There were no reports of abuses of religious freedom.
On November 15, the government and the municipality of Ruggell announced it would provide three Roman Catholic chapels in three different parishes to Muslims to hold funeral services. Two chapels (one in the parish of Eschen and one in the parish of Mauren) were inaugurated during the year, with a third expected to open in the parish of Ruggell.
Funding for religious institutions comes from the municipalities and from the general budget, as decided by the parliament; it is not a direct tithe paid by citizens. The government provides money to the Catholic Church and other religious groups. Catholic and Protestant churches receive regular annual contributions from the government in proportion to membership; smaller religious groups are eligible to apply for grants for associations of foreigners or specific projects. The two main representative bodies of the Muslim community (the Islamische Gemeinschaft and the Tuerkischer Verein) collaborated with governmental authorities in early 2010 to form an umbrella organization that receives state contributions to be used equitably for all Muslims residing in the country. All religious groups enjoy tax-exempt status.
To receive a religious worker visa, applicants must have completed theological studies, be a member of a nationally recognized religious group, and be sponsored by a registered member of the official religious group’s clergy. Visa requests for religious workers are normally issued and processed in the same manner as other requests.
The government grants the Muslim community a residency permit for one imam, plus one short-term residency permit for an additional imam during Ramadan. The government routinely grants visas to the imams of the Turkish Association and the Muslim community who agree not to allow or preach sermons that incite violence or advocate intolerance.
Religious education is part of the curriculum at public schools. Catholic or Protestant religious education is compulsory in all primary schools, but the authorities routinely grant exemptions for children whose parents request them. The curriculum for Catholic confessional education is determined by the Roman Catholic Church with only a minor complementary supervisory role by the municipalities, with the exception of Balzers, Triesen, and Planken, which have stronger governmental supervision. At the secondary school level, parents and pupils chose between traditional confessional education organized by their religious community and the nonconfessional subject “Religion and Culture.” The government provides financial support to some smaller denominations that choose to offer religious education classes at their churches outside regular school hours.
The government is currently on the verge of integrating Islamic religious education into the official curriculum. During the year, six primary schools offered Islamic education to 80 students between the ages of 7 and 13. The classes were taught in German.
The government commemorated the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on January 27, with a special memorial hour. This event was part of the government’s program to fight racism, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination. Since 2003 secondary schools have held discussion forums on the Holocaust on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance.