Reflecting on eleven years of progress in Kazakhstan and now Uzbekistan, Love Your Neighbor Community (LYNC) has witnessed slow-yet-steady strides in advancing freedom of religion and belief. The journey has been far from simple but seeing small improvements and something like unlikely pairs—such as imams and pastors—build genuine friendships and engage in ongoing dialogue with each other and their governments to strengthen social cohesion is a testament to the power of patience, trust, and persistent engagement.
Understanding these dynamics requires looking beyond surface-level assumptions. As LYNC reflects on over a decade of progress, CEO Wade Kusack looks at what seems to be working, what’s challenging, what’s hopeful—and what’s next.
“In the West, the general perception of religious freedom violations is often simplified as an oppressive government targeting innocent religious communities,” says Kusack. “However, the reality is more complex.” Kusack says the Soviet era’s aggressive secularism sought to eradicate religions, leaving behind deeply ingrained governmental attitudes that persist today. While post-Soviet governments have not pursued the same goal, many still view religion, especially minorities or newer faith groups, as potential threats to national security or cultural identity.
According to Kusack and other religious freedom experts, addressing these concerns requires more than policy shifts—it demands a fundamental change in perspective.
Chris Seiple: “For many Americans, it may be difficult to grasp, but in much of Asia, religion is subject to government regulation in some form. Even Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority democracy, has a Minister for Religious Affairs. This also applies to communist and post-communist states. Throughout the former Soviet Union and extending to China, Vietnam, and Laos, remnants of Soviet-era religious oversight structures remain in place. Typically known as the Government’s Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA), these bodies often have provincial-level officials responsible for monitoring religious activity.”
In Kazakhstan, the CRA operates under the Vice Minister for Information and Social Development, Kanat Iskaov, whom LYNC team and IRFBA Chair Robert Rehak recently had the opportunity to meet in Prague.
Moving Beyond Mere Tolerance: The Power of Relationship-Building
Restrictions are not a sustainable strategy for managing the religious landscape. While they might be effective during a security crisis, over the long term, limiting religious practices and discriminating against minority religious groups will likely lead to even greater security issues. Instead, fostering trust, dialogue, and cooperation between governments, religious communities, and civil society has proven far more productive. Over the past decade, LYNC has actively engaged with Central Asian governments, offering recommendations that address security and identity concerns without infringing on religious freedom. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have demonstrated a willingness to collaborate, exemplified by their participation in LYNC’s Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy (CCRL) programs and multi-faith initiatives.
Strengthening Multi-Faith Engagement Through Local Leadership
In 2024, LYNC’s Train-the-Trainers program, supported by the Templeton Religion Trust, empowered Kazakh and Uzbek religious leaders, government officials, and civil society representatives with practical tools to advance Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB), strengthen social cohesion, and enhance community building.
One of the program’s key achievements was the creation of the Almaty Model, an innovative framework that originated from a multi-faith roundtable discussion held before LYNC commenced its work in Kazakhstan.
The Train-the-Trainers program and other educational initiatives from LYNC contributed to the development of this model. Unlike the rigid, formal gatherings of the Soviet era, the Almaty Model promotes informal, solution-driven discussions. It engages religious leaders, civil society, and government officials in collaborative problem-solving.
The Almaty Model’s core strength lies in shifting religion’s role from being perceived as a problem to becoming an active part of the solution. By engaging religious leaders in broader social issues, the model ensures that faith communities play a constructive role in shaping solutions and fostering unity. This approach mirrors the IRF Roundtable model in Washington, D.C., where religious freedom discussions are integrated into broader civil discourse. The Train-the-Trainers program, which included government officials and religious leaders from multiple Kazakh and Uzbek cities, including Almaty, played a significant role in shaping and strengthening this model. Concepts introduced during the training—such as structured dialogue principles taught by IRF Secretariat CEO Greg Mitchell and his team—have influenced how Almaty’s roundtable is run.
However, according to Kusack, LYNC’s role has not been to create the Almaty Model from scratch but to empower existing multi-faith efforts, providing strategic guidance and additional ideas tailored to Kazakhstan’s unique context. Through ongoing engagement and collaboration, religious leaders and government representatives have successfully adapted and refined this model, setting an example for expanding multi-faith cooperation across Central Asia.
