, the United States is a model and leading country in  ensuring religious freedom for all and for all religions. It was with  this perception that Armenia joined the US-inspired International  Alliance for Freedom of Religion or Belief in February 2020, during  President Trump's first presidency, he added.

As Pashinyan noted, the main religious institution of the Republic of  Armenia is the Armenian Apostolic Church, and this is natural,  because Armenia is the first country in the world to adopt  Christianity as a state religion, and this was done back in 301 by  the Armenian King Trdat III. Since then, the Armenian Apostolic  Church has played an important role for our people. In Armenia, there  is the Armenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Evangelical  Association, which operate freely and enjoy great respect in society.   There are also other religious organizations based on Christianity,  and they operate freely.

He noted that Armenia is home to the largest Yazidi community in the  world, and the largest Yazidi temple in the world was recently built  in Armenia. The Russian Orthodox Church, the Assyrian Church, Russian  Molokans and pagans are present in Armenia. The Jewish community of  Armenia, although small, plays an important role in our diverse  society, and its spiritual life is centered around the Yerevan  Synagogue. In the center of our capital, Yerevan, there is a  functioning Muslim mosque, which is a very important part of our  cultural heritage.