Russian patriarch: No state status 28 (UPI) -- Patriarch Kirill said Friday the Russian Orthodox Church doesn't want state status amid controversy over a proposed bill seeking to punish religious offenders. The patriarch argued at a conference at Moscow State University that the separation of church and state forces the church to give up its ministerial mission and believers to abandon their responsibilities, RIA Novosti reported. The church, though, isn't seeking a blending of church and state, he said. The Russian Constitution calls for the separation of church and state, though the government has recently made decisions beneficial to the church, and Kirill was granted residency in the Kremlin in 2011, The Washington Times reported. A proposed bill would seek to jail religious offenders for up to three years. The bill is pending review in the State Duma and is expected to be supported by all four parliamentary factions, RIA Novosti reported. The state has a duty to protect the rights of its citizens to their religious views. Anti-religious campaigns risk destabilizing society, and in the interests of public order, peace, and security there is a real need to toughen punishment for causing religious offense," said Sergei Obukhov, of Russia's Communist Party. Critics said the bill discriminates against non-believers and it would strengthen the relationship between the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church. Students told RIA Novosti they were forced to attend Friday's conference at the university.