Financing of Traditional Religions in Georgia: Non-egalitarian Secularity

The article is devoted to a comparative analysis of the financing features of two groups of traditional religions of Georgia that are unequal in legal status. The first group includes the Georgian Orthodox Church with constitutionally enshrined privileges, the second — the Roman Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Jewish and Muslim communities, which have been funded by the state since 2014. The structure of the article includes two parts. In the first part, the prerequisites for emergence and trends in development of financing of two groups of traditional religions of Georgia are compared, in the second part — their volume and financing instruments, as well as assessments of these parameters in the discourse of state- confessional relations of Georgia. Based on the results of a comparative analysis, the author identifies the principle of non-egalitarian secularity for a generalized description of financing traditional religions specifics in Georgia. Conceptually, the research contributes to the essential boundaries and prospects understanding for evolution of a secular state. In practical terms, the research results can contribute to making informed decision in field of state- confessional relations. The article conclusions are relevant for states with an Orthodox majority, including Russia.