Religion and religious freedom in Georgia

Freedom of religion in Georgia is provided for by the country's constitution, laws, and policies. In practice, the Georgian government generally respects religious freedom; however, the Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys a privileged status in terms of legal and tax matters, involvement in public schools, and property disputes. There have been efforts by private citizens, local government officials, and local Georgian Orthodox Church leaders to harass and persecute members of minority religious groups and interfere with their worship activities; despite calls for tolerance and respect for pluralism by government leaders, the Georgian central government has not been successful in preventing such incidents.

Christianity has been the predominant religious influence in the territory comprising present-day Georgia since at least the fourth century A.D., when Nino of Cappadocia, the daughter of a Roman general, is said to have preached in Kartli (present-day eastern and southern Georgia; also known as Iberia) and to have been responsible for the conversion of the king and queen and their family. Christianity in Kartli was initially organized under the jurisdiction of the Church of Antioch, but in the late 5th century, a catholicos (chief bishop) was appointed for the city of Mtskheta, giving the church in the kingdom a degree of local autonomy. A united Georgian kingdom—comprising both Kartli and Colchis (present-day western Georgia)—had taken shape by 1008 under Bagrat III. In 1010, the church in the unified Kingdom of Georgia became (self-governing), and its catholicos (Melchizedek I) was elevated to the rank of patriarch and obtained the official title of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.

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