The Kazakh legislature passed the first of three readings of the religion bill in June.

The former member of the Soviet bloc already requires religious groups to register with the government. Under current law, unregistered groups have to pay fines and supposedly "non-traditional" religious bodies are prohibited from registering or have their registration applications significantly delayed, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reported.

The new measure, according to USCIRF, would:

-- increase the number of members a religious group must have to register from 10 to 50.

-- prohibit smaller religious bodies from teaching or professing their faith, owning property or renting public buildings.

-- prohibit gifts from anonymous or foreign donors.

"The religion bill threatens Kazakhstan's international obligations as a nation to safeguard religious freedom and non-discrimination," USCIRF Chair Felice Gaer said in a written release. "Kazakhstan appears to be following the lead of other former Soviet republics that are narrowing the space for religious freedom rather than bolstering protections for it."

Gaer called on the U.S. government to urge the Kazakh legislature to revise the bill substantially before it receives a second vote.

A section in the religion bill would mean a group must exist for 10 years and be present in at least five of Kazakhstan's 16 regions before registering as a "centralized religious organization," the only category able to publish religious literature and perform religious education, USCIRF reported. This requirement would prevent two of Kazakhstan's four Catholic dioceses from registering.

Those found guilty of breaking the measure could receive heavy fines and have their operations suspended, according to USCIRF. Continued...