Overview:

• State privilege for the Catholic Church.

• Recognition and registration are amalgamated processes rather than ideally differentiated; recognition in Ecuador means legal and non-profit registration; there currently does not exist procedures for existential recognition of belief systems, denominations and communities.

• The distinguished processes between religious group registration and CSO registration create a vertical recognition situation.

• The requirements for registration seem appropriate but require continued monitored so as not to be misused against any applicant groups.

• The rule of mandatory registration, although its actuality remains ambiguous, is the primary reason for Ecuador’s designation as restrictive; upon clarification of this rule, the country could be easily moved to receptive classification.

Positive elements:

• There is an established Secretariat responsible for the registration of religious groups and for the protection of human rights.

Recommendations:

• Differentiate between existential recognition and legal registration; establish procedures for the former as well as the latter.

• Expand the Secretariat into a recognition agency that is independent of government.

• Remove instances of ambiguity within the legislation and set up procedures for multi-level recognition.