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Located on the territory of Central Asia between two rivers, over the thousands of years, Uzbekistan has experienced many different religions. Religion used to be the primary foundation of the culture, unifying the countries and the continents, regardless of nationality and race.
Independence has allowed the revival of the spiritual-religious basis of the society. The mentality has been mainly formed under the impact of enlightened Islamic philosophy. The restoration of Islamic cultural values, accumulated over the past millennium is an important step towards national self-determination, and the cultural and historical unity of Uzbek nation.
After Uzbekistan became independent on December 8, 1992, the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan was adopted. Article 18 of the Constitution says: All citizens of Uzbekistan shall have equal rights and freedoms, and shall be equal under the Law, regardless of sex, race, nationality, language, religion, social origin, convictions, individual and social status. The Constitution also guarantees freedom of conscience for all citizens. According to Article 31, everyone shall have the right to profess or not to profess any religion. Any compulsory imposition of religion shall be impermissible. The above Article of the Constitution has been reflected in legislation and, firstly, in the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Freedom of Conscience and Religion", which fully corresponds to international standards. As of now, 15 religious confessions are being practiced on the territory of the Republic, although some of them are not traditional for Uzbekistan. Being temporal, the State is adhering to the following principles:
- respect for the religious feelings of believers;
- acceptance of religious convictions as a private matter either for individuals and for groups;
- the guarantee of equal rights for all citizens and inadmissibility of persecution for those who profess and who do not profess religion;
- the necessity of dialogue with different religious groups in order to use their potential for spiritual revival to establish values common to all mankind;
- the recognition of the inadmissibility of using religion for destructive purposes.