FIDES ET

LIBERTAS
2 0 0 0
The Journal o f

the International

Religious Liberty

Association
 FIDES ET
LIBERTAS
2 0 0 0
The Journal o f the
International Religious Liberty
Association

International Religious Liberty Association

12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6600, United States o f America
Phone 301.680.6680 Fax 301.680.6695
Email 74532.240@ CompuServe.com Web site www.IRLA.org
International Religious Liberty Association
OFFICERS

Bert B. Beach (U.S.A.), President 2000

M atthew A. Bediako (Ghana), Gunnar Staalsett (Norway), Denton Lotz (U.S.A.),
Robert W. Nixon (U.S.A.), Leo S. Ranzolin (Brazil, U.S.A.), Vice Presidents
John Graz (France, Switzerland), Secretary General
Richard Lee Fenn (U.S.A.), Deputy Secretary General
Donald E. Robinson (U.S.A.), Treasurer
Rajmund Dabrowski (Poland), Director o f Communication
Jonathan Gallagher (U.K.), News Director and Webmaster
Mitchell A. Tyner (U.S.A.), Legal Counsel
Marilyn Riley (U.S.A.), M ilind Lazarus Borge (U.S.A.), Staff

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bert B. Beach (U.S.A.), Chair 2000

M atthew A. Bediako (Ghana), Gunnar Staalsett (Norway), Denton Lotz (U.S.A.),
Robert W. Nixon (U.S.A.), Leo S. Ranzolin (Brazil, U.S.A.), Vice Chairs
John Graz (France, Switzerland), Secretary General
Richard Lee Fenn (U.S.A.), Deputy Secretary General
Siloe Joao de Almeida (Brazil), Lee Boothby (U.S.A.),
Reinder Bruinsma (Netherlands),
Ray L. Coombe (Australia), Rajmund Dabrowski (Poland),
W. Cole Durham (U.S.A.), Clarence E. Hodges (U.S.A.), Eugene Hsu (China),
Anatoly Krasikov (Russia), Victor P. Krushenitsky (Russia),
Roland Minnerath (France), Mario Nino (U.S.A.), Jan Paulsen (Norway),
Donald E. Robinson (U.S.A.)

INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES

Africa-Indian Ocean Region: Jean Emmanuel Nlo Nlo (Abidjan, Cote d ’Ivoire).
East Africa Region: George C. Mwansa (Nairobi, Kenya).
Euro-Africa Region: Maurice Verfaillie (Bern, Switzerland).
Euro-Asia Region: Victor P. Krushenitsky (Moscow, Russia).
Inter-American Region: Mario Nino (Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.A.).
North American Region: Clarence E. Hodges (Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A.).
Northern Asia-Pacific Region: Tadaomi Shinmyo (Koyang, South Korea).
South American Region: Siloe Joao de Almeida (Brasilia, Brazil).
South Pacific Region: Ray L. Coombe (Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia).
Southern Africa Region: Velile S. Wakaba (Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa).
Southern Asia Region: Justus Devadas (Hosur, Tamil Nadu, India).
Southern Asia-Pacific Region: Hiskia I. Missah (Silang, Cavite, Philippines).
Trans- European Region: Reinder Bruinsma (St. Albans, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom).
 Declaration o f Principles
We believe that religious liberty is a God-given right.

We believe that legislation and other governmental acts which unite church
and state are contrary to the best interests o f both institutions and are potentially
prejudicial to human rights, and hold that it is best exercised where separation is
maintained between church and state.

We believe that government is divinely ordained to support and protect citi­

zens in their enjoyment o f natural rights, and to rule in civil affairs; and that in so
doing, government warrants respectful obedience and willing support.

We believe in the natural and inalienable right o f freedom o f conscience— to

have or not to have a religion; to adopt the religion or belief o f one’s choice; to
change religious belief according to conscience; to manifest one’s religion indi­
vidually or in community with others, in worship, observance, practice, promulga­
tion and teaching-subject only to respect for the equivalent rights o f others.

We believe that religious liberty includes also the freedom to establish and
operate appropriate charitable or educational institutions, to solicit or receive vol­
untary financial contributions, to observe days o f rest and celebrate holidays in ac­
cordance with the precepts o f one’s religion, and to maintain communication with
fellow believers at national and international levels.

We believe that religious liberty and the elimination o f intolerance and dis­
crimination based on religion or belief are essential to promote understanding,
peace and friendship among people.

We believe that citizens should use lawful and honorable means to prevent
the reduction o f religious liberty, so that all may enjoy its inestimable blessing.

W e believe that the spirit o f true religious liberty is epitomized in the Golden
Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
 Statement o f Purposes
The purposes o f the International Religious Liberty Association are universal
and nonsectarian.

(1) To disseminate the principles o f religious liberty throughout the world.

(2) To defend and safeguard the right o f all people to worship, to adopt a
religion or belief o f their choice, to manifest their religious convictions in obser­
vance, promulgation, and teaching, subject only to the respect for the equivalent
rights o f others.

(3) To support the right o f religious organizations to operate in every country

by their establishing and owning charitable or educational institutions.

(4) To organize local, national, and regeional chapters, and to conduct semi­
nars, symposiums, conferences, and congresses.

M ission Statement

The mission o f the International Religious Liberty Association is to defend,

protect, and promote religious liberty for all people everywhere.
 FIDES ET L I B E R T A S
The Journal o f the International Religious Liberty Association

12501 Old Columbia Pike

Silver Spring, M aryland 20904-6600, U.S.A.
Fax 301.680.6695
www.IRLA.org

John Graz, Publisher

Phone 301.680.6680
E-mail 74532.240@ CompuServe.com

Richard Lee Fenn, Editor

Phone 503.659.1020
E-mail 104474.2451 @CompuServe.com

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Robert W. Nixon, Chair
John Graz, Richard Lee Fenn, Roy, Adams, Bert B. Beach,
Rajmund Dabrowski, Jonathan Gallagher, Clarence E. Hodges
Angel Rodriguez, Mitchell A. Tyner

Statements o f fact in this issue o f FIDES ET LIBERTAS are those o f the authors as they
understand the facts. The views expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessar­
ily represent the International Religious Liberty Association. Copyright © 2000
International Religious Liberty Association. All rights reserved. Printed at the Review and
Herald Publishing Association, Hagerstown, M aryland, U.S.A. Price US$5.
 FIDES ET L I B E R T A S
The Journal o f the International Religious Liberty Association
2000
Contents
John Graz:
Looking Back, Looking A h e a d ......................................................................................10

John Witte, Jr.:

A Prim er on the Rights and Wrongs o f P roselytism .................................................. 12

Jose Maria Haro Sabater:

Constitutions and Proselytism ......................................................................................18

Sharon Linzey:
Multiculturalism and M issio n ....................................................................................... 25

Natan Lemer:
Proselytism and Its Limitations in Israel ................................................................... 32

Roland M innerath:
An Ethical / Catholic Perspective o f P ro sely tism ......................................................42

Jose Camilo Cardoso:

Latin American Perspectives on Religious Liberty:
Pluralism and Proselytism ............................................................................................ 52

Gerhard Robbers:
Proselytism in European Union Law .......................................................................... 64

Agustin Motilla:
Proselytism and Religious Freedom in Spanish L a w ............................................... 69

Vladimir Ryakhovsky:
Religious Freedom in Russia: The Necessity for S ta b ility ...................................... 78

Mitchell A. Tyner:
Legal Provisions for Proselytism in the United S ta te s ............................................. 82

Jonathan Bonk:
Missionary Activities: Minimizing Adverse Reactions
Without Sacrificing Rights to Manifestation .............................................................89
 Special Section I
International Religious Liberty Association:
Guiding Principles for the Responsible Dissemination o f Religion or B elief . . .96

Urban Gibson:
Disestablishment in Sweden: A Reflection on the Development o f the
Relationship Between Church and S ta te ......................................................................99

Manmohan Singh:
The Rising Star o f Religious Freedom:
A Fundamental Right in the 21 st Century ...............................................................106

A. K. Merchant:
Religious Liberty and the Third Millennium:
A Baha’i View o f the Turning Point for All N a tio n s .............................................I l l

Valson Thampu:
A Christian Perspective o f Religious Freedom .......................................................116

Swami Gokulananda:
A Hindu Response to Violence and In tolerance.......................................................120

Ardeshri M. Sethna:
The Sacred Fire:
A Zoroastrian Response to Conflict and V io le n c e .................................................. 123

Special Section II
General Conference o f Seventh-day Adventists
Department o f Public Affairs and Religious Liberty:
Religious Freedom World Report 2000 .................................................................... 128

Richard Lee Fenn:

The First W ord and the L a s t ........................................................................................ 164
 Looking Back, Looking Ahead
John Graz

Secretary General
International Religious Liberty Association

Significant steps taken by the International Religious Liberty

Association during recent years have served to increase activity
and visibility.
In cooperation with the Hungarian government, our regional
chapter in Europe sponsored an international symposium in
Budapest in 1997. Later that year we convened the IRLA’s Fourth
W orld Congress in Rio de Janeiro. These two events opened many
doors. We were encouraged to continue.
All o f our national and regional chapters celebrated the fiftieth
anniversary o f the Universal Declaration o f Human Rights in 1998
with various commemorative programs. The one here at our world
headquarters near W ashington featured Ambassador Robert Seiple,
Dr. David Little, and religious freedom attorney Karen Lord from
the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
And 1998 also saw the fulfillment o f an IRLA dream: Our an­
nual journal, Fides et Libertas, was first published. For his excellent
work as editor, I thank my friend and colleague, Richard Lee Fenn.
Last year— 1999— the IRLA’s Conference o f Experts com­
menced a major study o f proselytism and religious freedom. The re­
sult: In January 2000 the IRLA issued a major document detailing
guiding principles on this important issue. I am happy to report our
statement has been well-received by religious freedom thought-and-
action leaders in Washington, New York, and elsewhere.
The India chapter o f the IRLA, ably led by Justus Devadas, or­
ganized and conducted a W orld Conference on Religious Freedom
in Novem ber 1999. (In our parlance, a “world conference” is only
a step or two below a “world congress.”) Believe me when I say
this meeting, held in New D elhi’s fine Meridien Hotel, was superb
in every respect.
By the end o f 1999 our website was up and running. Access it
at www.IRLA.org.
A regional conference held in Cameroon earlier this year
opened A frica’s Francophone nations to the work o f the IRLA.
F I D E S ET In cooperation with Andrews University in Berrien Springs,
LIBERTAS
M ichigan, U.S.A., the IRLA sponsored an enriching symposium
2000 on Religious Freedom After Auschwitz, a consideration o f Judeo-

10
Christian perspectives on religious liberty. And AU recently voted
to establish an on-campus international center for church-state rela­
tions in which the IRLA expects to play a significant role.
Meanwhile, the IRLA has maintained its NGO recognition
with the United Nations Department o f Public Information. Our
application for consultative status with the UN Economic and
Social Council should be granted early in 2001.
While I am gratified by all the IRLA has achieved in recent
years, I must remain humbly modest because the task ahead looms
large. On the schedule for 2001 is an international symposium in
Bermuda (March 15-18) and an international conference in South
America (November 27-29 in Lima). The IRLA will conduct its
Fifth World Congress in Manila June 14-18, 2002.
And beyond? Yes, we are already planning several sympo­
siums, an international training seminar for 2003, and another
world conference in 2004.
Religious freedom is indeed an issue ever increasing in impor­
tance and sensitivity. New waves o f persecution have violated the
very principle o f religious freedom. How shall we respond? I invite
your support-spiritual as well as m aterial-as the International
Religious Liberty Association continues “to defend, protect, and
promote religious liberty for all people everywhere.”

F I D E S ET
LIBERTA S

2000
11
 A Primer on the Rights and
Wrongs of Proselytism
John Witte, Jr.

Jonas Robitscher Professor o f Law and Ethics

Director, Law and Religion Program
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.

The problem o f proselytism is one o f the great ironies o f the

democratic revolution o f the modern world. In the last third o f the
20th century, more than 30 new democracies were bom around the
world. More than 150 m ajor new national, regional, and interna­
tional instruments on religious liberty were forged-m any replete
with generous protections o f liberty o f conscience and freedom o f
religious exercise, guarantees o f religious pluralism, equality, and
non-discrimination, and several other special protections and enti­
tlements for religious individuals and religious groups.1
This modern democratic revolution has helped to catalyze a
great awakening o f religion around the globe. In regions newly
committed to democracy and human rights, ancient faiths-once
driven underground by autocratic and colonial oppressors-have
sprung forth with new vigor. In the former Soviet bloc, for exam­
ple, numerous Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and
other faith communities have been awakened, alongside a host of
exotic goddess, naturalist, and personality cults. In post-colonial
and post-revolutionary Africa, these same mainline religious
groups have come to flourish in numerous conventional and encul-
turated forms, alongside an array o f traditional groups. In Latin
America, the democratic revolution has not only transformed long­
standing Catholic and mainline Protestant communities, but also
triggered the explosion o f numerous new Evangelical, Pentecostal,
and Traditional movements.2 Many parts o f the world have seen
the prodigious rise o f sundry new or newly minted faiths, some
wielding ample material, political, and media power. Religion
today has become, in Susanne Rudolph’s terms, the latest impor­
tant “transnational variable.” 3
This same democratic revolution, however, has helped to trig­
F I D E S ET ger a new war for souls between local and foreign religious groups.
LIBERTAS W ith the political transformations o f Russia and Eastern Europe,
2000 and parts o f sub-Saharan Africa and o f Latin America, foreign reli-

12
gious groups were granted rights to enter these regions for the first
time in decades. In the 1980s and 1990s, these foreign groups came
in increasing numbers to preach their faiths, to offer their services,
to convert new souls. Initially, local religious groups— Orthodox,
Catholic, Protestant, Sunni, Shi’ite, and Traditional alike— wel­
comed these foreigners. Today, they have come increasingly to re­
sent these foreign religions, particularly those from North America
and Western Europe which assume a democratic human rights
ethic. Local religious groups resent the participation in the market­
place o f religious ideas that democracy assumes. They resent the
toxic waves o f materialism and individualism that democracy in­
flicts. They resent the massive expansion o f religious pluralism that
democracy encourages. They resent the extravagant forms o f reli­
gious speech, press, and assembly that democracy protects.
A new war for souls has thus broken out in many o f the newly
democratizing nations o f the world: a fight to reclaim the tradi­
tional souls o f these new societies and a fight to retain adherents to
traditional faiths, cultures, and identities. Beneath shiny constitu­
tional veneers o f religious freedom for all and unqualified ratifica­
tion o f international human rights instruments, several countries o f
late have passed firm new anti-proselytism laws, adopted cult
registration requirements, tightened visa controls, and placed vari­
ous discriminatory restrictions on new or newly arrived religions.
Hence the modem problems o f proselytism: How does the
state balance one com m unity’s right to exercise and expand its
faith against another person’s or comm unity’s right to be left alone
to its own traditions? How does the state protect the juxtaposed
rights claims o f majority and minority religions, or o f foreign and
indigenous religions? How does the state craft a general rule to
govern Christians who have easy conversion into and out o f the
faith; Jews who have difficult conversion into and out o f the faith;
Muslims who have easy conversion into the faith, but allow for no
conversion out o f it; among many other views o f conversion?
These are not new questions. They confronted the drafters o f the
international bill o f rights from the very beginning. But some of
the compromises o f 1948 and 1966 have today begun to betray
their limitations.
On the issue o f conversion or change o f religion, the major in­
ternational human rights instruments largely accept the religious vol­
untarism common among libertarian and Western Christian groups.
Article 18 o f the 1948 Universal Declaration o f Human Rights in­
cluded an unequivocal guarantee, despite the objections o f some F I D E S ET
Muslim delegations and non-governmental organizations: “Everyone LIBERTAS
has the right to freedom o f thought, conscience, and religion; this
2000
13
 right includes the right to change his religion or belief. . . . ” (italics
supplied). Article 18 o f the 1966 International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, whose preparation was more highly contested
on this issue, became a bit more tentative: “This right shall include
the right to have or adopt a religion or belief o f his choice.. . . ” (ital­
ics supplied). The 1981 United Nations Declaration on Intolerance
and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief repeated this more
tentative language. But the dispute over the right to conversion con­
tributed greatly to the long delay in the production o f this declara­
tion, and to the number o f dissenters to it. Today, the issue of
religious conversion has become more divisive than ever, in legal
and theological circles.4
On the issue o f proselytism and its regulation, the international
instruments provide somewhat more nuanced direction. Article 18
o f the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
protects a person’s “freedom, individually or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in
worship, observance, practice, and teaching” (italics supplied). But
the same article allows such manifestation o f religion to be subject
to limitations that “are prescribed by law and are necessary to pro­
tect public safety, order, health, or morals, or the fundamental
rights o f others.” It prohibits outright any “coercion” that would
impair another’s right “to have or adopt a religion or belief o f [his
or her] choice.” It also requires state parties and individuals to have
“respect for the liberty o f parents . . . to ensure the religious and
moral education o f their children in conformity with [the parents’]
convictions”— a provision underscored and amplified in more re­
cent instruments and cases on the rights o f parents and children.
Similarly, Article 19 o f the 1966 ICCPR protects the 'freedom
to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas o f all kinds
[italics supplied], regardless o f frontiers, either orally, in writing,
or in print, in the form o f art, or through any other media o f his
choice.” But Article 19, too, allows legal restrictions that are nec­
essary for “respect o f the rights and reputation o f others; for the
protection o f national security or o f public order (ordre publique)
or o f public health or morals.” As a further limitation on the rights
o f religion and (religious) expression guaranteed in Articles 18 and
19, Article 26 o f the ICCPR prohibits any discrimination on
grounds o f religion. And Article 27 guarantees to religious minori­
ties “the right to enjoy their own culture” and “to profess and prac­
tice their own religion.” 5
F ID E S ET The literal language o f the mandatory 1966 ICCPR (and its
LIBERTA S amplification in more recent instruments and cases) certainly pro­

2000 tects the general right to proselytize— understood as the right to

14
“manifest,” “teach,” “express,” and “impart” religious ideas for the
sake, among other things, o f seeking the conversion o f another.
The covenant provides no protection for coercive proselytism; at
minimum, this bars physical or material manipulation o f the
would-be convert and, in some contexts, even more subtle forms o f
deception, enticement, and inducement to convert.6 The covenant
also casts serious suspicion on any proselytism among children or
among adherents to minority religions. But, outside o f these con­
texts, the religious expression inherent in proselytism is no more
suspect than political, economic, artistic, or other forms o f expres­
sion, and, at minimum, should have the same rights.
Such rights to religion and religious expression are, o f course,
not absolute. The 1966 ICCPR and its progeny allow for legal pro­
tections o f “public safety, order, health, or morals,” “national secu­
rity” and “the rights and reputation o f others,” particularly minors
and minorities. But all such legal restrictions on religious expres­
sion must always be imposed without discrimination against any re­
ligion and with due regard for the general mandates o f “necessity
and proportionality”— the rough international analogues to the
“compelling state interest” and “least restrictive alternative” prongs
o f the strict scrutiny test o f American constitutional law. General
“time, place, and manner” restrictions on all proselytizers, applied
without discrimination against any religion, might thus well be apt.
But categorical criminal bans on proselytism, or patently discrimi­
natory licensing or registration provisions, are prim a fa cie a viola­
tion o f the religious rights o f the proselytizer— as has been clear in
the United States since Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940) and in the
European community since Kokkinakis v. Greece (1993).
To my mind, the preferred solution to the modem problem o f
proselytism is not so much further state restriction as further self-
restraint on the part o f both local and foreign religious groups.
Again, the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights provides some useful cues.
Article 27 o f the ICCPR reminds us o f the special right of
local religious groups, particularly minorities, “to enjoy their own
culture, and to profess and practice their own religion.” Such lan­
guage might well empower and encourage vulnerable minority tra­
ditions to seek protection from aggressive and insensitive
proselytism by missionary mavericks and “drive-by” crusaders
who have emerged with alacrity in the past two decades. It might
even have supported a moratorium on proselytism for a few years
in places like Russia so that local religions, even the majority F I D E S ET
Russian Orthodox Church, had some time to recover from nearly a LIBERTAS
century o f harsh oppression that destroyed most o f its clergy, semi­
2000
15
 naries, monasteries, literature, and icons. But Article 27 cannot
permanently insulate local religious groups from interaction with
other religions. No religious and cultural tradition can remain
frozen. For local traditions to seek blanket protections against for­
eign proselytism, even while inevitably interacting with other di­
mensions o f foreign cultures, is ultimately a self-defeating policy.
It stands in sharp contrast to cardinal human rights principles o f
openness, development, and choice. Even more, it belies the very
meaning o f being a religious tradition. As Jaroslav Pelikan reminds
us: “Tradition is the living faith o f the dead; traditionalism is the
dead faith o f the living.” 7
Article 19 o f the ICCPR further reminds us that the right to
expression, including religious expression, carries with it “special
duties and responsibilities.” One such duty, it would seem, is to re­
spect the religious dignity and autonomy o f the other, and to expect
the same respect for one’s own dignity and autonomy. This is the
heart o f the Golden Rule. It encourages all parties, especially for­
eign proselytizing groups, to negotiate and adopt voluntary codes
o f conduct o f restraint and respect. This requires not only contin­
ued cultivation o f interreligious dialogue and cooperation— the
happy hallmarks o f the modem ecumenical movement and o f the
growing emphasis on comparative religion and globalization in our
seminaries. It also requires guidelines o f prudence and restraint
that every foreign mission board would do well to adopt and en­
force: Proselytizers would do well to know and appreciate the his­
tory, culture, and language o f the proselyte; to avoid W esterniza­
tion o f the gospel and First Amendmentization o f politics; to deal
honestly and respectfully with theological and liturgical differ­
ences; to respect and advocate the religious rights o f all peoples; to
be Good Samaritans as much as good preachers; and to proclaim
their gospel both in word and in deed.8 Moratoria on proselytism
might provide temporary relief, but moderation by proselytizers
and proselytes is the more enduring course.