This initiative, led by religious leaders such as Pastor Arman Arenbayev, Imam Nazirkhan Tashkhodjaev, and Nurlan Kikimov, the head of Almaty’s religious affairs department, frames religion as a force for unity and social development instead of division.
From the Almaty Model to Kazakhstan’s National Engagement
The success of the Almaty Model has demonstrated the power of multi-faith engagement in reshaping religious dialogue in Kazakhstan. Recognizing its impact, government officials and religious leaders have begun integrating these principles into broader national discussions on religious freedom and multi-faith cooperation.
This commitment was evident in a series of high-level meetings in Kazakhstan, where faith leaders, civil society representatives, and government officials came together to explore practical strategies for advancing freedom of religion and belief (FoRB). These discussions, rooted in trust and cross-cultural religious literacy (CCRL), emphasized cooperative engagement as a path toward sustainable religious freedom reforms.
“A highly engaging and informative meeting took place this fall in Almaty, where I gained valuable insights,” Imam Nazirkhan Tashkhodjaev shared. “I believe other participants also found it beneficial. Many thanks to the organizers and everyone involved in the training.”
Presbyterian Pastor Arman Arenbayev echoed this sentiment, highlighting the relationships forged during the discussions: “During the training, we were not only able to share the concept of covenantal pluralism with the participants but also to become good colleagues. When we were saying goodbye, we felt we had become friends.”
These meetings reinforced the growing momentum for multi-faith cooperation in Kazakhstan, demonstrating that open dialogue and collaborative problem-solving can lead to practical policy solutions and deeper social trust.
Uzbekistan’s Progress in Religious Reform
Uzbek and Kazakh alumni of the Train-the-Trainers program have successfully adapted their training to local contexts, advancing multi-faith dialogue initiatives and strengthening government and civil society partnerships.
Retreats in Tashkent and Almaty have facilitated direct engagement between government officials and faith leaders, promoting thoughtful discussions around strategies to combat radicalization while reinforcing social cohesion.
Uzbek Pastor Oleg Vorojtsov, who graduated from the training and now co-leads a roundtable in Tashkent, says fostering relationships between spiritual leaders—pastors and imams—based on friendship and cooperation is essential.
“Our love unites us for our country, our love for our children, and our shared responsibility for the future we will pass on to them—whether it will be one of hostility and hatred or one of peace, harmony, and tolerance,” he said.
“Now more than ever, it is crucial for spiritual leaders to speak and lead by example, demonstrating how their faith teaches respect for those who believe and live differently. Each of us, in our capacity, must contribute to religious and intercultural literacy to preserve and strengthen unity, peace, and the integration of spiritual values into our communities.”
Similarly, Imam Shovkat Khamdamov—a roundtable co-leader and now a friend of Pastor Vorojtsov—emphasized the role of multi-faith dialogue in preventing conflicts and fostering mutual understanding at the grassroots level. “Interreligious dialogue plays a crucial role in fostering mutual understanding among religious leaders as they guide their communities and in addressing conflicts that may arise at the grassroots level.” He said that because leadership and societal dynamics constantly evolve, this dialogue must continue to sustain trust and cooperation.
October and November 2024: Pivotal Moments for Multi-Faith Engagement
The 2024 multi-faith retreats in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan marked a significant milestone in advancing religious literacy training and strengthening faith-based networks. These retreats featured Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy (CCRL) workshops designed to foster trust and mutual understanding, as well as sessions on ethical reporting to promote transparency and accountability in discussions on religious issues. Additionally, roundtable discussions provided culturally sensitive and practical solutions to local challenges, reinforcing the power of multi-faith cooperation in addressing issues such as radicalization and promoting faith and human dignity through collaborative dialogue.
Beyond their immediate impact, these retreats also sparked “constructive competition” between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, encouraging both countries to innovate their social cohesion programs and exchange best practices. This dynamic has set the stage for further advancements in building pluralistic societies, demonstrating how structured engagement can lead to lasting, meaningful change across the region.
The Broader Challenge: Overcoming Resistance to Pluralism
Despite these achievements, Kusack says pluralism remains a contested concept. Not everyone—whether in the United States, Kazakhstan, or anywhere else in the world—fully embraces the idea of pluralism or shares our vision,” Kusack said. “There are differing approaches, motivations, and worldviews, including our own country.
