On October 16, 2025, in Taraz, representatives from the International Center for Interfaith and Interreligious Dialogue delivered lectures at a regional meeting of religious community leaders and experts in the field of religion, dedicated to the Day of Spiritual Harmony.
Tatyana Lipina, Director of the Department for Religious Studies Research, shared findings from the study “Youth and Religion.” The data revealed a rising trend of religious self-identification with age among youth, increasing from $76.4\%$ in the 14–17 age group to $90.3\%$ in the 30–34 age group. A key issue identified by the research was the high level of social distance toward certain religious groups. The study indicated that a significant cause of this phenomenon is the lack of knowledge about other religions and their legal status in Kazakhstan, which attests to the common understanding that “the unfamiliar is dangerous.” Given this increasing trend of self-identification, this lack of knowledge creates risks for the reception of negative rhetoric and potential discrimination toward religious groups. The expert emphasized the need to support the course of inter-confessional harmony in multiple formats, highlighting the positive potential of existing clubs for religious community leaders and proposing further measures for developing this format.
Following this, Senior Expert Dulat Zhakiyanov from the Department for Religious Situation Analysis and Monitoring presented a report on the issue of tolerance. He mentioned the dialogue as the primary means by which conflicts can be resolved, citing current global situations such as the conflict in the Middle East. The expert concluded by noting the leading role of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in promoting the importance of dialogue among humanity.
