Aware of the deep-seated religious beliefs of the people, the communist government has done little to restrict their free expression, and officially religion is viewed as a private and personal matter. Religious persecution has been limited to clergymen who have openly opposed the government and its policies. Government efforts, however, have been aimed at controlling the churches and using their influence with the people to further official policies and programs. At the same time, public information media and schools have been attempting to undermine the hold of religion on younger people by equating religious faith with superstition and backwardness and stressing scientific and empirical knowledge as the basis for a modern world view. Many religious values are attacked as lacking a basis in true knowledge and reality. Those values that the government wants to preserve and promote are given a scientific-intellectual justification and are stripped of any religious meaning. In line with its view of religion as a private and personal matter, the government has not published any statistical or other information pertaining to the various religious communities since 1950. Research on the role of religion in the daily life of the people has been discouraged; therefore, up-to-date information is restricted to observations by foreign visitors to the country. According to reports from such observers, more than twenty years of communist effort to undermine religion as a force in the life of people has been unsuccessful. Some of the clergy have lost their former influence by openly working on behalf of the government, and some young people question the relevance of some beliefs and practices. The fundamental faith of the people, however, has been little changed. Even longstanding members of the party have been publicly criticized for subscribing to religious views and practices. CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS The Constitution of 1965 guarantees freedom of conscience and freedom of religion to all citizens. It also specifically guarantees the right not to profess any religion. The organization and activities of any church are regulated by state law, and religious organizations are prohibited from operating any educational institutions other than those for the training of clergy and members of religious orders. Within these broad guarantees and prohibitions, the state exercises strict control over the organization and activities of religious denominations through its Department of Cults, which functions in accordance with the General Regulations for Religious Cults passed by the Grand National Assembly in 1948. Under these regulations the state must approve the statute of organization and administration and the statement of beliefs of any church before it can be recognized as a legal body. Clerical appointments are subject to state approval, and all clergy must take an oath of allegiance to the Socialist Republic of Romania.