N otes and references:

1 See N atan Lemer: Religion, Beliefs, and International Human Rights
(M aryknoll, N ew York: Orbis Books, 2000).
2 See Abdullahi Ahm ed A n-N a’im, ed.: Proselytization and Communal Self-
D eterm ination in Africa (M aryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1999); Paul E.
Sigm und, ed.: Religious Freedom and Evangelization in Latin America: The
Challenge o f M odern Pluralism (M aryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1999); John
W itte, Jr., and M ichael Bourdeaux, eds.: Proselytism and O rthodoxy in Russia
F I D E S ET (M aryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1999); Sym posium on “Pluralism ,
LIBERTA S
Proselytism and Nationalism in Eastern Europe” in Journal o f Ecum enical Studies

2000 3 6 (1 9 9 9 ), 1-286.

16
 3 Susanne H oeber Rudolph and Jam es Piscatori, eds.: Transnational Religion
and Fading Stales (Boulder/O xford: W estview Press, 1997).
See the series o f articles in Fides et Liberias: The Journal o f the
International Religious Liberty Association (1999), 1-74.
5 Each o f these instrum ents is reprinted in Tad Stahnke and J. Paul Martin,
eds.: Religion a n d Human Rights: Basic D ocum ents (N ew York: Colum bia Center
for the Study o f H um an Rights, 1998). A lso see Tad Stahnke: “Proselytism and the
Freedom to Change Religion in International Hum an Rights Law ” in Brigham
Young University Law R eview (1999), 251.
6 See Lem er: op. cit., Chap. 4.
7 Jaroslav Pelikan: The Vindication o f Tradition (New Haven: Y ale University
Press, 1984), 68.
8 See Anita Deyneka: ‘‘Guidelines for Foreign M issionaries in the Soviet
U nion” in W itte and Bourdeaux: op. cit., 331-340; Lawrence A. Uzzell: “Guidelines
for Am erican M issionaries in Russia,” ibid., 323-330; John W itte, Jr., and Richard
C. M artin, eds.: Sharing the Book: Religious Perspectives on the Rights and Wrongs
o f Proselytism (M aryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1999).

Dr. W itte adapted this article from his lecture at a Conference on Religion and
Foreign Policy arranged by the U nited States Departm ent o f State, W ashington,
May 2000.

F I D E S ET
LIBERTA S

2000
17
 Constitutions and Proselytism
Jose M aria Haro Sabater

Counselor on Religious Affairs

M inistry o f Justice o f Spain
Madrid

Foreword. The present article constitutes the introduction to a

study I carried out in 1999, in which I collected the articles or sec­
tions from the constitutions o f 146 nation-states o f the world con­
cerning the following items:
• Religious freedom.
• Restrictions to religious freedom.
• The right to propagate religion.
• Religious proselytism.
I selected the 146 states from among the 189 members o f the
United Nations, then grouped them by continent because the con­
stitutional texts within a geographical area have great affinity. ( But
it is also obvious that one can find great differences in one and the
same continent as, between the Islamic and non-Islamic nations o f
Africa and Asia.)
In some nation-states where a formal constitutional text does
not exist, I referred to articles from basic laws equivalent to a con­
stitution. Again, I limited m yself to material relating to the items
listed above.
Having gathered the material, I have prepared an introduction in
which I attempt to abstract the entire survey and provide a brief
comparative study. I do not intend to offer any value judgments. The
aim o f my research is to report objectively on the legal situation o f
these matters as they appear in the constitutional and legal texts.

I. Constitutions o f African Nations. Virtually all African

constitutions recognize the right to religious freedom, although
they differ in emphasis. Based on this difference, the nations may
be divided into three groups:
(1) Islamic countries, i.e, nations whose constitutions declare
Islam the state religion: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan,
and Tunisia. All proclaim the right to freedom o f conscience and
worship, but without further detail. Libya’s Constitution does state,
F I D E S ET however, that religious freedom will be exercised “in accordance
L.I B E R T A S
with established customs,” a reservation that raises many questions.
2000 (2) Secular countries, i.e., those whose constitutions declare

18
the state to be secular: Eritrea and Ethiopia. Religious freedom will
be exercised without prejudice to the secular status o f the state.
(3) The rest o f the countries, nearly all located in sub-Saharan
Africa. Many o f the constitutions o f these nations adopt almost lit­
erally the text o f Article 18 o f the United Nations International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Quite a few o f the constitutions o f black Africa explicitly rec­
ognize the right to change religion as well as the right to propagate
religion. These rights are acknowledged in Botswana, Kenya,
Mauritius, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Zambia, and
Zimbabwe. Tanzania recognizes the right to “promote worship and
evangelization.” Thus the countries most favorable to proselytism,
at least according to their constitutional texts, are those o f equato­
rial and southern Africa.
With regard to constitutional limits on the exercise o f these
rights, African nations impose restrictions for a variety o f reasons.
In order o f importance, they are—
• Public order (Chad, Republic o f the Congo [Brazzaville],
Ethiopia, Liberia, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia).
• The rights o f others (Cape Verde, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia,
Liberia, Namibia, and Seychelles).
• Public health and morals (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia,
Seychelles, Sudan, and Swaziland).
• National security (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Seychelles, Sudan, and
Swaziland).
Other restrictions are based on—
• Economic welfare (Sudan).
• Accepted customs (Chad, Republic of the Congo [Brazzaville]).
• National interest or unity (Gambia, Namibia, Nigeria).
• Social peace (Nigeria).
• Defense (Swaziland).
To a large extent, these limitations coincide with those recog­
nized under the principal international instruments, e.g., Article
18.3 o f the ICCPR. But here, as is the case on other continents, the
limitations are lacking in definition.

II. Constitutions of the Americas: Canada, United States,

and the Nations of Latin America. Nearly all the constitutions o f
North, Central, and South America recognize the right to religious
freedom. Quite a few o f them (including Bahamas, Barbados, and
Belize) incorporate the content o f the ICCPR into the texts.
Some constitutions explicitly recognize the right to propagate F I D E S ET
religion: Belize (Article 11.1), Colombia (Article 19), Dominican LIBERTAS
Republic (Article 9.1), Grenada (Article 9.1), Guyana (Article
2000
19
 145), Jamaica (Article 21.1), and Nicaragua (Article 29). But the
absence o f such precise language in the constitutions o f other na­
tions in the region does not mean that propagation o f religion
(which is closely related to proselytism) is prohibited.
The right to change religion is implicit in any constitution that
provides for religious freedom, but it is specifically recognized in
(among others) Bahamas (Article 22.2), Barbados (Article 1.1),
Belize (Article 11.1), Cuba (Article 55), Grenada (Article 9.1),
Guyana (Article 145), and Jamaica (Article 21.1).
With the sole exception o f the United States, religious free­
dom is subject to constitutional limitations in almost every country
within the Americas. The impositions are, in general, the restric­
tions found in international conventions with slight differences in
detail: morals, accepted customs, and law and public order. But the
Constitution o f Ecuador sets pluralism, public safety, and the rights
o f others (Article 36.11) as limits to religious freedom. The
Constitution o f Guatemala (in Article 36) states that religious free­
dom will be subject to limitations for reasons o f public order and
“due respect for the dignity o f the hierarchy.” M exico’s
Constitution says that the only limitation is the commission o f of­
fenses or infractions punishable by law (Article 24). But the
Mexican Constitution also states that religious acts celebrated out­
side places o f worship will be subject to governmental authoriza­
tion (Article 24).
The United States presents an unusual case. The main body o f
the Constitution makes not one mention o f religious freedom. But
the First Amendment (which with all the amendments is an integral
part o f the Constitution) forbids Congress from making any “law
respecting an establishment o f religion, or prohibiting the free ex­
ercise thereof. . . . ”

III. Constitutions of Asian Nations. While the constitutions

o f Asian states vary widely in their recognition o f religious free­
dom, four general classifications may be identified:
(1) Constitutions that recognize religious freedom without re­
strictions: Japan (“freedom o f conscience is inviolable”), Lebanon
(“freedom o f conscience is absolute”), and the Philippines (Article 5:
“The free exercise and enjoyment o f religious profession and wor­
ship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed” ).
(2) Constitutions o f the Islamic states (which form a group
with the Islamic states o f northern Africa): Bahrain, Bangladesh,
F I D E S ET Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan,
LIBERTA S Syria (which, while not proclaiming itself an Islamic state, does re­

2000 quire the president to be a Muslim), United Arab Emirates, and

20
Yemen. Although most o f these nations recognize the right to free­
dom o f conscience in their constitutions, some (such as Kuwait and
the U.A.E.) add that this right will be exercised “in accordance
with established or observed customs.”
However, the right to freedom o f conscience and religion is not
expressly recognized in the constitutions o f Iran, Oman, and
Yemen. The Constitution o f Iran confers liberty only on three non-
Islamic religious minorities. The Constitution o f Oman only guar­
antees “the freedom to practice religious rites according to the
recognized customs.” But the Constitution o f Yemen states (Article
5) that “the state shall abide by the United Nations Charter, the
Universal Declaration o f Human Rights, the Charter o f the Arab
League, and the universally recognized rules o f international law.”
(3) Constitutions o f secular states (a subdivided classification).
(A) Revolutionary socialist states: North Korea and
Vietnam, both o f which officially recognize freedom o f conscience
and religion.
(B) Secular states such as Turkey and Turkmenistan. Both
countries recognize freedom o f conscience and religion, but
Turkey imposes certain limits (see below).
(4) Israel, the w orld’s only Jewish state. Because Israel does
not have a written constitution, it is necessary to refer to its
Declaration o f Independence (which guarantees freedom o f con­
science and religion to all citizens) and to its fundamental laws, in
particular the law on human dignity and freedom.
The right to disseminate or to propagate religion is specifically
mentioned only in the constitutions o f Azerbaijan, Fiji, and the
Solomon Islands. And only the constitutional texts o f the latter two
countries explicitly recognize the right to change religion.
The constitutions o f some countries restrict proselytism:
Malaysia (Article 11.4: “a state law . . . will control and restrict the
dissemination o f any doctrine or belief among persons who profess
Islam”) and Nepal (Article 19 prohibits converting persons from one
religion to another— which amounts to prohibiting proselytism).
The constitutions o f various Asian nations contain a variety o f
limitations on the practice o f religious freedom ranging from the
usual to the unusual:
• Public order (Azerbaijan, Cambodia, India, Iraq, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritius, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates).
• Public m orality (Burma [Myanmar], India, Iraq, Jordan,
Kuwait, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, United Arab Emirates). F I D E S ET
• Public health, peace, and safety (various nations). LIBERTAS
• National customs (Bahrain, Thailand).
2000
21
 • Shari’a (Islamic religious law) (Maldives).
• Any act intended to divide the people or religions (Laos).
• A national belief in socialism and in the unity and solidarity
o f the nation’s races (Burma [Myanmar]).
• Use o f religion as a pretext to form a foreign alliance
(North Korea).
The Constitution o f Turkey recognizes freedom o f conscience
and religious belief and conviction (Article 24). But it also limits
rights and freedoms. Here is Article 14:
“None o f the rights and freedoms embodied in the
Constitution shall be exercised with the aim o f violating the indi­
visible integrity o f the State with its territory and nation, o f endan­
gering the existence o f the Turkish State and Republic, o f
destroying fundamental rights and freedoms, o f placing the gov­
ernment o f the State under the control o f an individual or a group
o f people, or establishing the hegemony o f one social class over
others, or creating discrimination on the basis o f language, race, re­
ligion or sect, or o f establishing by any other means a system o f
government based on these concepts and ideas.”

IV. Constitutions of European Nations. Constitutional texts

o f the nations o f both Eastern and Western Europe establish the
principle o f freedom o f conscience and religion as a right o f the in­
dividual. They are adapted to accepted international instruments, in
particular the Council o f Europe’s Convention for the Protection o f
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (November 4, 1950;
see Article 9.1). Religion can be practiced freely in public as well
as private. In general, the only limits are public law, public safety,
public order, public health, public morals or accepted customs, and
the rights and freedoms o f others. But given that most o f these
stated limits are indefinite and variable concepts, their interpreta­
tion varies from state to state. In fact, such limitations are not
specifically stated in many constitutions. Belarus, for example,
limits religious freedom in a quite different way: The Constitution
prohibits the activities o f religious denominations that are “directed
against the sovereignty o f the Republic o f Belarus, its constitu­
tional system and civic h arm o n y ;. . . preventing citizens from ful­
filling their duties to the State, society, or their family.”
Some constitutions go further in their recognition o f religious
activity. Article 19 o f the Italian Constitution recognizes the right
to “propagate” religion. However, such recognition is not neces­
F I D E S ET sary in other European countries where it is generally protected by
LIBERTAS the right to freedom o f speech.

2000 Proselytism is typically related to a change o f religion or belief.

22
The right to change religion is clear in several constitutions includ­
ing those o f Cyprus (Article 18.4), the Czech Republic (Article 15),
Finland (Article 8), and Slovakia (Article 24.1). Any change o f reli­
gious profession or belief must be made freely and without coer­
cion. But few constitutions specifically prohibit coercion. Four that
do are Cyprus (Article 18.5: “The use o f physical or moral coercion
to force a person to change religion or prevent a person from chang­
ing religion is prohibited”), Estonia (Article 41 : “No one may be
coerced to change their opinions or beliefs”), Iceland (Article 64:
“No one may be forced to change religion against their will”), and
Sweden (which addresses this issue in the context o f the rights of
foreigners. Article 22 specifies that a foreigner “has the same right
as a Swedish citizen to be protected from any coercion for . . . be­
longing to any religious congregation or other association”).
Separate mention should be made o f the Greek Constitution
(Article 13.2) which prohibits proselytism. It is the only European
constitution to use this term, the interpretation o f which is so prob­
lematic. What is meant by proselytism under the Constitution of
Greece would require a study o f Greek legislation and jurisprudence.

V. Constitutions of Australia and the South Pacific. I se­

lected the most representative constitutions o f this region. First o f
all, the Constitution o f Australia, in language similar to the First
Amendment o f the U.S. Constitution, guarantees that “the
Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any reli­
gion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting
the free exercise o f any religion.” Australia may therefore be in­
cluded among those nations placing no restrictions or obstacles on
the practice o f religion.
With respect to limits placed on religious freedom, two partic­
ularly interesting constitutions refer to proselytism without using
the term. The Constitution o f Papua New Guinea (Article 45.3)
states: “No person has the right to intervene in the religious affairs
o f another person with different beliefs or to attempt to impose an­
other religion . . . on others by harassment or by other means.”
Secondly, the Constitution o f Samoa prohibits “unsolicited inter­
ference by members o f other religions” in the practice o f one’s
own religion.

Conclusions. From this survey I draw the following conclusions:

(1) The large majority o f the 146 selected constitutional or legal
texts recognize religious freedom as a fundamental right in a manner F I D E S ET
similar to the international instruments o f universal or regional LIBERTAS
scope. Flowever, in some states, particularly the Islamic nations,
2000
23
 such a general declaration is not expressed in their constitutions.
(2) The limitations to the exercise o f religious freedom vary
widely. In American and European constitutions, the restrictions
generally specified are in the areas o f law, public order, public
safety, public health, public morals or accepted customs, and the
rights and freedoms o f others. These restrictions are in line with,
among others, the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, the European Convention for the Protection o f Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the American Convention
on Human Rights. But there are other constitutions, particularly in
African and Asian countries, that establish peculiar limitations. In
any case, standards o f public morality or public health, for example,
may vary considerably from one nation to another, and therefore the
constitutional texts may be interpreted in many different ways.
(3) The right to change religion is implicit in the right to
freely choose a religion or not to have any religion. Some consti­
tutions, m ostly in European and American nation-states, expressly
state this. Some European constitutions specifically prohibit the
use o f physical or moral coercion to force someone to change his
or her beliefs. In a similar manner, some nation-states o f the
Pacific constitutionally forbid attempts to impose a religion on an­
other person by harassment or by the unsolicited interference o f
members o f other religions in the practice o f their own faith.
These tw o behaviors could well be termed improper or inappro­
priate m ethods o f proselytizing.

ID E S ET
Il J

IB ER TA S

2000
24
Multiculturalism and Missions
Sharon Linzey

Professor o f Sociology
Director, Institute for Religion in Society
George Fox University
Newberg, Oregon, U. S. A.

Today it is common to hear academics and churchgoers alike

question the commission that Christ gave His disciples: “Go . ..
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature; baptiz­
ing them in the name o f the Father, and o f the Son, and the Holy
Ghost” (Mark 16:15 KJV, Matthew 28:19 KJV). Those who take
this mandate seriously are likely to find themselves labeled as “eth­
nocentric,” “bigoted,” or worse, not only by anthropologists and
sociologists, but by people in the street. Today it is considered un­
cool to “impose” one’s religious commitments upon others.
Thanks to James Michener, author o f Hawaii, and the proponents
o f cultural relativism, missionaries have been widely categorized
as ignorant, intolerant, and bigoted.