In the United States, for example, not everyone believes that pluralistic virtues align with their values. Some view pluralism as a threat, seeing only one valid social order or philosophy and rejecting all others as misguided or even dangerous.
While LYNC has built strong partnerships, resistance persists—whether due to ideological differences or entrenched worldviews.
However, Kusack says direct engagement has proven transformative. “We need to continue educating and engaging people in our work. In some cases, those who initially opposed our efforts—often without knowing us or participating in our projects—have changed their opinions after direct engagement,” Kusack adds.
“Once they learned firsthand about our objectives and approach, they not only gained a better understanding but also chose to become part of the movement.”
Kusack says he has “aha moments” every year in Kazakhstan “because we keep developing our partnership, our cooperation—and trust is growing, and appreciation from both sides for what we do is growing.”
LYNC has reported on several significant milestones in Kazakhstan, fostering engagement in religious freedom initiatives. In 2022, for example, a cross-cultural religious literacy (CCRL) conference provided law enforcement with a first-of-its-kind opportunity to learn counter-extremism strategies and engage with experts.
“One of the local experts remarked, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen law enforcement actively participate in an event like this before.’ It was truly unprecedented—this was the first time law enforcement officers engaged in a civil society-organized, international event where they could learn strategies for countering violent extremism, engage with experts, and explore new ideas.”
Kusack says that in 2019, prior to the training, LYNC hosted an all-inclusive roundtable that brought together both registered and unregistered religious groups—something the government had never done before. For the first time, individuals outside of registered religious communities were allowed to participate on an equal footing in discussions about freedom of religion or belief (FoRB).
Most recently, the Vice Minister Iskakov asked that his provincial leaders attend the first-ever cross-cultural religious literacy (CCRL) training for government officials. The 72 hours of training are accredited through Caspian University. The training uses the CCRL framework as an adaptable tool that helps build better relations among faith/ethnic groups and therefore helps deter extremism. The training was also endorsed by the Office of the Mayor in Almaty.
Spearheaded by LYNC, which has been working with the government of Kazakhstan for 15 years and working through local leaders such as Imam Nazirkhan and Pastor Arman Arenbayev, the program also includes global perspectives from LYNC’s Senior Fellow Dr. Chris Seiple, Hungary’s Attila Miklovicz and Pepperdine’s Sukhsimranjit Singh.
Building on Success: A Roadmap for the Future
Looking ahead, LYNC is committed to expanding its Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy initiatives to additional cities across Central Asia, broadening the reach and impact of these efforts. Plans are also underway to conduct anthropological research to refine positive religious freedom metrics further, ensuring a deeper understanding of progress in the region. Additionally, LYNC will continue mentoring alumni of the programs to sustain their achievements and scale their impact, fostering long-term success in promoting religious freedom and social cohesion.
LYNC’s Senior Researcher, Dr. Maksym Vasin, finalizing a groundbreaking project to develop positive indices to measure religious freedom and pluralism. Dr. Vasin emphasizes that the strength of LYNC’s work in Central Asia is that LYNC does not impose its vision on local officials and religious leaders. “On the contrary, we desire to understand the local culture, historical context, country characteristics, and specific challenges better.”
Vasin stresses that this approach is vital for finding effective ways to improve religious freedom and gradually achieve social cohesion. “We want to make our positive indices of religious freedom and pluralism more practical and not just theoretical,” says Vasin. They shouldn’t be detached from reality.”
Additionally, expanding cross-cultural religious literacy (CCRL) programs nationwide will be a crucial step. Ideally, this initiative will gain formal recognition, leading to its integration into training programs, pilot projects, and even dedicated university courses.
Onward in 2025
Central Asia’s multi-faith engagement movement is at a turning point. With strong government and civil society partnerships, innovative multi-faith cooperation models, and ongoing religious freedom advocacy, the region is gradually shifting towards a more inclusive, pluralistic future.
LYNC is helping transform religious freedom from a divisive issue into a unifying force by fostering trust, equipping local leaders, and implementing structured dialogue.
While challenges remain, the progress achieved in 2024 is a powerful testament to the impact of strategic, relationship-driven efforts. As LYNC moves forward, the focus remains on sustainability, institutional adoption, and continued collaboration—ensuring that religious freedom becomes an aspiration and a lived reality in Central Asia and beyond.
