[citation needed] There is a small number of Christians, including Roman Catholics, Russian Orthodox, but especially Protestants.
[7] The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice; however, the law limits proselytizing, and some religious groups seeking registration face burdensome bureaucratic requirements and lengthy delays.
A religious group must register with the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, a decentralized and bureaucratic process, in order to legally function as an organization.
Groups must provide the following documentation when registering: a letter to the national ministry requesting registration, a letter from the city council or other local authority granting approval to conduct religious services, a brief description of the organization, its charter, documentation of the founding of the local group, a list of leaders or officers, brief biographic information on the person wishing to conduct religious services, and the expected number of worshippers.
The Ulaanbaatar city council and other local legislative bodies require similar documentation prior to granting approval to conduct religious services.
While the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs possesses the ultimate authority to approve an organization's application, this appears to be largely pro forma.
In Ulaanbaatar, the registration of one Buddhist and three Christian religious organizations which own a temple and three churches, respectively, remained under consideration.
Nevertheless, no churches were known to have been refused registration in Ulaanbaatar during the reporting period, though the applications of four religious organizations remained under consideration.
A nongovernmental organization (NGO) filed a formal complaint with the National Human Rights Commission in May 2007 concerning the refusal by Tuv aimag authorities to register Christian churches.
Then, during the reporting period, the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs clarified that each mosque needed to seek additional approvals from local authorities in its area.
The Muslim community in Ulaanbaatar reported that authorities were helpful in assisting its efforts to construct a mosque, including donating land for the site.
Unregistered religious institutions are often able to function in practice but potentially face difficulties with authorities and are unable to sponsor foreign clergy for visas.