Should we send missionaries? Is it acceptable to send mis­

sionaries to other cultures to “ impose” the gospel message on those
who have differing religious orientations? I asked this question to
people o f all walks in Russia— Orthodox, Protestant, scholars, and
politicians— and received answers ranging from a hateful and
xenophobic, “No! You have no right to be here. Get out and mind
your own business!” to a more conciliatory, “Yes, please help us
do the work o f the church and get C hrist’s message out to those
who are lost in darkness, but let us do it with care and considera­
tion o f the sensibilities o f the people.”
In the past few centuries, no one questioned the appropriate­
ness o f sending missionaries to other cultures. All o f the major
world religions have been spread this way. But in today’s political
climate, the core value o f evangelism is being questioned.
Postmodern values teach that each culture is unique and precious,
and every expression o f diversity is valuable. According to this
view, all cultures are basically equal and no culture is entitled to
impose its values on another. Missionary activity is a form o f cul­
F I D E S ET
tural aggression and sending missionaries abroad is a deep viola­
LIBERTAS
tion o f the rights o f that culture.
But there is a problem with the postmodern multicultural way 2000
25
 o f looking at the world. If all cultures are equally valuable, then an
aggressively Christian culture must be as valid and valued as an
aboriginal culture or any other culture. Yet, if multiculturalists
were to take the view that all cultures are equal in value, including
the positive value o f Christian missionaries evangelizing for their
faith, they would do violence to their own world view. Hence the
m ulticulturalist has a problem with his or her own worldview
which may be labeled as ethnocentric, closed minded, or even
xenophobic as those they criticize. Are all cultures equal in value
or aren’t they?
Since the relative status o f Christianity has declined in
W estern intellectual circles and multiculturalism is in ascendancy,
this logical flaw has not been exposed or explored. Instead, the
Christian religion has served as a straw dog for the multiculturalist
argument. As a result, Christianity has been seriously denigrated in
intellectual and academic circles— even Christian academic and in­
tellectual circles! Young people in the W est understand very well
that it is better to be anything— Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, atheist,
goddess worshiper— than to profess Christ as Lord.

Cultural aggression and imperialism? For more than just

the past century, W estern civilization has tended to identify reli­
gion— particularly Christianity— as an instigator o f cultural aggres­
sion and imperialism. For the previous fifteen hundred years, when
W estern society had a Christian orientation, there was an atmo­
sphere o f relative cultural tolerance within what might be loosely
termed Christendom. Cultural unification occurred by means o f sa­
cred understandings and worship with two distinct cultural poles:
Roman in the W est and Orthodox in the East. As a result o f this
bipolar cultural unification, there was a rather peaceful coexistence
o f cultures in Europe. After Christianity was established, mission
activities usually did not involve the imposition o f cultural stan­
dards. For example, Irish Christianity differed from Gaelic
Christianity, and these differences were honored and respected.
Likewise in the East, Russian Christianity had its own cultural im­
print which distinguished it from a purely Byzantine Christianity.
The cultural imperialism o f Europe in the 19th century had a
deeply secularized nature. In the 20th century, it was not religion
but W estern secular culture that was the most aggressive and impe­
rialistic force. The force o f this cultural aggression has only inten­
sified as the world has grown smaller over the past hundred years.
M issionaries were guilty o f cultural aggression only as they partic­
ID E S ET
IL J

IB ER TA S ipated in the paradigm o f the secular culture o f the 19th century.

2000 The grand idea o f a multicultural world where no one culture

26
or philosophy reigns supreme has burst upon the postmodern mind
lately as a new and exciting touchstone. In actuality, however, the
world had been, for millennia, multicultural without anyone realiz­
ing it. Historically, numerous cultures co-existed, but each adher­
ent to a specific culture believed that “My culture is superior to any
other.” It was natural to impose cultural standards upon vanquished
adversaries. Adherents to the numerous cultures were hardly eager
to put aside their judgm ents and aggression towards other cultures.
W hether you talk about the Chinese domination o f Tibet, the
historic and the recent wars o f the former Yugoslavia, or the
Russian wars with Chechnya, adherents o f m ost cultures adhere to
the notion o f cultural superiority— the superiority o f one’s own
culture. The modem W estern view looks with optimism at the pos­
sibility o f bringing its more enlightened culture to those who are in
darkness. But the postmodern W esterner views his modern compa­
triot with scorn, abhorring the arrogance o f thinking that one cul­
ture is a more positive expression o f the human spirit than another.
The hottest issue one can discuss in a multicultural context is
the idea o f mission, evangelism, or proselytism. For multicultural-
ists all three concepts are equally deplorable. For them proselytiz­
ing means the forced imposition o f not only religious, but cultural
values. For modern multiculturalists, this understanding o f prose­
lytism has also been attributed to the concepts o f mission and
evangelism, unless a particular “outreach” is devoid o f religious
content, like a soup kitchen that serves only food and no doctrine.
It doesn’t take long for a modem Christian, steeped in multicul­
tural ideology to ask which should take precedence: the multicul­
tural mandate or the “great commission.” How can you have it
both ways? The answer o f the modem era was quite direct. As
Elton Trueblood stated: “There is no such thing as a non-witness­
ing Christian.” But what should the Christian’s answer be in the
postmodern era?

The Pauline standard. The multiculturalist’s contempt for

evangelism and missionary activity ignores the question o f indige­
nous missions— missions whose instigators belong to the cultural
milieu in which they evangelize, like the Christian house-church
leaders in China or the Serbian Christian missionary activities in
Muslim locales. The early disciples o f Jesus, who were the first
Christian missionaries, preached to compatriots whose cultural un­
derstandings and values were their own. The Apostle Paul was the
first Christian missionary to reach out to those o f another culture. F I D E S ET
Saying that what a different culture believes is “good enough LIBERTAS
for them ,” or saying that they don’t need “the truth as we under­
2000
27
 stand it,” would seem to imply one o f three things:
(1) We Christians don’t have anything significant to share with
others and therefore we actually believe there is no universal truth
that humankind can know.
(2) We are dulled in our sensitivity and awareness as to what it
is that Christians have to offer. Or—
(3) We possess an inherent disdain for other cultures and
judge them not to need knowledge and faith in Christ, for after all
(as goes the common talk), “God will judge them according to
their measure o f knowledge and His m ercy.”
This last position is as ethnocentric as the forcible imposition
o f any culture or religious teaching on “less developed” people.
Can there be any way o f mediating or ameliorating the cultural
divide between extreme multiculturalism and the calling to the
great commission? Logically speaking, the postmodern multicul-
turalist should be very tolerant toward all religions, including the
most intolerant religious expression because, if for no other reason,
all religious expression is a special genus o f culture. But the reality
is quite different. When pushed to its limits, the multiculturalist
ideology inhibits discussion and debate, cultivates grievances and
self-pity, and then lays claims to entitlements rising from alleged
victimization. It attacks individualism by defining people as mani­
festations o f groups rather than participants in free societies.
The peculiarity o f postmodern civilization is the disappointment
in the idea o f progress. The faith in progress that defined the modem
era resulted not only in great achievements, but also in great disap­
pointments and disillusionment. Our present ecological crisis, com­
plete with global warming and huge ozone holes in the atmosphere, is
the result o f an ill-placed faith in progress. Not only do we not know
how to solve these problems, but we do not have the political will to
do so. The human race is so fractured and divided politically that even
if solutions were created, it is unlikely they would be implemented
any time soon. Postmodern thought was founded on these great stum­
bling blocks which have sunk the optimism o f the modem era.
In the W est it is fascinating to watch postmodern intellectuals
as they criticize Christianity. To understand their vehemence
against Christianity, we need to understand the function that the
Christian faith has played during the modem era. Christianity was
an ideal spiritual complement for the m odem era. The Christian
faith lent itself to the notion o f progress: There was no sin so
heinous that it kept a person from ultimate salvation. This central
act o f faith gave rise to a great hope in those who embraced the
r -n

ID E S ET
IBERTAS Christian religion.

2000 This hope was seemingly confirmed by people’s experience

28
in the secular world. In the Americas the dispossessed peasantry
o f Europe found an apparently endless horizon onto which they
could advance and claim as their own. For cultures dependent on
agriculture, an endless supply o f land was equivalent to an endless
supply o f wealth. The world around them reflected the spiritual
values o f Christianity.
At the dawn o f modernity, in the 16th and 17th centuries, it
was commonplace to compare Christian missions with trade.
M issionaries actually went hand-in-hand with traders because
traders were looked upon as “preachers” of new economic ideas.
Conversely, missionaries were looked upon as “merchants” selling
new religious ideas. The new economic model that spurred the be­
ginnings o f global commerce had common roots with the mission­
ary model.
This innovation in the idea o f Christian mission was signifi­
cantly different from what had transpired before. Through m e­
dieval times Christian missions were aimed not at the individual,
but at converting collective entities— household, family, tribe, peo­
ple, race. From the 13th century, however, Christian missions at­
tempted to convert individuals. It is problematic whether this new
missionary model preceded and determined the new capitalist
model o f economic life, or vice versa. In the modern and postmod­
ern worlds, mission clearly belongs to the sphere o f private life.
The postmodern criticism o f Christianity and Christian mis­
sions is, at its root, a criticism o f the idea o f constant progress and
eternal optimism. It is a profoundly conservative reaction to the
optimism o f Christianity. The postmodern worldview is rooted in
the notion that things should stay the same. Cultures should be cor­
ralled and not be allowed to aggressively intrude on one another.
Taken to its logical conclusion, this would mean the cessation of
global trade and travel. It would mean a return to a more primitive
life, perhaps rooted in agriculture. It would mean the loss o f many
o f the economic and social freedoms that have developed as a re­
sult o f the progress achieved in the modem era. These are tremen­
dous prices to pay. But if progress can no longer be achieved, then
what other choice is there?

Missions in Russia. Fet’s look at missions in Russia for a mo­

ment. It may be a shock to leam that the experience o f the last four
centuries demonstrates that Protestant missions have had little or no
cultural or social effect in Russia. Beginning with Peter the Great’s
attempt to import forward thinking Protestant ideas from Western F I D E S ET
Europe, Protestants have made few deep inroads if you look at Russia LIBERTAS
on a very broad, macro scale. While Western technological advances
2000
29
 have been appropriated by the Russians over these centuries, the so­
cial and cultural effects o f the Protestant faith in progress and its ac­
companying optimism seem to have been minimal.
In fact, Russia’s most important import from the West was the
revolutionary economic thought o f Karl Marx. While masquerading
as “progressive,” and rooted in a common hope for economic and so­
cial improvement, M arx’s ideas in actuality stultified and oppressed
the culture, economically and socially. The communist regime actu­
ally delayed Russia’s economic development. Correspondingly, there
has been a delay in cultural and individual progress as well.
Why, then, engage in mission activity at all? Why intrude on
foreign lands to give a version o f the truth which is not going to
change the cultural mind-set? Christians would reply that they are
going to proclaim the truth o f Jesus Christ. The reason for mission is
to give the hearer the means to achieve spiritual freedom irrespective
o f culture. If the hearer can understand the proclaimed truth and
apply it within his/her own cultural context, then from a Christian
perspective, that person has inherited the kingdom o f God.
There are some fine examples o f present-day missionaries who
have gone to lands and cultures foreign to themselves and were
able to present the truth o f the gospel within that culture without
violating it. Bruce Olsen went to Colombia and lived with the
M otilones for five years before he told the story o f Jesus Christ to
one Motilone friend. With the conversion o f Bobarishoara, the en­
tire tribe embraced Christ as Lord. This tribe then went to the
neighboring village and won that entire tribe to Christ. Don
Richardson and his family went to the Sawi tribe in New Guinea
and related Christ to the Sawi people as the eternal “peace child.”
The Sawis were able to cease the practice o f exchanging babies in
an attempt to “keep peace” and avoid w ar when they realized that
God Almighty had given His only Son as the eternal Peace Child.
Jackie Pullinger, a twenty-year old British woman left her com fort­
able Anglican parish to go to the walled city near Hong Kong to
work among the drug addicts. Today she has throngs o f indigenous
followers in colonies all over Asia who feed the poor and hungry
and help gang members get o ff drugs and get their lives together—
all w ithout betraying the culture. And we remember Hudson
Taylor and James Fraser and Eric Liddell who went to China to
live, preach, and die among the indigenous peoples there.
Is religion superordinate to culture or is it subordinate to cul­
ture? How do we view the truth claims o f Christ? Are there bound­
ID E S ET aries beyond which He cannot be shared? Do we teach our young
1L J

IBERTA S people to stay home and mind their own business? Do we tell them

2000 to engage in some form o f “helpful” missionary activity and let the

30
truth claims o f Jesus Christ be incidental? However these questions
are asked and however they are answered, Christians must also re­
spond in some way to another mandate: ‘“ All authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disci­
ples o f all nations, baptizing them in the name o f the Father and o f
the Son and o f the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I
have commanded you’” (Matthew 28:18-20 RSV).
Why did Jesus ask His disciples to intrude on others’ private
religious beliefs and cultural understandings? The commandment
was, after all, to go to all nations! Didn’t He understand that all
peoples in their search to answer the great questions o f life— the
questions o f pain, suffering, and death— would have to come up
with answers on their own?

Who has ultimate authority? All o f these questions revolve

around a single question: Who has ultimate authority? From the
Christian’s perspective, scientific postmodernism is not the ulti­
mate and final authority. Christ is. In addition to the Christian ap­
peal to a higher authority, there are fatal flaws in the postmodern
logic. Looking at the beliefs o f the postmodernists critically, they
are logically inconsistent. If accepted, the postmodern beliefs about
multiculturalism destroy those very beliefs. It is the problem o f a
tolerant person’s intolerance o f another’s intolerance.
However, some postmodern criticisms o f present mission
practices are well taken. Christians are not commanded to repro­
duce W estern culture, but to witness to the kingdom o f God on
earth so that fellow human beings can enjoy and participate in the
kingdom o f God here and now. We Christians are to witness to the
truth o f Jesus Christ because we believe that hearing this truth is a
basic human right for all people. W hy should those o f other lands
be bereft o f the knowledge o f the truth o f Christ? Why should they
be left in darkness if indeed Christ is the one who can make a dif­
ference in this life as well as in the next? Is it not the epitome o f
ethnocentrism to leave others in darkness, saying that they have no
right to the truth? It is because all cultures are equal that they all
have the equal right to hear and know the truth o f Jesus Christ.
Who are we to attempt to convert others? We are disciples o f
Christ, the living God, who loves all peoples o f all cultures
equally, who wants all peoples o f all cultures to know Him as the
truth, so that they may experience eternal life. Ethnocentric?
Unwarranted aggression? An artificial imposition o f W estern cul­
tural values? Leaving others in darkness would certainly be all o f F I D E S ET
those things. LIBERTAS

2000
31
 Proselytism and
Its Limitations in Israel
Natan Lemer

Professor o f International Law

Interdisciplinary Center
Herzliya

Professor o f International Human Rights

Faculty o f Law
Tel Aviv University

N ext to the issues o f war and peace, the relationship between

religion and state is probably the most difficult and fascinating
problem for Israel. This is due to:
(1) The special character o f the state, only a half century old as
an independent, sovereign, political entity.
(2) The complex interaction between the Jewish majority and
non-Jewish citizens.
(3) The tensions between Orthodoxy (in both its Zionist and
non-Zionist versions), Conservative, and Reform Judaism, and the
secular, or undefined, majority o f the population.
(4) The nature o f Jewry as an ethno-religious community, or a
community o f religious origin, in general, as developed over more
than three millennia.
Seen against this background, the issue o f proselytism and its
limitations constitutes a minor issue in Israel. This does not mean
either underestimating the importance o f this problem for some
churches and people or its need for proper regulation. It only
means locating it adequately in the framework o f a most com pli­
cated situation, exceeding by far any strictly local implications.'
A subject which, o f late, has occupied not only Israeli society
(the Knesset, the political parties, and the judiciary in all its eche­
lons), but also Jews in the Diaspora (particularly in the United
States, which has the largest concentration o f Jews outside Israel),
is the matter o f conversions to Judaism— an issue closely con­
nected to, although not overlapping, the question o f proselytism.
The polemics on conversion is mainly on the issue o f which au­
ID E S ET thorities are entitled to authorize conversions to Judaism. A contro­
IL J

IBERTA S versial draft law engendered a stormy debate, prompting The New
2000 York Times to comment editorially (April 20, 1997): “A schism

32
among the Jews?” The editorial underlined the risks o f an abso­
lutist approach in a pluralistic society. I do not believe that such a
religious schism is a real and present danger, but when a respected
newspaper perceives the possibility, it cannot be ignored. Israel,
The New York Times indicated, “is the last country” that can afford
a religious schism.
Simultaneous with the vehement debate on conversion came
legislative proposals to restrict proselytism— proposals criticized
by liberals and opposed by Christian religious groups for whom
freedom to proselytize is very important. O f such was 1996’s draft
law No. 950, introduced by two members o f the Knesset— one
from Labor, the other from an ultra-orthodox faction. It was aban­
doned, however, so the only legal text concerning proselytism was
a law dating from 1977, but never enforced: the Enticement to
Change Religion Law, an amendment to the penal law. (I shall
refer to this later.) Ultra-orthodox thugs also committed a few acts
o f violence against Christians accused o f being missionaries. Some
o f the culprits received jail sentences.2 In general, it would appear
that conversion and proselytism issues are much more related to
intra-Jewish religious quarrels than to an inter-religious problem
such as, for instance, the situation in Greece which led to interest­
ing decisions in the European Court o f Human Rights in the cases
o f Kokkinakis and Larissis.3
In an important 1997 decision o f the Supreme Court,4
President Justice Aaron Barak reiterated the frequent claim that in
Israel, a “Jewish and democratic State,” one finds in matters con­
cerning religion a balance adequately reflecting a pluralistic philos­
ophy o f society based on mutual compromise and tolerance. Proper
respect and consideration for the religious feelings o f the majority
should not lead to limitations affecting human rights o f people not
belonging to the majority. And this is a goal not easily achieved in
a society as complex as that o f Israel.
*
The population o f Israel is multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and
multi-cultural. O f around 6 million people, Jews constitute about
80 percent. Arabs are the principal minority. Most o f them are
Muslim. The rest include Druze, Bedouins, Circassians, and others.
There are about 150,000 Christians in Israel, most o f whom are
Arabs, with the rest o f W estern origin. Despite differences rooted
in history, culture, and sociology, the large Jewish majority shares
the feeling o f belonging to a single nation with a common past and
a common religion. Jewry has been described as an ethno-religious F I D E S ET
community, or people, in which religion and ethnicity are insepara­ LIBERTAS
bly united, notwithstanding the views o f individual Jews who may
2000
33
 be non-believers, agnostics, atheists, or adepts o f other attitudes
concerning religion.
W ithin the population as a whole—
(A) Israeli Arabs, the largest minority, consider themselves
extremely different from the majority in terms o f ethnicity, culture,
language, national origin, and most certainly religion. Israeli Jews,
the majority, acknowledge these differences with full awareness.
(B) The Jewish majority itself comprises several religiously
differentiated groups running from pure rationalistic secularism to
a pronounced ultra-orthodoxy demanding an inflexible interpreta­
tion o f Halacha, Jewish religious law.
(C) Ethnic and cultural divisions within the Jewish majority
introduce additional differentiations.
(D) The Palestinian-Israeli conflict and its Arab-Israeli exten­
sions impress their mark on the majority-minority relationship.
(E) Internal party politics permeates religious issues as experi­
enced in the few cases directly or indirectly involving issues of
conversion and proselytism.
The Israeli legal system must be kept in mind in this regard.'
Its sources are various:
(1) M odem legislation adopted after the creation o f the state.
(2) The m illet system within Ottoman legislation which, in
matters o f personal status and family relations (marriage, divorce,
and successions), provides autonomy to each o f the major religious
communities.
(3) British law, particularly from the period o f the Mandate.
(4) Traditional Jewish law applicable in the area o f family
matters to all Jews, religious or not.
The prevailing complicated system attaches considerable
weight to the group or community. Defined in religious terms,
there are at present 14 recognized communities, the largest o f
which is, o f course, the Jewish community. Certainly this system
plays a role when it comes to proselytism, an activity likely to af­
fect the group dimension.
*
The State o f Israel is a unique case in nation-making. It was
conceived, bom , and built as a polity committed to the purpose o f
Zionism, the movement aimed at changing the life conditions of
the world-scattered community called the Jewish people— a people
who have had a great influence on the development o f humanity in
the religious sphere; a people who, despite their dispersion for two
F I D E S ET thousand years, kept the hope o f rebuilding their national
LIBERTA S sovereignty in their ancestral land. Zionism conceived a state

