MOSCOW, Russia - A group of Russian lawmakers in the Duma parliamentary body announced March 18 that they plan to support initiatives that give preferential treatment to religions that they deem “traditional.” According to Religion News Service (RNS), the lawmakers plan to support initiatives that give Russian Orthodox, Islamic, Buddhist and Jewish organizations advantages over other religious groups. While the group claims it doesn’t support discrimination against religions, RNS noted that only Russian Orthodox clergy were present at the March meeting. One Communist member of the Duma told RNS he supports a code on religion “just as we already have a land code, a civil code.”