The State and Monastery Relation Law was approved in Mongolia over 10 years ago. But now, representatives of the monastery say that a few of the clauses in the law are outdated. According to the National Statistical Office, there are around 338 working monasteries in Mongolia, as of 2012, and 167 of them are located in the capital. The Bayanzurkh district has the most monasteries in the capital. The Citizen’s Representative Council provides authorizations and measures standards for the operation of monasteries.

G.Munkhzaya, Coordinator of the Religious Legal Environment Division of CRC, Bayanzurkh District, “If there is a new monastery being built, we go there and oversee the construction and its operation. For example, who is the head of the religious gathering, and how many attendees will come? But the main issue here is that the law on state and monastery relations doesn’t have any detailed clauses. This law was included in a list to be discussed by Parliament. Unfortunately, the law was not approved. Currently we are waiting on this law to be approved, which will determine whether our planned work can be implemented fully”.

The Citizen’s Representative Council is not familiar with monasteries at scholarly level, yet the official body is responsible for checking their buildings and textbooks, and authorizing or prohibiting the religious entities from running their operations. Therefore, Buddhist and Christian representatives say that their duties should be reassigned.

S.Davaasuren, Spokesperson for Gandantegchilen Monastery, “There are many places that run their operations in connection to Buddhism, but they are all not meeting certain standards. It is as if a person wears the clothes of a monk, that person is considered a real monk. Things are like this nowadays. Unprofessional or immature people are trying to look like real, professional monks and monasteries. This is evidence of the deficiency of the current law on state and monasteries implemented in Mongolia”. G.Tumenbayar, Head of the Bible Training Center, “If there are 10 people in a house reading The Bible that is considered a church by us. Because The Bible says two or more people reading The Bible together can make a church. But the current law in Mongolia says that certain religious activities must take place in a church or a monastery. So there is a lack of a few other clauses in the law, and a huge gap and misunderstanding is also included”.

Critics say that the religious law approved in 1993 is not well adapted for today's practices. Financial issues are also threatening religious organizations. It is unclear how the monasteries and churches are meeting their financial needs, even though they pay their taxes.