2000 which was to be Jewish— a political entity in which the peculiar

34
nature o f Judaism and/or Jewry, an inextricable combination o f
ethnicity, faith, and culture, would be embodied not only in sym­
bols— the flag, the anthem, the star o f David, the menorah— but
also in its legislation and institutions, and in its policies governing
immigration, absorption, and development. But a clear-cut, legally
binding definition o f what “Jewish” means has never been agreed
upon. Depending on the person doing the interpreting, being
Jewish may be taken as a demographic, anthropologic, or cultural
notion, or as a religious concept, or as a combination o f both. It is
therefore not surprising that many Jews, whatever their religious
views, see any attempt to proselytize among Jews as an intrusion
into their collective identity and an attempt to separate the religious
element from the total, global, integral notion o f Jewry. Such a
view is evident in certain judicial decisions.
One o f them is the well-known Rufeisen case.6 The Supreme
Court had to decide if Oswald Rufeisen (also known as Brother
Daniel), a Catholic priest living in Haifa, bom in Poland o f Jewish
parents who converted in 1942 during W orld W ar II, was entitled
to become a citizen o f Israel under the 1950 Law o f Return, as
amended in 1954 and 1970.7 In Europe during the war, Rufeisen
had acted heroically, helping persecuted Jews, frequently risking
his life. He immigrated to Israel in 1958. Although he had em­
braced Catholicism, he continued to see him self as belonging to
the Jewish people. Though the court had words o f praise for him, it
rejected his claim, opining that since the Law o f Return is secular,
it was not relevant to Rufeisen’s argument that (according to
Halacha) he was, indeed, a Jew. Thus the court took the view that,
in the popular understanding o f the man on the street, a Jew who
gave up the Jewish religion, adopted another, and even became a
priest o f the new religion, could not be considered a member o f the
Jewish community. The court advised Rufeisen to apply for citi­
zenship under the naturalization law instead o f the Law of
Return— which he did. Wrote Justice Silberg in the decision:
W hether he is religious, non-religious, or anti-religious, the Jew
living in Israel is bound, w illingly or unwillingly, by an um bilical cord
to historical Judaism from which he draw s his language and its idiom,
w hose festivals are his own to celebrate, and whose great thinkers and
spiritual heroes . . . nourish his national pride. . . .
It is not my purpose to . . . present any particular point o f view as to
the m ost desirable course for the future developm ent o f the Jewish people.
I know well that opinion in Israel as to w hat is and should be is divided
into all the various shades o f the spiritual rainbow— from the extreme or­
thodox to the total agnostic. But there is one thing that is shared by all
Jews who live in Israel (save a m ere handful) and that is that we do not cut F I D E S ET
ourselves o ff from our historic past nor deny our ancestral heritage. We LIBERTA S
continue to drink from the original fountains. The shape has changed, the
channels have been altered, but we have not sealed the w e lls .. . ,8 2000
35
 The Rufeisen/Brother Daniel case has obvious implications re­
garding proselytism. Relevant to this are the activities o f those who
call themselves Messianic Jews, persons not accepted as Jews by
either the authorities or by public opinion. They do proselytize. To
offer information about their views (which are based on the con­
viction that Jesus is the M essiah who will return to establish a
kingdom on earth as foretold in the Biblical book o f Daniel), the
Messianic Jews publish newspaper advertisements.9 Another
group, claiming to have about 1,000 members in Israel, many o f
Jewish origin, are the Jehovah’s Witnesses. O f late they have
started what is described as a proselytizing campaign by visiting
people, distributing literature, and explaining their suffering under
the N azis.10 The right o f the Jehovah’s Witnesses to establish a
meeting place, despite the views o f a municipal body, was recog­
nized by a Tel Aviv district court in 1997.11The decision, which
pointed out that suspicion o f the W itnesses’ missionary activities
may have prompted the municipal authorities, was appealed to the
Supreme Court.
In 1995 a Supreme Court panel o f seven justices dealt with
the m eaning o f a M andate-period ordinance regarding registra­
tion o f conversions.12 Court President Justice M eir Shamgar
wrote the decision:
Freedom o f religion and conscience is one o f the fundamental prin­
ciples o f our system. This freedom belongs to the values com posing the
norm ative bases o f our system since the establishm ent o f the State. The
freedom to change one’s religion is grounded in the fram ew ork o f the
freedom o f religion and conscience. Therefore, a reasonable interpreta­
tion o f the existing legal situation is that the different authorities will not
intervene in this sphere o f the individual’s autonom y, and that the deci­
sion o f an inhabitant or citizen to change his religion, on the one hand,
and the decision to adm it a person w ithin a religion to which he w ants to
adhere to, on the other, will be free from any intervention on the part o f
the State. Conversion is a private matter. In a free society every person is
entitled voluntarily to change his religion.
Fie does not need any official authorization. The need o f an autho­
rization only comes up in our view in relation to the personal status.
Religious m em bership carries m any consequences w ith regard to the law
o f the State in everything concerning the sphere o f the personal status.
B ut not beyond that.
On the whole, with the exception o f the 1977 law against in­
citement, there are no legal limitations concerning proselytism.
Except for censorship in the area o f security matters, there are no
restrictions on freedom o f expression— oral or written, and the
courts have granted full protection to this right. In some instances,
F I D E S ET religious sensitivity— Jewish and non-Jewish— was protected by
L IBERTA S the courts, but this did not affect the issue o f proselytism.
2000 *

36
 At this point I should summarize my views with regard to
proselytism in general. (1 have done this in detail in an article in­
cluded in the Emory International Law Review's comprehensive
issue on the problem o f proselytism in R ussia.13) The right to pros­
elytize— to try to convince people to adopt a specific religion— is
closely related to the issues o f the freedoms o f expression, associa­
tion, scientific research, and education. It is not absolute. It may
clash with other legal provisions in countries where family law is
under the influence o f religion or where some formalities are nec­
essary in order to join or leave a religious community. It is not easy
to strike a balance in this respect. The controversy between the uni­
versality o f human rights and cultural relativism is relevant. In
democratic societies people should be free to disseminate their reli­
gious views. But there is also a right to privacy; uninvited speech
should not necessarily prevail. Proselytism may be limited when it
is conducted in places where people constitute a “captive audi­
ence” or “captive target” such as classrooms, military installations,
prisons, hospitals, and the like. Proselytism involving material en­
ticement— money, gifts, privileges, housing, employment, etc.—
should be considered a form o f coercion and thus appropriately
limited by law. Communal or collective identities are entitled to
protection. Minority rights are relevant. W ithin certain limits, state
education may include religious teachings.
A downward, deteriorating trend in the recognition o f the right to
proselytize is to be pointed out in international instruments. The 1948
Universal Declaration o f Human Rights establishes in Article 18 a
broad right both to teach and to change religion or belief. But Article
18 o f the 1966 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights had to use
milder language. The 1981 Declaration on the Elimination o f All
Forms o f Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief
was in danger of not being adopted if a compromise had not been
reached. Western lawyers and United Nations rapporteurs do not see
in this trend a change in the international position with regard to pros­
elytism, but some religious communities claim that the rights to pros­
elytize and to change religion or belief are not binding on them. In its
comment on Article 18 o f the Covenant, the UN Human Rights
Committee has followed the classic universalist approach.14
To summarize: The right to proselytize and the right to change
religion must be protected. But they are not absolute rights. They
are included in the current common minimum standard accepted
by the majority o f legal systems, but not by all o f them. In any
case, these rights should exclude coercion and intrusion in privacy. F I D E S ET
* LI B E R T A S
Against this general framework I shall now refer to the present
2000
37
 situation in Israel. To protect my claim o f relative objectivity, I
quote from the Israel chapter in the United States Department of
State Human Rights Report for 1998:
M issionaries are allowed to proselytize, although the Church o f
Jesus Christ o f Latter Day Saints has agreed not to do so under an agree­
m ent w ith the Government. (This agreement led to the construction o f the
beautiful building o f the M orm on University on M ount Scopus.) A 1977
anti-proselytizing law prohibits anyone from offering or receiving m ate­
rial benefits as an inducem ent to conversion, but the law has not been ap­
plied for several years. In 1997 a bill was introduced to impose
restrictions on proselytizing, including a ban on the distribution o f written
m aterials encouraging conversions. A more restrictive bill that would ban
virtually all forms o f proselytizing passed a preliminary reading in the
Knesset last April with significant governm ent support. Neither bill is ex­
pected to be enacted. Christian and other evangelical groups assert that
the draft bills are discrim inatory and serve to intim idate Christian groups.
Jehovah’s W itnesses suffered verbal abuse, assaults, theft, and
vandalism during the year, apparently by ultra-Orthodox groups.
Jehovah’s W itnesses assert that police did not adequately investigate two
break-ins at a m eeting house in Lod in February.
As to the territories under Israeli military occupation, the
Occupied Territories chapter states: “The Israeli government respects
freedom o f religion and does not ban any group or sect on religious
grounds. It permits all faiths to operate schools and institutions.. . . ”
*

The only instance o f positive legislation concerning prose-

lytism in Israel is the aforementioned Penal Law Amendment
(Enticement to Change Religion) Law (5738-1977). The official
English translation o f its operative paragraphs reads as follows:
1. W hosoever gives or prom ises to a person m oney, m oney’s worth,
or some other material benefit in order to induce him to change his reli­
gion or in order that he m ay induce another person to change his religion,
is liable to im prisonm ent for five years or a fine o f 50,000 pounds.
2. W hosoever receives or agrees to receive m oney, m oney’s worth,
or som e other m aterial benefit in return for a prom ise to change his reli­
gion or to cause another person to change his religion, is liable to im pris­
onm ent for a term o f three years or a fine o f 30,000 pounds.
The Explanatory Note 6 says this (free translation):
. . . [T]he m issionary organizations active in the country use m any
and different means in order to chase souls and cause the conversion o f
those falling into their web.
T hose organizations w hich possess unlim ited m onetary m eans uti­
lize m aterial enticem ents. T hey are particularly active am ong people
whose econom ic situation is difficult. [They] prom ise them big sum s o f
m oney, grant them economic benefits, and induce them to leave the
country and change their religion.
L ately there has been an increase in the activity o f the m issionaries
ID E S ET that take advantage o f the difficult situation in the country in order to ad­
U. J

IBERTA S vance their aims. The m issionary organizations are also active am ong

2000 Israeli A rm ed Forces soldiers. [They] try to influence them to abandon

their units.

38
 The only w ay likely to stop the m issionary w ork in Israel is by en­
acting legislation against such activity.
The purpose o f the proposed law is thus to stop the activities o f the
m issionary organizations through the prohibition o f all missionary activ­
ities accom panied by m aterial enticem ent. Sim ilar legislation exists in
m any countries in the world.
As already pointed out, this law was not applied in practice. A
parliamentary investigation undertaken more than a decade ago to
deal with the “danger o f cults” did not produce any results. The at­
tempts to introduce new legislation to oppose proselytism that took
place in recent years have to be seen in the light o f internal Israeli
politics. Non-religious politicians obviously tried, by joining such at­
tempts, to gain favor among the religious parties. Such was the case
o f the aforementioned draft law 950 o f 1996. The Labor politician
who sponsored the draft withdrew his support, allegedly in return for
the declaration o f some Protestant groups not to engage in active
proselytizing.1 In the light o f the results o f the elections on March
17, 1999, there is no reason to believe that this kind o f legislation
will succeed. The prevailing trend in the Knesset is to preserve the
so-called status quo in matters o f state and religion, based on the pol­
itics o f compromise. For example on January 26, 1999, a draft law
on freedom o f religion that would have insured, among other things,
equality between the different creeds and cultures, was defeated 28
(yes) to 43 (no; these votes from the coalition).18 It is to be expected
that such legislative attempts will be repeated.
As to judicial intervention, frequently an area o f religion-state
relations charged with emotion, some decisions are relevant to the
subject at hand. The Supreme Court has ruled that a person con­
verted to Judaism in any Jewish community abroad is entitled to be
registered as a Jew in the Israeli Population Registry. Jerusalem
judges recently im posed prison sentences on youths involved in
acts o f vandalism against the home o f three Christian girls who had
been accused o f missionary activity by the ultras. There were also
acts o f violence against the leaders o f Jews for Jesus and Chabad
and against the Baptist church in Jerusalem. The police intervened.
On December 30, 1998, a Jerusalem district court ruled that
converts to Reform and Conservative Judaism must be registered by
the Ministry o f Interior regardless o f where the conversions took
place. This decision is related to the attempts to reach an agreement
on the creation o f a “conversion institute,” where Orthodox,
Conservative, and Reform teachers would train aspiring converts,
while leaving the actual conversions to the Orthodox courts. The
conversion issue is also closely connected to the large number o f im­ F I D E S ET
migrants from the former Soviet Union who are not Jewish in faith, LIBERTAS
but for whom recognition as Jews is important in many respects.
2000
39
 Not accepting the imputation o f proselytism, the Supreme
Court rejected an attempt to prevent Chabad, an ultra-orthodox
group, from operating a counter at Lod International Airport for
the purpose o f trying to induce Jews to behave according to reli­
gious norms. The court did state, however, that the counter cannot
be used for Chabad propaganda or to attract arriving passengers to
the group, as has been done on some occasions.19
In order to complete this Israeli case study, it is pertinent to
mention the Report on the Implementation o f the Covenant on
Civil and Human Rights submitted by Israel to the UN Human
Rights Committee. In the chapter devoted to Article 18 o f the
covenant, the report points out that there is no established religion
in Israel, although Israel does not maintain the principle o f separa­
tion o f religion and the institutions o f government. While Israel has
been quite successful in guaranteeing the freedom o f religious
practice, particularly for the non-Jewish communities, “it is more
difficult to claim that ‘freedom from religion’ is fully protected,
particularly for the Jewish population.” Sections 170-173 o f the
Penal Law (5737-1977) prohibit any utterances likely to “outrage”
the religious feelings or beliefs o f a person. Under the heading
“Conversion,” the report says that in general every person in Israel
has the right to change religion, and that the state does not inter­
vene in an individual’s decision to adopt or change religion nor in
the decision o f a particular religion to accept any person as a mem ­
ber.20 In some circumstances a formal official approval o f conver­
sion may be demanded. It is necessary to distinguish between
recognition o f conversion by the secular organs o f the state and ap­
proval o f a change o f religion for purposes o f matters o f personal
status. Religion is an item appearing in the Population Register and
on one’s identity card. W hile the Ministry o f Interior cannot refuse
to recognize non-Orthodox conversions, the rabbinical courts do
not recognize as Jews persons converted by a non-Orthodox body.
*

I have tried to explain to what extent the right to proselytize

exists and is both protected and limited in Israel. A full, objective
picture can only result from an understanding o f the nature o f
Israeli society, the social forces acting in the state, the interaction
between the majority and the minorities, and the character o f the
majority. The Jewish majority, as well as the Arab main minority,
are ethno-religious communities determined to preserve their col­
lective identity. Although they respect the right to freedom o f ex­
F I D E S ET pression, which includes the right to proselytize, the communities
LIBERTAS do not like intrusions which result in splitting that collective iden­
2000 tity. Thus proselytism is legal, is tolerated, but resented by some.

40
This may result in attacks against the right to disseminate one’s re­
ligion in communities where a different religion prevails and com­
prises an inseparable component o f the group’s global identity,
notwithstanding the individual philosophies or attitudes of, loosely
speaking, non-religious persons.

Notes and references:

Literature on state and religion in Israel is enormous. In English see, gener­
ally, A sher Maoz: “ Religious Human Rights in the State o f Israel” in J. D. van der
V yver and J. W itte, Jr., eds.: Religious H uman Rights in G lobal Perspective— Legal
Perspectives (The Hague: Kluwer, 1996), 79-134; S. Zalm an Abramov: Perpetual
Dilemma: Jew ish Religion in the Jew ish State (Cranbury, N ew Jersey: Rutherford,
1979); and A m non Rubinstein: “ Laws and Religion in Israel” in Israel Yearbook on
Human Rights, 3.
2 Haaretz (M arch 2, April 20, and June 9,1999).
3 On this issue, see my article “ Proselytism, Change o f Religion, and International
Human Rights," in Emory International Law Review, Vol. 112, No. 1, 1998.
4 H.C. 5016, 5025, 5090, 5434 / 1996.
5 See Y oram Schachar: “History and Sources o f Israeli Law,” in Amos
Shapira, K eren C. DeW itt-Arar, eds.: Introduction to the L aw o f Israel (The Hague:
Kluwer, 1995).
6 72/1963, 16 Piskei Din 2428.
7 Sefer Hachukim, 51, 159, and 586, 34.
8 The quotation is from the English translation o f the record, published by the
M inistry o f Justice in 1963.
9 H a ir, M arch 12, 1999.
10 Haaretz, M arch 3, 1999.
11 Haaetz, August 15, 1997.
12 Pesarro (Goldstein) v. M inister o f Interior, H.C. 1031/93.
13 See N ote 3 above.
14 O n the evolution o f U nited N ations instrum ents, see my article “ Religious
Hum an Rights Under the U nited Nations,” in van der V yver and W itte (referenced
in N ote 1 above).
15 U nited States Inform ation Service, M arch 2, 1999.
16 H a tza ’ot CAoANo. 1313, 5738, p. 40.
17 The Jerusalem Post, M arch 31, 1999.
18 Haaretz, January 27, 1999.
19 H.C. 714/89.
20 Pessaro (Goldstein). (See Note 12 above.)

This article expands on a paper Prof. Lerner presented at the 1RLA

Conference o f Experts, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain, May 1999.

