The Constitution of Venezuela states in Article 65 that "everyone has the right to profess his religious faith and to practice his religion privately or publicly, provided it is not contrary to the public order or to good customs." (Emphasis added) The Constitution further subjects religious faiths to the "supreme inspection of the national Executive, in conformity with the law."
The Roman Catholic Church and the majority of religious communities enjoy freedom of worship, and the government respects their rights of religious belief and practice.
In 1997, however, "sects", i.e.. new religious movements, have come under attack. The Unification Church has born the brunt of this attack. It’s registration as a religious organization has been removed and activity by the church has been banned. The press reported that this action was taken because of visa violations by visiting Japanese missionaries. Tthe reason stated by the government in their official notification was that the Unification Church had violated the Constitutional provision concerning "public order and good customs." On September 19, the newspaper, El National, quoted the Chief of the Division Against Organized Crime saying that the police had discovered no crimes committed by the Unification Church; that he did not know as yet if there had been any violations, and that "their principles are of a noble character." The Unification Church has filed appeals with the Fiscal General and the Venezuelan Congress protesting the sudden actions taken against them and seeking reinstatement of their legal status.
2003 U.S. State Department International Religious Freedom Report on Venezuela
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