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Freedom of religion is the guarantee by a government for freedom of belief for individuals and freedom of worship for individuals and groups. It is considered by many to be a fundamental human right.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the 58 Member States of the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France defines freedom of religion as follows:
- "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance."
Many states have freedom of religion established in their constitution, though the exact legal consequences of this right vary for historical and cultural reasons.
Freedom of religion as a legal concept is related to but not identical with religious toleration, separation of church and state or laïcité.
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Freedom of religion in History
Historically "freedom of religion" has been used by academia to define different theological systems of belief, while "freedom of worship" was originally defined as individual action.
During history some countries have accepted some form of freedom of worship, though in actual practice that theoretical freedom was delimited through punitive taxation, repressive social legislation and political disenfranchisement. Compare examples of individual freedom in Poland or the Muslim tradition of dhimmis, literally "protected individuals" professing an officially tolerated non-Muslim religion.
Antiquity
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen guarantees freedom of religion, as long as religious activities do not infringe on public order in ways detrimental to society.In Antiquity a syncretic point-of-view often allowed communities of traders to operate under their own customs. When street mobs of separate quarters clashed in a Hellenistic or Roman city, the issue was generally perceived to be an infringement of community rights. The Greek-Jewish clashes at Cyrene provided one example of cosmopolitan cities as scenes of tumult.
Some of the historical exceptions have been in regions where one of the revealed religions has been in a position of power: Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam. Others have been where the established order has felt threatened, as shown in the trial of Socrates or where the ruler has been deified, as in Rome or the Persian empire, and refusal to offer token sacrifice was similar to refusing to take an oath of allegiance. This was the core for resentment and the persecution of early Christian communities.
Freedom of worship in India was encapsulated in an inscription of Asoka:
King Piyadasi (Ashok) dear to the Gods, honours all sects, the ascetics (hermits) or those who dwell at home, he honours them with charity and in other ways. But the King, dear to the Gods, attributes less importance to this charity and these honours than to the vow of seeing the reign of virtues, which constitutes the essential part of them. For all these virtues there is a common source, modesty of speech. That is to say, One must not exalt one’s creed discring all others, nor must one degrade these others Without legitimate reasons. One must, on the contrary, render to other creeds the honour befitting them.
In most parts of European society there was no individual freedom of worship from the suppression of non-Christian worship with the Theodosian decrees of 391 AD, under the influence of Ambrose of Milan until the Enlightenment of the 18th century.
European Middle Ages
In Western Europe during most of the Middle Ages, Roman Catholicism was the official religion. Roman Catholicism was practiced by both the rulers and almost all of their subjects with all other religious practices being prosecuted as heresy for which a typical penalty was burning at the stake. This lack of religious freedom resulted in various crusades, including one fought against the Albigeois. Jews were tolerated in most countries, but they suffered from various restrictions and repeated repression.
Reformation Times
Following the Reformation, Wars of Religion erupted in many European countries between Catholic and Protestant factions. In most feudal countries the religion of the ruler was the official religion (under the principle of cuius regio eius religio) and other religions were either tolerated or persecuted.
King Henry IV of France was a Protestant who converted to Catholicism. He guaranteed limited freedom for Protestants which were repealed by his grandson Louis XIV. In all countries, whether Protestant or Catholic, criticism of Christianity or advocacy of atheism were prosecutable offenses.
United States of America
"Save Freedom of Worship". American World War II posterThe modern legal concept of religions freedom as the union of freedom of belief and freedom of worship with the absence of any state-sponsored religion, originated in the United States of America. The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was written in 1779 by Thomas Jefferson. It proclaimed:
- "No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."
In U.S. law, freedom of religion is based on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which declares:
- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"
Consequently the USA has become a nation of many religious institutions which flourish under the freedom of legal protection by local, state and federal governments.
In 1944 a joint committee of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America and the Foreign Missions Conference of North America, formulated a Statement on Religious Liberty:
Religious Liberty shall be interpreted to include freedom to worship according to conscience and to bring up children in the faith of their parents; freedom for the individual to change his religion; freedom to preach, educate, publish and carry on missionary activities; and freedom to organise with others, and to acquire and hold property, for these purposes.
France
In June 1789, the French Revolution brought about a dramatic change in perception of this subject with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The history of France at this point in time was greatly influenced by the development of the United States and its founding Declaration of Independence.
See also
- Christian anarchism
- First Amendment
- French Revolution
- Warsaw Confederation
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Heresy
- Apostasy
- Religious pluralism
- Tolerance
- Civil religion
External links
- Background to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Text of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Jehovah's witnesses: European Court of Human rights, Freedom of Religion, Speech, and Association in Europe
- Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor: International Religious Freedom Report 2004 for Singapore
- Forum 18 News Service - Norwegian-based religious freedom news service
- Vindicated by Time: The Niyogi Committee Report On Christian Missionary Activities: vol I.3 chapter I
- Church of Scientology International Presentation on Religious Freedom in Russia: Impact on U.S. Foreign Policy and Bilateral Relations
- Country profiles from the Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House, an advocacy group
- U.S. State Department country reports
- ApologeticsIndex: Religious Freedom and Tolerance
- Stephen A. Kent: The French and German versus American Debate over 'New Religions', Scientology, and Human Rights'
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