F I D E S ET
LIBERTA S

2000
41
 An Ethical / Catholic
Perspective of Proselytism
Roland Minnerath

Professor o f Church History

University o f Strasbourg
Strasbourg, France

I. The Need for a Code of Good Conduct. Ethics are in­

voked when a choice has to be made between opposite options:
The imperative o f mission and the temptation o f proselytism.
Christianity is a missionary religion. Evangelizing— sharing the
good news and calling for conversion— is a duty for all Christians
and churches. How this duty is interpreted and carried out is the
basic question. Though missionary activity is always deeply asso­
ciated with the specific social and cultural context in which it oper­
ates, it nevertheless seems possible to work out some principles o f
proper evangelizing activity rooted in the attitude o f Jesus and the
apostles. In particular, the good news is a call directed to free
human beings. It cannot be imposed from outside by means o f psy­
chological or physical constraint. In our present understanding o f
human rights, the freedom to communicate and the freedom to
receive a message o f religious faith is anchored in the very nature
o f human beings and m ust be recognized as a civil right protected
by law. This civil freedom also implies the right not to be pre­
vented in any way from converting to another religion, or not be­
longing to any religion. A person can be m oved to adhere to G od’s
call only through inner persuasion. This inner movement is pro­
voked by the power o f truth itself.
Behind the range o f attitudes towards proselytism is the funda­
mental concept one has o f the religious truth in which one believes.
Does your religious faith invite you to respect and consider persons
with other creeds, or does it suggest that they need to be converted
by all means? Only if your own faith gives you a strong motivation
to respect the dignity o f all human beings can the temptation of
proselytism be avoided. Only if you behave as a servant, not as an
owner o f the truth, can God be preached and His word freely
shared with others.
F ID E S ET In the past, evangelization was often carried out through vio­
LIBERTA S lent means and state-supported initiatives. This period is now over
2000 in so far as Christianity is concerned. Christian churches have

42
made a remarkable effort to distinguish between mission and pros-
elytism, often reaching a common understanding o f how they
should behave in propagating their faith. But now we are facing a
new challenge. The most active proselytizing groups today are not
the traditional churches but the new religious movements, either o f
Christian or other inspiration. Most o f the time they are reluctant to
dialogue with others, relying instead on a simplistic dualism be­
tween themselves as those who are saved and the rest o f the world
which is condemned. Here is the main challenge today. It has both
a theological dimension— the question o f the truth, and a legal di­
mension— the respect for human rights.
W hen it operates in the public domain, proselytization should
indeed submit itself to an evaluation o f its ethical criteria.
International legal limits to proselytism are not at hand, but some
national laws expressly prohibit unfair proselytism. In a strict
sense, international norms only protect the individual from external
aggression or pressure. Only by implication do these norms sug­
gest the right o f a religious organization to win, honestly, new ad­
herents. International law is concerned with limiting the power o f
the state in these matters and defining exactly its duties in protect­
ing public order, public health and morality, and the rights o f oth­
ers. Improper forms o f proselytism are employed by groups or
individuals who may unduly intrude on the private sphere o f oth­
ers. This behavior may generate a conflict o f rights: the right to
free expression on the one hand and the right not to be coerced on
the other. Different cases at the European Court for Human Rights
show how fluid the borders are between correct and incorrect pros­
elytizing. For example, a military officer may not take advantage
o f his position to engage in religious talks with his subordinates,
but he may do so with civilians who have the freedom to escape. It
is not permitted to take advantage o f captive audiences. Personal
physical and psychological freedom must always be guaranteed.
Behaving according to commonly accepted norms should be the
goal to be achieved by all religious groups. Helpful to this end
would be a code o f good conduct.

II. Catholic Principles of Proselytism. In Catholic literature,

“proselytizing” is a concept which has become synonymous with
unfair and morally unacceptable methods o f propagating the
Christian faith. The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) concluded
that while all religious groups have a right to “publicly teach and
witness their faith by voice and writings . . . all action having the F I D E S ET
savor o f coercion or dishonest or incorrect solicitation” must be LIBERTA S
avoided, “specially when uncultured and needy persons are in­
2000
43
 volved.” 1 Such conduct is not only morally wrong, it constitutes an
abuse o f human rights. As an offense against the rights o f others, it
falls under the sanctions o f state law. The state m ust protect the
rights o f all its citizens. W hen the right to express one’s conviction
turns into illegal pressure, it is an abuse o f this right and must be
prosecuted as such.
Theologically speaking, Catholicism’s duty is to “announce
the good news”— to proclaim it, not to impose it. The proclamation
is a call to be freely accepted or rejected.2 The document on the
missionary activity o f the church clearly draws the distinction be­
tween evangelization directed towards non-Christians as a call to
freely convert and all methods which are a negation o f conversion
itself: “The church severely forbids forcing anybody to embrace
the faith or alluring or enticing people by unworthy techniques.” 3
The definition given o f religious freedom as an immunity from co­
ercion implies that “no one is to be forced to act in a manner con­
trary to his/her own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether
alone or in association with others.” 4
The Ecumenical Directory (March 25, 1993) recommends that
bishops take measures to overcome the temptation to indifferen-
tism and proselytism, mainly in the younger churches. The mission
o f the church develops between these two extreme attitudes: The
false assumption that all religions are equally valid on the one
hand, and on the other, that conversion should be obtained by un­
fair means. “In their relationship with other churches and church
communities, Catholics will behave honestly and prudently. .. .
Falling into the temptation o f indifferentism or proselytism would
be the end o f a true ecumenical spirit.” 5 Catholics are invited to
nourish esteem and consideration for other Christians and to ex­
pose doctrinal issues in ways that do not jeopardize dialogue
(n. 61). Another document (1997) from the Council for Christian
Unity insists on the ecumenical training o f ministers. Particular at­
tention should be given to the phenomenon o f proselytism, consid­
ered as a challenge to be addressed in the present context.6
But the church does not give up the duty to evangelize. In his
1990 encyclical Redemptoris missio, Pope John Paul II regrets that
today the call to conversion, which is at the heart o f the church’s
mission, is often interpreted as an attempt at “proselytism.” It is
also wrong to pretend that Christians should just encourage every­
body to be faithful to his/her own religion. Any person has the
right to hear the good news o f Christ and to respond to it.7
F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS III. A Catholic View of Proselytism as a Practice in Other
2000 Christian Churches. Missionary activities such as home visita­

44
tion, evangelistic campaigns, street preaching, media ministries,
and mass mailings are popular within the evangelical movement.
The Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican churches shy
away from such action. Evangelicals rarely complain about undue
Catholic proselytization among evangelicals, but the opposite is
not true. In many venues where it is firmly established, the
Catholic Church is heavily exposed to the organized activities of
many evangelical movements. Consider, for example, Brazil where
many o f the newer Christian churches win adherents from
Catholicism on a daily basis. Their methods often employ dishon­
est incentives as well as anti-Catholic psychological harassment.
The threat o f unfair proselytism does not occur among the
older, traditional Christian churches. The Vatican II declaration on
ecumenism8 and subsequent church documents recommend ecu­
menical cooperation in missionary activity. The first Ecumenical
Directory (May 14, 1967) observed that when, among Christians,
sharing o f spiritual gifts is not possible and mutual respect is not
evident, at least proselytism must be avoided (n. 28). In the mani­
fold dialogues between Christian confessions, proselytism among
Christians is always rejected.1’
This point was strongly emphasized by the Third Joint
Commission o f the World Council o f Churches and the Roman
Catholic Church in its special document Common Witness and
Proselytism. 0 The Joint Commission defines proselytism as a corrup­
tion o f the duty o f Christian witness: “It includes any attempt to of­
fend the right o f any person, Christian or non-Christian, to be free
from external constraint in religious matters, and also those forms of
evangelization which contradict the will o f God, who invites men and
women to follow His call freely and to serve Him in spirit and truth.”
The commission document emphasizes these ideals:
• A common witness is given when Christians recognize the spiri­
tual gifts in other churches and testify to what they have in common.
• Christian witness m ust be coherent with the spirit o f the
gospel; it should not offend ongoing inter-Christian dialogue.
• God-centered Christian witness focuses on His glory and
m an’s salvation, not on the advantage o f one confession over an­
other. It always respects the freedom o f those to whom it is ad­
dressed; it never exploits their weakness or their poverty; it never
offers material or social benefits resulting from a change o f confes­
sion; it excludes all methods o f compulsion, including the uncriti­
cal use o f mass media.
• Christians bearing witness to their faith do not denigrate the FI D E S E T
faith o f others. W itnessing Christians do not spread prejudices LIBERTA S
about other Christians. They do not distort their own spiritual con-
2000
45
 victions the better to attract others.
The document does not reject the missionary activity of
Christians in areas where traditional Christian churches are already
established. This should not lead to competition, but rather to a rein-
vigoration o f the credibility and witness o f the local church. With re­
gard to foreign missionaries, they should intervene only when the
local church fails to meet the spiritual needs o f its own members.
In 1989 the Middle East Council o f Churches, embracing
Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and certain Protestant
Evangelical denominations, adopted a document on Proselytism,
Sects, and Pastoral Challenges which expressed the wish for a
“pastoral agreement” among member churches on the issue o f
proselytism: Any attempt to attract believers from one body to an­
other should be replaced by a “dialogue o f love.” Such a positive
attitude, the council held, would enrich each church with the expe­
rience and missionary zeal o f the others.

IV. Proselytism as a Catholic-Orthodox Issue. Most Catholic

statements on proselytism are related to the Orthodox churches sim­
ply because the Orthodox churches accuse the Catholic Church o f
practicing proselytism among them. This accusation emerges from
the historical background o f “uniatism.” From the 16th century
through to the 20th, most o f the Eastern churches were separate, but
a few chose to join in communion with Rome. For instance, in 1595
a part o f the Ukrainian Church left Russian Orthodoxy. At the very
end o f the 17th century a part o f the Romanian Church entered into
communion with Rome. These changes did not require changes in
faith, liturgy, or canon law. But the respective Orthodox churches
refused to accept the divisions on the basis o f the concept o f
“canonical territory.” Based on this criterion and under the pressure
o f communist rule in 1948, the Russian Orthodox Church forced
Ukrainian Greek-Catholics into the Russian patriarchate, and the
Romanian Orthodox Church similarly compelled Romanian Greek-
Catholics to submit to the Romanian patriarchate. Following the fall
o f communism, the captured churches regained the freedom to con­
firm their bond with Rome.
But the Orthodox hierarchy continues the accusation of
Roman Catholic proselytism. The patriarchs consider the very ex­
istence o f these restored Greek-Catholic communities an offense to
the ecclesiastical unity o f the so-called Orthodox territories.
Russian Orthodoxy considers John Paul II’s appointment o f new
F I D E S ET bishops for the Catholic communities in Russia as proselytism.
LIBERTAS For the same reason, the Orthodox hierarchy rejects the activity

2000 o f foreign missionaries in general. At the Patmos Summit

46
 (September 1995) 12 Orthodox patriarchs condemned both Catholic
and Protestant proselytism in Orthodox countries. To such charges
the Catholic Church answers that its priests do not intend to convert
Orthodox Christians, but only to minister to its own members.
The Church o f Rome fully respects its Orthodox sister
churches and fosters loyal dialogue with them. In 1990 a joint
Catholic-Orthodox commission published A Statement on the
Subject ofU niatism which declared that uniatism was no longer
valid. This position was restated in the 1993 Balamond agreement
on Uniatism: M ethod o f Union in the Past and the Present Search
fo r Full Communion. The document made clear the pastoral activ­
ity o f the Catholic Church in non-Catholic eastern countries does
not aim to proselytize among the Orthodox, but the Catholic
Church maintained the right to evangelize by honest means any
person searching for faith. On their part, the Orthodox did not chal­
lenge the freedom o f Greek Catholics to remain Catholic. Rather,
they admitted that the Greek Catholic churches could play a role in
preparing for full Catholic-Orthodox communion.

V. Proselytism Among Other Religions and Among

Nonbelievers. W ith reference to the missionary activities among
followers o f other religions, many questions are at stake.
Theologically, the only answer is “We have a duty to introduce
you to Christ and His salvation. You are free to follow Him or
not.” But in practice it is not so simple. Is it morally justified to
separate somebody from their own religious tradition and thus per­
haps marginalize that person within his or her native community?
In the past, there has been a strong link between European colo­
nialism and mission. Christians are seen as Europeans or as
Westerners who are alien to local cultures and traditions. In India
and in Muslim countries, ethnic and religious identity are often one
and the same. Thus violent reactions to, and rejections of, Christian
witness are still observed.
Witnessing Christian faith among believers o f other religions
implies a positive attitude about “all that is true and holy” in these
religions. The Vatican II declaration on non-Christians religions in­
sists that Christian witness means paying attention to the “spiritual
and moral goods . . . and the values” within other religions.11 The
attitude o f the Christian should be one o f respectful dialogue and
cooperation: No denigration, no coercion, no indirect incentives.
It must be said that the current philosophy o f human rights fa­
cilitates to a certain extent proselytism directed at individual per­ F I D E S ET
sons. It is understandable that native cultures in the Third World LIBERTAS
now react more or less vigorously against some prominent assump­
2000
47
 tions o f this philosophy based on the rights o f individuals in a plu­
ralistic society where diversity o f opinions, creeds, and behaviors is
seen as a positive factor in fostering social cohesion rather than
threatening it. In Western legal philosophy individuals are often
thought o f as being isolated atoms, with no vital bond to a family, a
culture, a social network, a nation, or a religious community.
Liberated individuals are rather abstract entities who are supposed
to decide, on the basis o f their free will, all that they are going to be
and to do— even their gender. Non-W estern cultures definitely re­
ject this philosophy o f individualism as a kind o f anthropology all
too incompatible with their own cultures. In point o f fact, most cul­
tures o f the world do give more attention to the social dimension of
human beings; they simply cannot isolate individuals from their so­
cially humanizing context. This is not without consequences to the
very concept o f freedom o f religion and o f missionary activity.
At present, African and Asian scholars often assume that
Christian and Islamic methods o f spreading their respective faiths
in Africa and Asia was, historically, proselytism on a large scale.
Weak cultures could hardly resist the invasions o f both colonialists
and missionaries whose external superiority created an imbalance
with local traditions. The offer o f the local people to change their
religion often began a process o f acculturation which destroyed na­
tive cohesion and resulted in a deep crisis o f identity.
Therefore local politicians and religious leaders claim the
“right to be left alone” and to have this right protected by interna­
tional instruments. This right would consist o f a legally recognized
limitation not only on improper proselytism, but also on honest
missionary work, the idea being to preserve weaker cultures from
being absorbed by stronger, i.e., Western, cultures. This challenge
has to be addressed. Now that the era o f colonialism has ended,
and with the ongoing process o f secularization in the West, it can
no longer be said that Christianity is to be identified with W estern
culture only. The W est is interested in winning markets, not souls.
But Christianity is, in many respects, actually opposed to the nega­
tive aspects o f individualism, hedonism, and materialism propa­
gated by popular W estern culture. No W estern state has any
political interest in expanding Christianity in Africa or Asia. But
the same cannot be said for some Islamic states where religion is
identified with social and legal systems and is supported by state
power. Regarding the United States, the interesting question rises
whether, by linking financial aid to effective respect for individual
F ID E S ET religious freedom in nations o f Eastern Europe and the Third
LIBERTA S World, the government does not indirectly contribute to the export­

2000 ing o f American evangelical missionaries to these countries.

48
 Indeed, this is a challenge for the understanding o f human
rights, but it is primarily a moral challenge. The point made by
Africans, Asians, and Latin Americans is that the freedom to
spread religious convictions does not license the destruction o f tra­
ditional cultures and religions. They deplore the current philosophy
o f human rights which, from their point o f view, fails to protect the
social and cultural background in which a person grows and devel­
ops. The huge spheres o f Hinduism, Islam, and Orthodoxy try to
protect themselves from foreign religious influence through legal
measures. Islamic law actually forbids any attempt to convert a
M uslim .12 Some Buddhist and Hindu states also prohibit prose-
lytism. In 1992 the United Nations General Assembly endeavored
to apply an internationally recognized legal limitation to prose-
lytism with a Draft Declaration on the Rights o f Indigenous
Peoples. The document would have considered as racist any at­
tempt to rank the relative superiority o f peoples over other peoples
on the basis o f cultural or religious differences. In the Bangkok
Declaration o f 1993, Asian-Pacific states stressed that the univer­
sality o f human rights has to be understood in the context o f “vari­
ous historical, cultural, and religious backgrounds” (Article 8).
Even Western states make reservations to the international instru­
ments they sign when international human rights conflict with na­
tional legislation. Little wonder the approach to religious
proselytism differs from one culture to another.
This, however, must be emphasized: If the views reported
above were all acted upon, they would foreclose further human de­
velopment. Cultures naturally interact and enrich themselves with
new insights. Is it possible to prohibit the propagation o f ideas, in­
cluding religious concepts, among indigenous peoples? Not even
the African Charter on Human and P eo p les' Rights o f 1981 calls
for such a radical rejection o f external influence. Rather, it encour­
ages the preservation o f “positive African values” without saying a
word about African religions. Nor do African constitutions built on
European models mention special protections for native religions. A
few constitutions only restrict undue proselytism. For example,
Mauritius (1971; Section 11 5(b)) insists on the freedom to practice
any religion “without the unsolicited intervention o f persons pro­
fessing any other religion or belief. (See also Zimbabwe, 1980;
Section 19 5(b).) One could hardly agree with African claims to
create a kind o f protected zone o f traditional culture and religion
where all forms o f missionary work would be forbidden. This is in­
deed an ethical challenge in which the theoretical principles set F ID E S ET
forth must prove to be applicable. LIBERTA S

2000
49
 VI. Proselytism and the New Religious Movements.
Catholic ethics in relation to the proselytism practices o f the new
religious movements maintains a rather defensive stance. Here the
ethical norms are invoked to protect Catholic populations. Often
inadequately accorded necessary pastoral care by their ministers,
such clusters o f Catholicism and other traditional faith groups are
an easy ground for the expansion o f the NRMs. In the last decades
several statements from conferences o f Catholic bishops and even
from the Holy See itself have deplored the attitude o f foreign m is­
sionaries enjoying massive financial support who build up new re­
ligious associations using marketing techniques and a good deal o f
anti-Catholic preaching. Indeed, NRM preaching is often full o f
denigration and hatred o f what it imagines Catholic faith and order
to be. In 1986 three Church o f Rome dicasteries issued a document
on The Phenomenon o f Sects or New Religious Movements: A
Pastoral Challenge, 13 Though the NRM s come from different
backgrounds, they are consistent in delivering their message with
aggressive methods.
In Latin America, where evangelical, Pentecostal, or millen-
nialist groups (generally from the U nited States) are widespread,
Catholic bishops have called for renewed vigilance in their pas­
toral programs. Addressing the Fourth General Assembly o f the
Latin American Union o f Twenty-two Conferences o f Bishops
(CLELAM ) in 1992, John Paul II deplored the planned strategy o f
the NRM s to destroy the religious bond o f the Latin American
countries “with important economic resources dedicated to sustain
sectarian proselytism cam paigns.” 14
In Africa independent NRM s grow in number each day. There
are more than 6,000 in South Africa alone. These groups are not
ecumenically oriented. W ith these groups there is no common
ground to discuss anything. They may win adherents by denigrat­
ing institutionalized churches or by simply ignoring them. African
bishops have published a study on these new religious movements
in Africa and M adagascar.15 They see the NRM phenomenon as a
spur to improve the inculcation o f Christianity in the African con­
text. At the present time, however, these proselytizing NRMs show
little interest in joining an inter-religious reflection on the obser­
vance o f a common code o f ethical norms.

