Bratislava, 10 January 2025 - The rules of financing churches and religious societies in Slovakia should be openly discussed. At the same time, the issue of a new system for collecting and recording data required from churches should be addressed. According to census data, the number of believers in Slovakia is decreasing, while the amount of the state's contribution to the functioning of churches and religious societies is on an upward trend.

Between 2019 and 2023, 14 churches registered in Slovakia received a contribution for their functioning; four churches did not apply for it. The Ministry of Culture paid them over 261 million euros in the five years audited. This follows from an audit by the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) of the Slovak Republic on the financing of churches and religious societies from the chapter of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic.

The amendment to the law changes the contribution amount, which is now linked to the growth of the minimum wage. In the first year of the amendment's entry into force, the drafters of the amendment estimated a 7.9 % increase in the contribution compared to 2024, 9.7 % in 2026 compared to 2025, and 12.9 % in 2027 compared to 2026. In this context, the national auditors recall the importance of controlling the legality and purpose of using the state's financial contribution, especially on the part of its provider, i.e. the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic.

Slovakia is one of the countries that supports registered churches and religious societies through the state's contribution. A similar model exists, for example, in Belgium, Greece and some Swiss cantons. In Europe, there are also models based on funding through a church tax, a tax assessment, or property income, such as in the Vatican or the UK. In Slovakia, the conditions for registration of churches are regulated in the Act on Freedom of Religious Belief. Fourteen entities obtained registration under the 1991 Freedom of Religious Belief Act due to their activities before adopting the new legislation. Only four churches and religious societies have been registered in the last three decades, the last one in 2007. Since 2017, the condition that a new church can be registered when at least 50 thousand citizens of legal age subscribe to it has been in force.

Read the full text of the press release about this issue in Slovak language.