VII. Conclusion. In summary, proselytism and genuine mis­

sionary work face a common enemy: closed social and cultural
ID E S ET systems. But proselytism is the opposite o f genuine missionary
IL J

IBERTA S work. Missionary activity is ethically acceptable only if it respects

2000 others and their convictions, provides freedom to people to search

50
for and adhere to the fullness o f truth, and freedom from pressure
o f any kind, either by legal constraint or personal harassment.
Finally, missionary activity needs one more element: To share
one’s convictions w ith love.

N otes and references:

' D eclaration on religious freedom: Dignitatis humanae, 4.
2 The announcem ent is called kerygma. See also the V atican II Constitution on
the Liturgy: Sacrosanctum concilium, n. 6 and n. 9.
D eclaration: A d gentes, 13.
4 D ignitatis humanae, 2.
5 Council for the P rom otion o f Christian Unity (M arch 5, 1993; n. 23).
6 C ouncil for the Prom otion o f Christian Unity (1997): The Ecum enical
Dimension in the Training o f P astoral M inisters, n. 25k and n. 82.
John Paul II (D ecem ber 7, 1990): Redem ptoris m issio, n. 46.
8 Cf. Declaration: Unitatis redintegratio, 12.
9 For instance, the A nglican-Lutheran P ullach Report, n. 1; and the Lutheran-
Rom an Catholic Com m ission (1980; III, 90): The end o f discrim ination or suspi­
cion o f partners supposes the rejection o f all form s o f proselytism .
10 Cf. “ Report on C om m on W itness and Proselytism ,” A nnex II to the Third
Joint Report adopted M ay 1970, in Dokumente w achsender Übereinstimmung
1931-1982, pp. 625-634. See also the Sixth Joint Report (1981), n. 53.
1' Declaration: N ostra aetate, 2.
12 Cf. The Cairo D eclaration on Human Rights in Islam (1990; Art. 10).
13 Published in E nchiridion vaticanum, Vol. 10, pp. 252-281 (Bolongna: Ed.
D ehoniane, 1989).
14 Discourse at the opening session, October 12, 1992, n. 11 (in DC 1992, p. 1026).
15 SCEA M (Sym posium o f the Conferences o f Bishops o f A frica and
M adagascar): The N ew Christian M ovements in Africa and M adagascar (M arch 13,
1992) (in DC 1992, pp. 989-996).

E dited from a paper M onsignor M innerath presented at the IRLA Conference

o f Experts, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain, M ay 1999.

F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS

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51
 Latin American Perspectives
on Religious Liberty:
Pluralism and Proselytism
Jose Camilo Cardoso

General Director, National Registry o f Religions

Ministry o f Foreign Affairs o f Argentina
Buenos Aires

General Considerations. The majority o f religions or beliefs

is immersed in a sense o f the unity o f the human race. But history
provides more examples o f m an’s inhumanity to man than o f his
kindness in the treatment o f others. In some periods, organized re­
ligions have displayed extreme intolerance, denied human liberties,
and curtailed freedom o f thought. Many atrocities and excesses
have taken place in the name o f religion. Such manifestations o f
intolerance on the part o f organized religions or beliefs are usually
the result o f traditions, practices, and interpretations which have
formed around them. The followers o f a particular religion or
belief may consider themselves the only depositary o f truth.
Therefore, they believe, it is their duty to attack other religions.
This being the case, it is important to underline that the dignity
o f man is claimed to a greater degree by those who demand free­
dom— including religious freedom— for every human being.
Religious liberty must be a part o f life itself and the basis o f all other
fundamental rights. True religious liberty respects the most reserved
spheres o f a person’s privacy and autonomy. Man has the right to
search for religious truth. In this search, he may make mistakes, he
may fall into error, or he may simply choose to remain in doubt.
Regardless, he is morally obligated to follow the voice o f conscience.
As a personal human right, the practice o f a religion or belief
supersedes the rights o f the state. Far from hindering or obstructing
a person’s religious practice, the state must actually protect the
person in his religious practice, for this is one o f the purposes for
which the state is established.
International law has acknowledged the right to free exercise
o f religion since at least 1648 and the signing o f the Peace o f
Westphalia. In subsequent centuries this right has received protec­
ID E S ET
it

IB ER TA S tion in various ordinances. More significantly, it has been incorpo­

r

2000 rated into the constitutions o f many democratic states.

52
 The arena o f religious liberty now transcends national fron­
tiers. The limitation or restriction o f a religious group in one coun­
try may impact other groups in other countries. When, for
example, a religious community predominates in one nation, that
community might be a minority in another. This reality must be
considered within any schema o f pluralistic reciprocity. This is
why any solution must be a global solution.

Volatile Church-State Relationships in Latin America. We

should note first the volatility o f church-state relationships in Latin
America— relationships sometimes marked by violence, as in
Mexico. During the latter part o f the 19th century, various coun­
tries (among which Ecuador, Haiti, Brazil, and Colombia) were
able to sign concordats with the Holy See. But others (including
Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay) were unsuccessful.

Religious Liberty Legislation in Latin America. The consti­

tution o f Costa Rica alone places no restrictions on religious lib­
erty. Other countries— Argentina, Paraguay, and Peru, to cite just
three— give the Roman Catholic Church special mention in their
constitutions. Since 1980, however, when Spain adopted its
Organic Law o f Religious Liberty, some o f the Latin American
democracies have proposed new legislation.
Mexico deserves special consideration. To implement the con­
stitutional reforms o f January 1992, the Law o f Religious
Associations and Public Cults was enacted the same year. But reli­
gious freedom was still non-existent. Subsequently the Law o f
Religious Liberty was promulgated— a law similar to those passed
in Poland and Russia as they emerged from communism. It—
• Prohibits non-M exicans from running religious associations.
• Restricts the political rights o f clergy.
• Prohibits religious associations and their ministers from pos­
sessing or adm inistering mass communication media.
• Restricts religious associations in possessing real estate.
• Limits worship in general to the interior o f churches or tem ­
ples. When, by special permit, worship is allowed outside, the ser­
vice must not be broadcast.
This law is weak on religious liberty as a concept, but for
Mexico it is an advance.
Argentina has, since 1990, debated religious liberty and the
need for a law which protects the existence o f diverse denomina­
tions. Government bills were not supported. But a newer proposal F I D E S ET
starts by delineating rights derived from religious liberty and goes LIBERTAS
even farther than international treaties. Regardless o f nationality,
2000
53
 the proposal seeks to provide for—
• Assistance to religious ministers in hospitals, nursing
homes, and prisons.
• Burial o f the dead according to confessional traditions.
• Public preaching without censure.
• Observance o f religious days and festivals.
Most o f these religious liberty-based rights are similarly out­
lined in a law Colombia adopted in 1994 and some o f them are
listed in a bill Chile is considering. The Colombian law and the
Argentinian and Chilean bills also enunciate rights pertaining to
churches and religious associations, communities, or denomina­
tions, with reference to internal organization, free and open com­
munication with members, designation o f ministers and other
religious personnel, establishment o f places o f worship, formation
o f institutes o f theology, and educational and public welfare activi­
ties. The Colombian law and the Argentinian bill also address pub­
lic health and the rights o f third parties. Argentina’s bill includes
the right to own cemeteries. In any event, the only limitations these
instruments impose on religious liberty are those imposed by stan­
dards o f public order and morality.
In Latin America, religion is an increasingly important com po­
nent o f society. It makes new claims, sparks new conflicts, and is­
sues new demands. In response, new legislation evolves. W hile the
states o f Latin America are basically secular, they can and should
be encouraged to support and promote denominations and religious
groups because they constitute such an essential and dynamic part
o f our societies.

Religious Liberty and the Argentinian Constitution. The

constitutions o f 1819 and 1826 and statutes adopted in 1815 and
1817 were opposed to religious liberty. But in 1853 the
Constitutional Commission o f the Constituent Convention debated
the concept o f religious liberty. Those who opposed lost.
Following the reforms o f 1994, the Constitution o f Argentina pre­
served (1) the right o f every person, citizen or alien, to profess
freely his or her religion; and (2) the principle o f privacy which
holds that “m en’s private actions should by no means disturb pub­
lic order or morality, nor prejudice a third party. M en’s actions are
reserved to God and are therefore exempt from the authority o f the
m agistrates.” A code was written to protect against any public ac­
tion or neglect which would alter, injure, or threaten rights guaran­
ID E S ET teed by the Constitution, determined by a treaty, or stated in a law;
1L J

IBERTA S and any form o f discrimination. The 1994 reform abolished the
140-year-old requirement that the president and the vice president

54
be Roman Catholics, and further, they are now free to take their
oaths o f office according to their own religious beliefs. (How an
agnostic or an atheist would be sworn in remains unresolved.)

New Religious M ovements in a Pluralistic Schema. Not

only in Argentina and throughout Latin America, but around the
world, we now note a degree o f uneasiness regarding the rise of
“free religious movements” or “new religious movements.”
Society often demands juridical answers to questions made worri­
some by politicians, legislators, and journalists who frequently ex­
press their opinions in ways that reveal a lack o f seriousness and
real preparation. The so-called new religions (pejoratively identi­
fied and differentiated by some from a state’s predominate histori­
cal or traditional religions) are also called alternative religious
movements, marginal religions, cults, or (worst o f all) sects.
Moderates prefer to use a term which is thought to be impartial,
neutral, and precise, but which is no less discriminatory: new reli­
gious movements.
In various ways and in various places, the secular world has
approached the “sect” problem:
• The 1983 report of the French prime minister (the Vivien Report).
• The 1984 report o f the European Parliament (regarding the
activity o f certain religious movements in the European community).
• The 1989 commission created by the Spanish courts to in­
vestigate the “phenomenon.”
The term “sect” presents certain semantic and epistemological
difficulties. It originates from the Latin sequi, sequere, sectare (to
follow, to separate, to cut). “Sect” refers to the separation o f a par­
ticular doctrine from a general doctrine. The word has had differ­
ent meanings in history. During the Apostolic period, it referred to
“Christians,” those (first Jews, then Gentiles also) who in follow­
ing Jesus Christ were separated from Judaism in general. Today
“sect” has many applications depending on whether the term is
used in a juridical, psychological, sociological, or theological
sense. In Latin America and in W estern Europe, “sect” is usually
used in a pejoratively discriminatory sense. Not necessarily so in
other regions. For instance, in Japan religions with origins in
Buddhism and Shintoism are often referred to as “sects” in a non-
pejorative way.
To avoid confusion, it is important to understand the perspec­
tive from which the issue o f “sects” is addressed. One might ap­
proach the subject from the particular perspective o f the religious F I D E S ET
believer. Or one might examine the m atter from the perspective o f LIBERTAS
the government: Relative to “sects,” what are governm ent’s limits?
2000
55
 what limits shall it set? what legislative action shall it take? But, as
a secular institution, the state must not act as a judge o f beliefs be­
cause this will lead to the curtailing o f religious liberty. Rather,
government must respect the nation’s religious trends including the
majority denomination, the historical or traditional denominations,
the minority denominations, and the new religions. All are entitled
to all the rights o f religious freedom which is the cornerstone o f all
human rights.
At the same time, no organization purporting to be religious
and claiming the rights o f religious freedom has any right to crimi­
nal activity. Groups which exploit religion for illegitimate gain or
violate the fundamental values o f individuals and o f society as a
whole are deserving o f a specifically penal reproach. It is simply
untrue to state that society is defenseless before the advance o f reli­
gious or pseudo-religious organizations which resort to criminal ac­
tivity. There are laws which, if appropriately applied, are sufficient
for a legitimate response to the majority o f cases. So then, within
carefully drawn parameters, the state may seek to identify the be­
haviors frequently related to certain religious organizations. Do the
behaviors contravene the juridical values the state should protect?
Do the behaviors in fact violate religious liberty? (Some religious
groups are known to block complete liberty for their members.)
Certainly such state action is critical. Consider, for example, a
group o f persons living in a house, secluded, without exterior con­
tact, sharing their time in prayer and in works for the benefit o f the
world outside their doors— works for which the members o f the
group receive no remuneration. We could be looking at a strange
cult o f fanatics— or a venerable community o f monks.

Limitations of Criminal Law Relative to the Issue of Sects.

Argentina’s penal code lists crimes that are regularly attributed to
religious organizations. Among them are—
• A ssault and battery (“to harm a person’s body or health”):
Applicable to sects whose actions cause or result in malnutrition or
psychological damage.
• Violation (including “intimidation o f the victim”): When
committed by a priest or other religious leader, it may have an ag­
gravating effect.
• Promotion or provision o f prostitution; corruption o f a
minor: These offenses become aggravated when they involve coer­
cion, intimidation, or misuse o f authority; or when the offender is
F I D E S ET the victim ’s guardian or teacher.
L IBERTA S • Slavery.

2000 • Deprivation o f personal freedom: Penalties may be in-

56
creased when it is committed by threat or “with religious objec­
tives,’’ or by an individual to whom the victim owes a particular re­
spect; or when the deprivation continues for more than one month;
or when the victim, or a third party, is obliged to do or not to do or
to tolerate something against his or her will.
• Abduction o f a person (kidnaping).
• Interception o f correspondence: Sects are often accused of
isolating their followers and preventing them from communicating
with relatives and friends outside the group.
• Public disturbance: The code specifically considers the dis­
turbance o f worship services.
• Fraud: The swindling o f followers to deprive them o f their
possessions.
• Illegal practice o f medicine.
• Cruelty to animals.
• Usurpation o f authority, honors, or titles: Committed by
phony religious ministers.
• Use, possession, distribution, or production o f narcotics.
1 would point out that among the juridical values Argentina’s
present code seeks to protect, there is one unstated fundamental
value which many religious groups violate directly: religious liberty.
Recognizing that being “religious” is not a societal negative,
but a positive, it follows that religious expression and religious
manifestation ought to be protected in a special way. Offenses
against them deserve a greater penalty. We protect artistic, cultural,
and historical values. Religious values should also be protected.

Proposed Penal Code Revision. In June o f 1995 the

Executive Branch o f the Argentinian government sent Congress a
new bill specifically crafted to protect, without exception, religious
liberty in general and freedom o f worship in particular. If passed,
the bill would penalize anyone who—
• Impedes a person from practicing his or her faith or attend­
ing worship services.
• Compels a person to cease practicing his or her faith or
attending worship services.
• Forces a person to accept or to renounce a religious denomi­
nation.
• Assaults a minister while he is fulfilling the functions o f his
or her office.
• Impedes or disturbs a religious ceremony or a funeral.
• Profanes a worship place or a sacred object or vandalizes a F I D E S ET
sepulcher, grave, or corpse. LIBERTAS
These offenses would be deemed aggravated if committed by
2000
57
 religious ministers o f any denomination.
The bill directed the setup o f an efficient mechanism for the
protection o f religious liberty. It defined the governm ent’s relation­
ship with churches, denominations, and religious communities. It
guaranteed, and then applied, principles and rights delineated in
the Constitution and in the international instruments ratified by
Argentina: the Pact o f San Jose (Costa Rica); the International
Covenant o f Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966); the
International Covenant o f Civil and Political Rights (1966); the
Convention on the Rights o f the Child (1989); and the United
Nations Declaration on the Elimination o f All Forms o f Intolerance
and Discrimination Based on Religion or B elief (1981).
Remarkably, the bill omitted all references to “sects” on the
premise that there is no juridical definition o f what the term really
means. Finally, the bill called for the government to replace the ex­
isting system o f obligatory registration o f religious denominations
with voluntary registration.
Unfortunately, by M arch o f 1997 it had failed to gam er any
Congressional support.

Proselytism and Inter-Confessional Relations. Mutual re­

spect and continuing dialogue are the fundamental principles of
cordial inter-confessional relationships. Proselytism— the activity
o f one religious community seeking and acquiring new members
from another community— is an issue that strains inter-confes-
sional relations. But every religious organization should recognize
the individual’s right to choose or not to choose a religious faith, or
to m odify his or her faith. Here are some suggestions for reducing
inter-confessional friction resulting from proselytism:
(1) Only when the potential proselyte is fully informed on doc­
trine or ideology can he or she choose in complete freedom. Children
and youth must be given special attention. The right o f parental or
guardian intervention must be accorded particular importance.
(2) The denomination receiving a new member must be
hum bly mindful o f the personal effects this change may have in an
individual. The receiving denomination should resist arrogance.
(3) The denomination losing a member shall not condemn the
person nor act against him or her with animosity. The losing de­
nom ination shall, instead, evaluate every reason the person pro­
vides for this important change in lifestyle.
(4) No advantage, material or otherwise, shall be offered as an
ID E S ET inducement either to leave or to stay.
IL J

IBERTAS Tensions may rise among denominations over mis-perceptions

o f doctrinal requirements for membership. Here are some examples:

58
 (1) A church requires its adult proselytes to be baptized again
notwithstanding they were baptized as children in the former church.
(2) Some denominations hold that the marriage o f their mem­
bers to persons o f other denominations amounts to proselytism.
(3) The union o f certain oriental churches with Rome is consid­
ered by Orthodoxy to be the fruit of proselytism. Catholicism makes
the same point regarding oriental churches in the Orthodox camp.

Denominational Positions Regarding Proselytism. Accord­

ing to Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter Ecclesia in America, the
Catholic Church censures proselytism that wins people in ways not
respectful o f their liberty. In its own evangelizing action,
Catholicism asserts, such methods are excluded. Catholic evange­
lism is said to respect the conscience o f each individual. The
pope’s letter states, however, that the Catholic Church cannot view
with indifference the evangelistic advances o f new religious move­
ments in the Americas. These advances require the church in each
nation o f South America in particular to undertake a serious study
to discover the reasons why so many Catholics are abandoning the
faith. I should emphasize that the Catholic Church rejects all reli­
gious discrimination and persecution. Religious differences should
never be a cause for violence or war. To the contrary, the peoples
o f diverse denominations should be m otivated by their faith to
work together for justice and peace.
The Lutheran Church believes that proselytism (the calling o f
persons to become disciples) is essential to the identity and the
mission o f the church. And this is true independent o f the church’s
majority or minority status. The ecumenical character that marks
Lutheranism indicates it considers positive Latin A m erica’s eccle­
siastical and religious pluralism. People are free to respond to the
propositions o f a particular church without causing a confrontation
with other churches. In Article VIII o f the Augsburg Confession,
the Lutheran Church rejects the position that church membership is
a privilege reserved for those considered ritually and morally pure.
Lutherans question the concept o f the church as “granter” o f salva­
tion when it ignores community and social needs whose fulfillment
is intrinsic to the call o f the gospel. But they support the premise
that a church challenged by new religious ideas should revise its
structures, its priorities, and its methods o f communicating the
gospel. I would note here that the proliferation o f religions and the
success o f proselytizing efforts in Latin America indicate the exis­
tence o f a demand for the spiritual that is not being addressed ade­ F I D E S ET
quately. In the context o f pluralism, ecumenical Christianity may LIBERTAS
not meet all religious needs. Thus the Lutheran response seeks to
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59
 face this challenge not by blaming anyone, but instead by making
its message more accessible to the vast sectors o f society.
The Baptist term for proselytism is “evangelism.” Baptists ap­
parently distinguish between “evangelism” and “evangelization.”
The first represents the specific process by which the gospel is
preached to a person with the objective o f converting him or her to
Jesus Christ and thus gaining eternal salvation. (Baptists reject
proselytism that “buys” converts to their churches. On the other
hand, Baptist churches have historically resisted the manipulation
o f their own members by other organizations seeking converts.)
Evangelization stands for a more involved process which includes
the action and the testimony o f either or both individuals and
churches as they relate to the world. It is common for each Baptist
church to sponsor activities, campaigns, and programs to promote
an evangelistic spirit among the believers and in the community.
To accomplish the same purpose, associations, or conventions, o f
Baptist churches evangelize on a regional or national scale. In
1998 the president o f the Baptist W orld Alliance, Dr. Fanini, and
the BW A ’s general secretary, Dr. Denton Lotz, were able to meet
with Pope John Paul II who was visiting Argentina at the same
time. The pontiff asked the Baptists to exclude Latin America from
their evangelistic efforts because, according to the pope’s defini­
tion, Latin America is a Catholic continent. In response. Dr. Fanini
noted that most Latin Americans are indeed Catholics, but in name
only; thus they do no justice to their declaration o f faith, but actu­
ally live as unbelievers. Dr. Fanini expressed the view that Latin
America cannot be identified as either a Catholic continent or an
evangelized continent, but a continent with a great need to hear and
respond to the message o f Jesus Christ.
We turn now to Judaism. Its attitude toward proselytism
ranges from total opposition to full support. W hen Rom e’s
Christian emperors executed converts to Judaism, proselytism was
dangerous not only for the Jewish convert but also for the Jewish
community at large. Now new factors have entered the situation.
The risks that accompanied conversions in times past have largely
disappeared. As in ancient times, Jews still demonstrate their soli­
darity and understanding with every person searching for answers
to the basic questions o f life and faith— questions that may not be
answered by the religion o f the person’s parents. It would seem,
however, that most converts to Judaism are motivated more by the
desire to marry a Jew than by religious conviction itself. Are such
ID E S ET conversions valid? The general practice is to accept them as long
IL J

IBERTAS as there is some indication during preparatory studies o f a sincere

2000 desire to embrace Judaism. Experience shows that many such con­

60
verts reach a level o f devotion to the faith even greater than those
bom in it. Orthodox Judaism recognizes the authority o f Israel’s
Superior Rabbinate and its court which, regarding conversions,
have set precise regulations as well as general criteria to be consid­
ered by the various rabbinates throughout the Jewish diaspora. The
recommended approach calls for converts to Judaism to be pre­
pared in Israel itself. Living with adoptive families, the proselytes
leam the Hebrew language and absorb the traditions o f the Jewish
people. 1 must note that Argentina’s Jewish community maintains a
significant social presence in the nation. The Jewish population is
smaller in other South American countries.
From the end o f the 19th century onward, Muslim immigra­
tion has resulted in the dissemination, establishment, and stability
o f Islam in Latin America. Since the 1970s Islamic proselytism has
enjoyed a more accommodating atmosphere.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church supports the concept that
proselytism should not be used as a verbal weapon in religious
wars against other denominations— wars marked by dispute, divi­
sion, and malice. It asserts that the employment o f false and intimi­
dating methods o f evangelism represents the corruption of
legitimate witness and an immoral abuse o f religious liberty.
Additionally, the Adventist Church believes government is not
competent to decide if its testimony or witness is valid, unless, o f
course, its methods o f evangelism are shown to violate non-reli­
gious legal norms such as laws against defamation and disturbance
o f the peace.
In Argentina and throughout Latin America, members o f the
Church o f Jesus Christ o f Latter Day Saints conduct missionary
work. The main function o f M ormon missionaries is to give to oth­
ers a personal testimony o f Jesus Christ, encouraging them to turn
to God and become a part o f G od’s family— and this work pro­
duces the majority o f converts. To find interested individuals and
families, M ormons go from door to door. They also preach in pub­
lic plazas and other places.

Challenges to Proselytism in the 21st Century. Proselytism

has to be considered a factor in religious intolerance. The term itself
presents difficulties o f interpretation. Each denomination has its
own definition, but may not appreciate another denomination’s un­
derstanding. For example, when a large religious organization
shares its faith, this is described as “evangelism” or “missionary ac­
tivity.” But when the same thing is done by a small group it is often F ID E S ET
accused o f “proselytizing.” In general, inter-religious proselytism LIBERTAS
refers to an individual’s changing from one religion to another or
2000
61
 from one denomination to another. Ecumenical proselytism is sim­
ply a call to follow Christ, irrespective o f denomination. I describe
sectarian proselytism as the acceptance o f an offer made by an indi­
vidual, or an offer based on Manichaean syncretism. Indeed, “pros­
elytism” has a negative connotation since it is usually associated
with aggressive campaigns to “win” persons o f other religions.
Proselytism, therefore, must categorically exclude—
• All forms o f violence and psychological pressure that tend
to diminish an individual’s personal judgment, free will, and full
possession and control o f his or her faculties. (But it is important
here to reference the degree o f abuse the mass media may inflict on
the whole business o f proselytism.)
• Every offer, open or concealed, o f material advantages, per­
manent or temporary, as an inducement to change from one reli­
gious denomination to another.
• Taking advantage o f the potential convert’s personal situa­
tion— his or her need or weakness.
• Utilizing a non-religious motive— a political motive, for ex­
ample. (In this context, a nation’s majority religions must not re­
sort to economic, legal, or social pressure to diminish the freedom
o f minority religions.)
• Every unjust and self-serving reference that disparages the
convictions o f faith or conduct o f other religious communities as a
means o f trying to win their members. (This is important: W e must
avoid comparing the perceived strengths and ideals o f one commu­
nity with the perceived weaknesses and lack o f ideals o f another
community. Every effort should be made to maintain mutually
friendly respect.)
Proselytism was at the center o f the 1972-98 International
Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue. It concluded that proselytism
exists because—
• There is no common understanding o f “church.”
• Both Catholics and Pentecostals have acted and reacted, at­
tacked and counterattacked. (Does not such behavior cancel any
claim to being members o f the unique body o f Christ?)
• There is no unity.
The dialogue’s final document described proselytism as disre­
spectful, insensitive, and unkind. Proselytism is something to be
condemned— at the least, avoided— because it is an illicit, unethi­
cal activity not to be likened to evangelism.
If this is a correct definition, then as time goes on, proselytism
ID E S ET itself may indeed constitute a threat to religious liberty and peace­
1L J

IBERTAS ful coexistence.

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62
 Appropriate Proselytism in the Framework of Religious
Liberty. Religious liberty is based on two fundamental suppositions:
• All human beings are equal. ( The corollary: All religious
beliefs and their associations are civilly equal.)
• Equality rules out all forms o f discrimination. (Therefore,
notwithstanding size or seniority, all denominations have an inher­
ent right to practice and to spread their faith.)
Accordingly, we must consolidate and strengthen the princi­
ples and recommendations recorded in the August 1998
Declaration o f the Oslo Conference on Freedom o f Religion or
Belief. (I had the honor o f being one o f the presenters at that con­
ference.) The Oslo Declaration is based on the United Nations
Universal Declaration o f Human Rights (1948) and the Declaration
on the Elimination o f Every Form o f Intolerance and Discrimi­
nation Based on Religion or Belief (1981).
I affirm the imperatives for concrete action to protect religious
freedom as stated by International Religious Liberty Association
Secretary General John Graz at the Bar Ilan Hebrew University o f
Buenos Aires in October 1998:
• In schools and places o f worship, promote religious liberty
according to Article 18 o f he UDHR.
• Cultivate tolerance and dialogue among religious denominations.
• Avoid stereotypes and generalizations: “All M uslims are ex­
tremists and terrorists.” “All Roman Catholics are part o f the inqui­
sition.” “Protestants are really members o f dangerous sects.”
• Ensure that religious institutions and governments can ac­
complish their unique missions on the basis o f a respectful separa­
tion o f church and state.
There is in Latin America at this time a general determination
to legislate in religious matters. How shall laws include an appro­
priate interpretation o f religious proselytism without infringing—
even eliminating— the rights o f religious organizations, majority
and minority? Those who respect the fundamental liberties o f the
individual and recognize religious pluralism as “evangelization”
for some and “missionary activity” for others will insist that all
legislation must include three pillars: the religious freedom o f
every individual, the autonomy o f all religions as they relate to the
state, and for both, equality and fairness.

Translated from the Spanish. This article is edited and adapted from papers
Dr. Cardoso presented at Brigham Y oung University, Provo, Utah, U .S.A., O ctober
1997; and at the IRLA Conference o f Experts, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain, F I D E S ET
M ay 1999.
LIBERTAS

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63
 Proselytism in
European Union Law
Gerhard Robbers

Professor o f Public Law

Director, Institute o f European Constitutional Law
University o f Trier
Trier, Germany

I
(1) Proselytism is a “yes” and a “but.” It is a human right to
spread one’s faith. Everyone has the right to act according to one’s
belief. Everyone may speak freely about what he or she believes.
Everyone m ay try to convince others about the truth o f what he or
she says. Everyone has the right to gather new believers. Everyone
has the right to change his or her religion. All this is part o f reli­
gious freedom— a part o f it, but not all.
Without doubt, this is true within the European Union. Although
EU law has at present no direct, explicit provision for religious free­
dom, religious freedom remains strong in its legal framework.
Thus proselytism, as a part o f religious freedom, is rightly in­
cluded in the common constitutional traditions o f the member
states o f the EU. All m ember states protect religious freedom con­
stitutionally and throughout their legal orders. This entails the right
to spread one’s faith, to try to convince others, to gather adherents.
(Even G reece’s penal law against proselytism is no exception to
this fundamental law.) Moreover, undergirding the legal order o f
all the EU member states are the international covenants on human
rights: Article 18 o f the Universal Declaration o f Human Rights;
Article 18 o f the Convention on Civil and Political Rights; Articles
2 and 13 o f the Convention on Social, Economic, and Cultural
Rights; the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination o f All Forms
o f Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief; as
well as other international conventions and declarations addressing
freedom o f religion or belief.
Another important source o f protection o f proselytism is
Article 6 o f the European Convention on Human Rights. The fun­
damental rights and freedoms expressed therein form part o f
ID E S ET European Union law:
1L J

IBERTA S Everyone has the right to freedom o f thought, conscience, and

2000 religion. This right includes freedom to change his religion or be-

64
lie f and freedom , either alone or in community with others, and in
public or private, to manifest his religion in worship, teaching,
practice, and observance.
Clearly, EU law owes much to the U D H R’s religious freedom
clause. The wording is virtually identical.
Any draft o f an EU Charter o f Human Rights (a project sug­
gested by the ongoing EU presidency) will certainly include a pro­
vision for religious freedom as have all earlier EU declarations on
human rights. Failure to include such a provision would constitute
an unprecedented disruption o f constitutional history.
(2) No freedom stands alone. Every freedom is part o f a sys­
tem o f freedoms and duties. Respect for the plurality o f human life
requires limits to individual freedoms— to foster freedom itself.
The question in Europe is not whether there is freedom; the ques­
tion is where it ends, how it is balanced, what level o f importance
shall be attributed to any one right, freedom, or interest. The an­
swer must rise from within the systems o f traditions and histories,
sets o f values, ways o f life, emotions, fears, and unique experi­
ences o f a specific people.
The European Court o f Human Rights (which time and again
has held proselytism a part o f religious freedom, to be protected as
a fundamental right) interprets Article 9 o f the European Con­
vention on Human Rights thus:
Freedom to manifest o n e ’s religion or b elief shall be subject
only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are neces­
sary in a democratic society in the interest o f public safety, fo r the
protection ofpu b lic order, health, or morals, or fo r the protection
o f the rights and freedom s o f others.
Referring to the 1956 report o f the W orld Council o f Churches,
the European Court o f Human Rights distinguishes between proper
and improper proselytism. The latter is a corruption, a defamation,
o f religious witness. It may include the offering o f material or social
advantages with a view to gaining new members for a church. It
may unduly pressure people in distress or in need. It may even re­
sort to brainwashing (a crude concept) or violence. In general, such
methods o f proselytism are seen as incompatible with the ideal o f
respect for the freedom o f thought, conscience, and religion o f oth­
ers. (On this point, see the line o f reasoning in Greece’s Kokkinakis
case.) We should note, however, that offering a better life, materi­
ally or socially, is not, per se, legally improper. Indeed, a better life
may be the result o f adherence to a particular religion.
The European Court o f Human Rights is an international court. F I D E S ET
Its jurisdiction differs from that o f a national court. It has to respect LIBERTAS
different sets o f values, different experiences, and certainly different
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65
 human sovereignties. Wisely, the court has thus far recognized that
the process o f European integration would be harmed if it went too
far in imposing a legitimately debated set o f values everywhere
alike. Thus the court has consistently held that a certain margin of
discretion is to be left to the member states in assessing the existence
and extent o f the necessity to interfere in the right o f proselytism.

II
(1) W hy is it that, in many languages, the word “proselytism”
has such a bad sound? Why is it so politically incorrect? In
Germany and in many other parts o f Europe, the translation o f the
term “proselyte-making” is a four-letter word. This is certainly not
because o f a lack o f religious freedom, nor is it a reflection o f anti­
liberalism. There are historic reasons emerging from profound,
long-term experiences.
“Proselyte-making” carries the memories o f endangered peace
among religious denominations. It goes back to the religious wars
o f the 16th and 17th centuries that devastated Central Europe, leav­
ing two equally weak and exhausted churches. The precarious
peace that followed was established on the basis o f equality— on
the equal protection o f the two major religious denominations.
Catholics and Lutherans— with the Reformed Church being at­
tributed to the Lutheran side— gained equal right o f access to pub­
lic institutions. For example, each had the same number o f judges
on the em pire’s Supreme Court. This pattern was also followed at
lower levels o f public office. During the year 1628, set as the nor­
mal year o f equality, balance, and stability, those who were
Catholic could choose to remain Catholic or they could convert.
The same right applied to Protestants. Freedom o f religion was
granted in so far as public authorities could not force anyone to
change his or her religion. Accordingly, any attempt by either side
to “make proselytes” endangered the balance. It was seen as giving
one side an advantage over the other, thus threatening Central
Europe with the resumption o f a bloody war. In other parts o f the
Continent, everyone knew o f the danger. Ever since, the unity o f
Christianity has remained a major aim, not by making proselytes
and thus bleeding down the other side, but by uniting the confes­
sions as a whole through social change.
(2) And the social situation has changed, indeed. There is no
imminent danger o f a religious war between Catholics and
Protestants. But what about the Orthodox? Do they not actually fear
ID E S ET proselytism more than they do the real membership statistics of
IL J

IBERTA S other religious organizations? The Orthodox seem to see their own
2000 role in many o f the eastern European countries as quite different

66
from that o f any other particular religion in any other particular part
o f the world. Since the fall o f communism. Orthodoxy is one o f the
major ideological and cultural factors integrating those societies.
(3) To apply and implement international and regional legal
provisions on religious freedom in an adequate manner, we will
need to analyze the role o f religion in society intentionally and so-
phisticatedly. To ignore this need is to endanger the integrity o f a
culture, the members o f which may take as a threat to their pride
and power, even their very existence as a people. For a society in
search o f a new identity— uncertain and subject to being easily
hurt— will be the more sensitive to what, rightly or wrongly, it per­
ceives as a threat. Thus religion, sublime though it may be, remains
a major factor in uniting Europe. Orthodoxy cannot be excluded.
N either can Islam. The unification o f Europe is a question o f future
peace or future war— with war being the natural enemy o f free­
dom, the long-cherished value. Accordingly, we can never impose
values by force. They must be adopted by conviction.
(4) I once heard an Orthodox patriarch insist on the territorial
rule o f religion. Then I heard another ask him this question: “Your
Eminence, what would you answer to someone who believes God
has sent him or her to make new followers? Should not such a one
be free to do so?” The patriarch did not answer. Certainly he
should have been in favor o f freedom. But afterwards I asked my­
self: What i f someone really believes that God has sent him or her
to keep His flo c k and to accomplish this by excluding any mission­
ary offering new beliefs? Should not that p erso n ’s religious fre e ­
dom be the same? The lawyer has to find a way for both— for
peaceful and fruitful coexistence.
Proselytism entails a specific concept o f religious freedom
which can also be seen as a specific limitation o f religious free­
dom: It does not allow any religion to prohibit change. This limita­
tion is a serious matter for those religions which do not accept the
right o f an individual to abandon one’s faith and then perhaps
adopt a new one. Similarly, it is a serious matter for those religions
which hold that no one has the right to remain without a religion.
The theological precondition to the right o f proselytism is that
true belief and true worship is possible only by individual choice—
by the completely free will o f the individual person. There are still
many who believe that freedom is just another word for “nothing
left to lose.”
(5) W hen we speak about the free market place o f religious
ideas, we should be careful not to overstress words and pictures. Fl D E S ET
The market place too needs its own rules and structures, its unspo­ LIBERTA S
ken preconditions, its common consensus, its do’s and don’ts. In
2000
67
 the field o f religion, do we really want consumer protection laws?
fair competition regulations? anti-trust provisions? A free market
presupposes equal access to available resources, but some markets
seem to have all the money, while others do not have even a
chance. I would not be misunderstood. Freedom will flourish
where people believe in it. Implementing human rights means con­
vincing people, not controlling them with sanctions. Freedom be
the friend, not the foe. If ever freedom is felt to be a threat, free­
dom fails. Specifically, the way missionaries use their freedom
contributes to the way their freedom will grow— or cease.
(6) Gone are the times when human rights in general and reli­
gious freedom in particular were endangered only by the state, the
government, or some other public authority. The situation today is
more complex. Human rights are deemed to be under attack by
other powers— by groups within society. People correctly expect
government to be their ally in defending that which is right and
good against infringements by other people. So it is only a step
from this position to another— a position that asserts the right to
raise their children in their own religion not only free o f govern­
mental threats, but also free o f action taken by other religions
which might result in the alienation o f their children. Moreover,
some feel it is their right to maintain their religion free o f any per­
ceived threat coming not from government, but rather from another
religion itself—one that is rich and powerful and persuasively
tempting. To understand this does not mean to agree with it; to un­
derstand is just the first step in search o f a common perspective.
(7) Proselytism properly practiced is part o f religious free­
dom— a part not to be forgotten. Nor should it improperly prevail
or override other parts. Religious freedom is something broad,
something deep. Religious freedom means to pray and to preach, to
act according to belief. Religious freedom means running hospitals
and schools, to have one’s place in private and in public. It means
one who wishes to do so may live in quiet peace. And religious
freedom also means gaining followers, growing the flock. When
one decides to help religious freedom grow one must see on the
horizon the whole range o f possibilities. W ith regard to prose­
lytism, one possibility is the development o f a code o f conduct.
But for any such code to flourish, to be o f use to society for the
protection o f religious freedom, it must be developed by the very
people it will impact.

ID E S ET
|L J

IBERTA S Edited from an address Dr. Robbers presented at the IRLA Conference o f

2000 Experts, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain, M ay 1999.

68
Proselytism and Religious
Freedom in Spanish Law
Agustin M otilla

Professor o f Law
University o f Carlos III
Madrid

(1) Safeguarding the right to free expression of religious

belief and thought. This analysis o f proselytism and Spanish law
begins with the Constitution o f 1978 which clearly placed Spain’s
democratic values in the West. The safeguarding o f human
rights— freedom and equality for every individual and for all
groups— became, and continues to be, the main piece o f the politi­
cal system. Spanish law guarantees freedom o f expression in two
ways that provide full protection in the courts: Internationally
through Spain’s ratification o f the international covenants on
human rights— universal1and European;' and domestically through
the Constitution and laws and statutes. The Constitution assigns a
double role to the international instruments. They are part o f
Spanish law and as such they should be directly applied by the
courts and by civil servants (Article 96.1). W ithin the Constitution,
they also play an interpretive role regarding human rights (Article
10.2) because they have the same force as domestic laws and
statutes derived from the Constitution. This has the effect o f avoid­
ing contradictions in legal texts.
Regarding the issue o f proselytism, the Spanish Constitution
proclaims “the right to freely express and disseminate thoughts,
ideas, and opinions by word, in writing, or by other means o f com­
munication” and guarantees that “the exercise o f these rights may
not be restricted by any form o f prior censorship” (Article 20.1 and
20.2). In the realm o f religious belief, Article 16.1 generically guar­
antees “freedom o f ideology, religion, and worship o f individuals
and communities.” This right is developed by the General Act o f
Religious Liberty (July 5, 1980). Essential to the right o f religious
freedom are the right o f “change or relinquishment o f their faith,”
the right to “freely express their own religious beliefs or lack
thereof, [or] from making any statement in such regard,” and the
right to “receive and give religious teaching and information o f any F I D E S ET
kind, orally, in writing, or any other means.” Churches have the LIBERTAS
right “to promulgate and propagate their beliefs . . . ” (Article 2). 2000
69
 As with all other fundamental rights, the right o f religious
freedom does have its limits. Article 16.1 o f the Constitution states
a single restriction: It “may be necessary to maintain public order
as protected by law.” Article 3.1 o f the General Act o f Religious
Liberty treats the concept o f public order similarly to the interna­
tional covenants by defining the elements o f public order as “the
right o f others to practice their public freedoms and fundamental
rights o f public safety, health, or morality.” With regard to the
eventual determination o f proselytism as “illicit,” Article 2.1.b o f
the General Act o f Religious Liberty refers to the right “to be free
from any obligation to receive spiritual support or participate in re­
ligious services that are contrary to their personal convictions.”

(2) Punishing illicit proselytism. Through the centuries that

Roman Catholicism was the religion o f the state, the Catholic
Church, with state support, punished any person who held to a doc­
trine or a thought the church considered heretical— against the offi­
cial teaching o f the church. At the beginning o f the 19th century,
special courts continued to consider “religious offenses,” submit­
ting the country to a narrow view o f Catholic orthodoxy and clos­
ing it to liberal and secular views prevalent in Western societies
since the 17th century. The Penal Codes o f the 19th and 20th cen­
turies prohibited the expression o f doctrines opposing Catholic
dogmas. There was one brief exception: the Second Republic’s
Penal Code o f 1932. But during the Bourbon Restoration and the
regime o f General Franco, the Church o f Rome was Spain’s estab­
lished church. Accordingly, the state banned all public worship and
activities o f other religious groups. The Franco regime did not
count propagation o f non-Catholic religious views as a penal of­
fense, but as a misdemeanor against public order punishable by
fine. Generally speaking, until 1967 all external activities o f non-
Catholic groups were considered “illicit proselytism” subject to
governmental sanctions.
The first small recognition o f conditional religious freedom for
certain religious groups came when the government issued the
Religious Liberties Act o f June 28, 1967. It allowed external activ­
ities o f non-Catholic groups— including the expression o f belief,
but only with the limits o f Catholic dogma or morality. For the first
time, “illicit proselytism” was specifically defined and distin­
guished from “licit proselytism” as practiced by the non-Catholic
groups and now protected by the law. Article 2.2 stated: “Those
F I D E S ET acts shall be considered specially dangerous which, in any way, re­
LIBERTA S sort to physical or moral coercion, threat, gifts or promises, deceit,

2000 invasion o f family privacy, or other illegitimate means o f persua-

70
sion, in order to obtain followers for a certain belief or religious
group, or for the diversion to other religions or beliefs.”
Directly resulting from this new law was the creation and defi­
nition o f a new crime listed in the Spanish Penal Code. ’ In 1971
the Penal Code was amended in an effort to conform it to the 1967
Religious Liberties Act. A new Article 205 was enacted which set
punishment for “those who force or prevent the attendance to a
religious worship by threat, violence, or any other legal constraint”
(Paragraph 1) and “those who . .. use . . . threat, violence, gifts, or
promises, in order to obtain followers for a certain belief or reli­
gious group, or for the diversion to other religions or beliefs”
(Paragraph 2). The crime o f illicit proselytism as defined in
Paragraph 2 is thus a special crime carrying a higher sentence
against those who make threats or use coercion. Thus far, scholars
have not considered critically whether this crime, with few varia­
tions, is actually being perpetrated.
For certain, the Penal Code Reform o f 1983 provided for the
punishment o f the illicit proselytism o f “those who [using the same
means as referred to in the first paragraph: violence, intimidation,
force, or any other illegal constraint] force another or others to prac­
tice or attend acts o f worship, or to perform acts revealing the pro­
fession or otherwise, o f a religion, or to change their religious
beliefs” (Article 205.2). This last phrase— “forcefd] to change their
religious beliefs”— has been identified by scholars as “illicit prose­
lytism.” Regarding the “means” o f the crime (essentially they are
the reasons for legal sanctions), Article 205.2 eliminated the “gifts
or deceit” that had appeared in the 1971 version. Legislatively, this
must be considered a positive action because the inherent difficul­
ties in precisely defining “gifts or deceit” as a crime jeopardized cit­
izen security.4 In the opinion o f many scholars,5 however, the law
served to protect the individual— believer or nonbeliever— from
physical aggression against his or her freedom. “Violence” or “in­
timidation” must be understood in a restrictive way. So the law does
not cover eventual attacks on internal freedom by, among other
methods, mental control, the use o f narcotics, and hypnosis. This
then is a legal loophole. But these methods could be punished by
application o f the common penal definition o f “threats or coercion.”
Spanish society worries about the actions o f the “new religious
movements” (NRMs), often pejoratively described as “dangerous
cults or sects.” A common accusation against these groups is that
they gain followers by manipulation o f conscience. Thus the 1995
Penal Code, which already defined physical coercion as a method o f F I D E S ET
illicit proselytism, added provisions for dealing with religious LIBERTAS
groups which use violence and alteration or control o f personality.
2000
71
 (With regard to the earlier regulation criminalizing individual illicit
proselytism, the present regulation has not really changed.)6
Overall, the inclusion o f techniques o f mental manipulation as
forms o f criminal proselytization is remarkably important. It is clear
that this crime has its roots in the social controversy over “cults”
and “sects.” As Article 515.3 states: “[IJllicit associations. .. shall
be considered . .. fas] those that, despite having been established
for licit purposes, use violent means or personality alteration or
control to achieve [their] purposes.” But the wide meaning o f the
terms “personality alteration or control” places at risk the security
and the presumption o f innocence o f both individuals and groups. I
think that the decisions o f the courts will depend on the testimony
o f psychiatrists— testimony that tends to be variable and subjective
simply because o f the unmeasurable subject psychiatrists deal with:
the human mind. In the end, Spain’s courts o f justice will be the in­
stitutions that interpret these imprecise terms and apply the punish­
ment. Therefore it is important for us to consider now how the
courts have dealt with cases o f illicit proselytism.

(3) Court cases involving illicit proselytism. Without doubt,

there is one meaningful fact in this issue: Since 1971, when illicit
proselytism became a crime in Spain, there have been no trials and
no convictions o f any person accused o f compelling another person
to change his or her religion— to convert to a different religion.
Many are the reasons for this, but one is particularly clear: It is dif­
ficult to prove that the conversions were effected by the use o f
methods punishable by law: violence or physical coercion. There
just has not been enough time to discover if any NRM could be
convicted under Article 515.3. One can only hope that as society
continues to support court decisions based on fact rather than per­
sonal opinions about belief systems and to recognize the difficulties
inherent in proving the existence o f manipulation o f conscience,
that this “crime” will remain unprosecuted. Nevertheless, it is sur­
prising indeed that in certain cases, while the courts established that
religious leaders exercised mental control over and caused psychic
injury to their followers, the courts did not try the leaders, much
less find them guilty o f illicit proselytism, threat, control, or any
such crime, and hold them responsible for damages. In penal law,
psychic control is only taken into account in order to attenuate the
criminal responsibility o f an individual belonging to a religious
group.7 This principle is an advantage to a defendant who acted
ID E S ET under the pressure o f the leader o f a religious group considered by
IL J

IBERTA S society to be a “cult” or a “sect.”

2000 On December 21, 1989, the Barcelona Provincial Court con­

72
victed several male members o f the Rashimura group o f falsifying
a public document.8 In the Civil Register the defendants were
recorded as the fathers o f their children, but evidence presented
during the trial proved that the children had been conceived by the
leader, Rashimura. The court applied a partial exemption on the
grounds o f mental alienation and reduced the sentences. In the
opinion o f the court, “ . . . [T]he accused suffered what science calls
‘coactive persuasion syndrom e.’ Because o f the intensive teaching
to which they had submitted themselves, they had a highly altered
perception o f themselves and their relationship to society. They got
to that state through a program o f continuous oral instruction and
deprivation o f both food and sleep. All o f this significantly altered
their intellectual and volitional facu lties.. . . ”
In another case in Barcelona (July 16, 1990),9 the court ex­
empted members o f the Esoteric Research Center (the leaders of
which were imprisoned for “professional intrusion” and “coopera­
tion with crimes o f prostitution”) because o f “the situation o f abso­
lute dependence and mental control the CEIS leaders held over
them.” Said the court: “[On the basis] o f the most absolute mental
annulment through the use o f control techniques, it seems evident
[that there] exists the abuse by superiority as a coactive practice to
[convince] a person to prostitute himself.”
Among other cases is one from a Madrid court (October 31,
1990)10 which absolved two members o f the Church o f Scientology
of stealing. The court concluded that “the proven evidence . . . [is]
a consequence o f many crimes committed by individuals belonging
to Dianetics/Scientology and its affiliate organizations, resulting in
(as the witness in the oral argument has testified) not only mental
blockage, disconnection from reality, and rejection o f everything
foreign or external to the organization, but also bribery, extortion,
rape, sequestration, robbery, theft o f public documents, forgery,
confidence games, and false accusations and charges.”
The following observation, therefore, cannot be ruled out: In
these decisions the judges may have been influenced by societal
suspicions that at least some o f the new religious movements com­
pel totalitarian submission to the leader, gather funds by dubious
means, and use techniques o f mind control to weaken the will o f
their followers. Such suspicions do apply to the traditional
churches. Therefore they reflect prejudice. And if judges let preju­
dice influence their decisions, they are not impartial in their func­
tion. As institutions o f a secular state, courts are prohibited from
giving more or less judicial weight to the doctrines or beliefs o f F I D E S ET
some religious groups than to others. To do so can lead to deci­ LIBERTAS
sions that are not based on the proven facts o f the case. An exam-
2000
73
 pie is found in a Supreme Court ruling delivered March 27, 1990."
A male Jehovah’s W itness removed the blood transfusion line
from the arm o f an unconscious and hemorrhaging female
Jehovah’s W itness and prevented the hospital from further treat­
ment. The woman died. The court found the man guilty o f
manslaughter. But the court’s decision indicated that the judges’
consideration o f the belief system o f the Witnesses had prompted
mitigation: “The dogmatism and inflexibility o f their moral frame­
work . . . gives . . . an absolute value . . . over the freedom o f con­
science and the right to life. The radical [nature] o f these beliefs
that authorize the sacrifice of, or put at risk, the lives o f worshipers
. . . m ay provoke, and in fact has provoked, the loss o f the will and
the confusion o f the mind, and may lead to a situation character­
ized by a psychological disturbance that reduces the individual’s
capacity to be culpable.” In my opinion, the court’s decision was
based on a pejorative misunderstanding o f the beliefs o f Jehovah’s
Witnesses. Thus it violated the rules o f a secular state and the ban
against placing value judgm ents on citizens’ ideology and belief
systems. The logical extension o f the court’s decision is to con­
clude that every crime committed on the basis o f solid reasons of
conscience will be mitigated in terms o f personal responsibility.

(4) Final considerations on illicit proselytism as a crime. As

we have seen, freedom to express one’s own ideas is a right recog­
nized by Spanish law. It is in the Constitution, it is in the interna­
tional covenants ratified by the state. Accordingly, the Religious
Liberty Act states that divulgence o f religious beliefs is a funda­
mental element o f the constitutional right o f religious freedom. As
w ith other rights, it has its limits— limits which must be interpreted
restrictively and applied to the least number o f circumstances de­
fined by law. In order to safeguard the rights o f third persons not to
be aggressively proselytized, Franco’s penal code defined as a pun­
ishable crime the use o f certain methods to effect a change in indi­
vidual religious beliefs. The current Penal Code not only retains
that crime, but enlarges its sphere, aiming to combat the patterns o f
conscience control or manipulation employed by some groups. The
new Article 515.3 clearly goes to the repression o f the actions mass
media and social opinion attribute to “sects” and “cults.” It is clear
that Spanish law and international law intend to punish methods—
coercion, physical force, mind control, but not the spread o f ideas.
How then can we justify the existence o f the specific crime o f il­
ID E S ET licit proselytism as a more serious offense when compared to other
Ll J

IBERTA S common crimes?

2000 First, Spain would be guilty o f discrimination if it punished in-

74
dividuals for religious reasons more severely than it does for politi­
cal, ideological, or commercial reasons. In W estern society, we
know, for example, all about the pressures one can bear in order to
belong to a political party or a trade union, or to vote in an elec­
tion, or, simply, to buy certain goods. If we defend the freedom
and the autonomy o f the individual, every such violation in every
field should be similarly punished.
Moreover, from my own point o f view, the existence of a spe­
cific crime of illicit proselytism has other dangers and disadvantages:
(1) The present Penal Code o f Spain, following the European
C ourt’s interpretation o f Article 7 o f the European Convention,
says that crimes must be clearly defined by the law. There is no
doubt that terms such as “change the beliefs” or “illegal constraint”
in Article 522.2, or “personality alteration or control” in Article
515.3, give governmental authorities and judges wide discretion in
the application o f the law— and, therefore, great reduction in the
security o f citizens. We must think seriously about the difficulty in
drawing a distinguishing line between “an intensive apostolate”
and real mental coercion. We m ust clearly recognize the difficul­
ties inherent in presenting as evidence such indeterminate elements
as mental coercion and personality control.
(2) Within the law’s discrete use o f the terms, and under the in­
fluence o f public opinion that blames religious denominations distant
from Western Christianity, it is possible that judges might use the
crime o f illicit proselytism as the method o f stopping the spread of
NRMs in order to preserve the consciences o f the majority o f citi­
zens who belong to the traditional religious communities. We cannot
forget, as Iban has stated, that in Europe— and in Spain, “The one
who determines which are the beliefs that should not be attacked . . .
is a legislator— or, if we want, a judge, a politician, a society— and,
essentially, Christian. It is extremely improbable that he could be so
objective as to be able to give a different treatment to different reli­
gious realities based on their objective diversities, but on his subjec­
tive perception o f those diversities. This is a phenomenon we must
worry about with regard to the defense of freedom .. . . ” 12 We are
living in a social climate more and more nervous about the so-called
“sects:” Let us remember the recent parliamentary lists o f sects in
Belgium and France. I am concerned about the danger the “crime o f
illicit proselytism,” as it is currently defined in Spanish law, presents
to minority religious groups. As we have stated, it could be used to
value beliefs. Cases outside o f Spain prove this is a real problem, not
an imagined one. Most o f the countries that have enacted laws F I D E S ET
against “illicit proselytism” have established churches— and they LIBERTAS
have used those laws to protect majoritarian belief systems against
2000
75
 minority religious groups or denominations.13
(3) Since secular states ought not to indulge in value judg­
ments o f individual ideologies or beliefs, and since good principles
o f penal law hold that the least intervention is the best, reserving
only those measures absolutely necessary to repress criminal ac­
tion, illicit proselytism as a crime should just disappear. But if
these theoretical reasons were not enough, there is also a practical
argument towards the abrogation o f illicit proselytism as a crime.
In Spain the law against illicit proselytism has not been applied to
a single case in the 30 years since its enactment. The need for
Spain to have a realistic penal code should push legislators to re­
peal those laws regarding crimes that have not been committed.
Such laws have no use. The punishment o f the illicit conduct of
proselytism— the use o f illegal methods such as force and coer­
cion— should continue to be applied to common crimes without re­
gard to the kind o f idea or belief behind the conduct.

N otes and references:

1 The U niversal Declaration o f Hum an Rights w as ratified in 1950, and the ad­
ditional Protocols Nos. 3, 5, and 6 in 1963 and 1966. The International Covenant on
Civil, Political, Econom ic, Social, and Cultural Rights w as ratified in 1977.
2 Instrum ent o f ratification o f Septem ber 26, 1972. W ith regard to the
European Convention for the Protection o f Hum an Rights and Fundamental
Freedom s o f N ovem ber 4, 1950, and its additional Protocols Nos. 3 and 5:
Instrum ents o f ratification o f 1963 and 1966.
3 O n its history and meaning, see Perez-M adrid: La tutela penal del fa c to r reli­
g ioso en el Derecho español (Pam plona: Eunsa, 1995), p. 179; and Rossell
G ranados: Religion y jurisprudencia p enal (Un estudio de la jurisprudencia de la
Sala T del Tribunal Supremo en el periodo 1930-1995) (M adrid: Editorial
Com plutense, 1996), pp. 180,210.
4 See D e Otaduy: “La tutela penal del derecho de libertad religiosa,” in
Tratado de D erecho Eclesiástico del E stado (Pam plona: Eunsa, 1994), p. 535.
5 See Bueno: “El ám bito de am m paro del derecho de libertad religiosa y las
asociaciones,” in Anuario de D erecho Eclesiástico del Estado, /(1 9 8 5 ), p. 199;
Fernandez Coronado: “L a tutela penal de la libertad religiosa,” in Anuario de
D erecho E clesiástico del Estado, 7/(1986), p. 46; A gustín Motilla: Sectas y
D erecho en España: Un estudio en torno a la posición de los nuevos movimientos
religiosos en el D erecho español (M adrid: Edersa, 1990), p. 192; Tamarit: “Las sec­
tas y el D erecho Penal,” in A spectos socio-jurídicos de las sectas desde una p e r­
spectiva com parada (Vitoria: Onati International Institute for the Sociology o f Law,
1991), p. 243. On the contrary, see Lopez Alarcon: “Tutela de la libertad religiosa,”
in D erecho Eclesiástico del Estado (Pam plona: Eunsa, 1993), p. 557; López
A larcon: “Las sectas y los nuevos m ovim ientos religiosos (NM Rs): Problem as de
su tratam iento jurídico: Reconocim iento o prohibición?” in lu s Cononicum, 74
(1997), p. 480; Perez-M adrid: Op. cit. (in Note 3), p. 195.
F ID E S ET 6 N ew A rticle 522.2 o f the Spanish Penal Code states: “The following persons
LIBERTAS shall incur penalties o f four to six m onths . . . 2. Those who, through the use o f the

2000 sam e m eans— violence, intimidation, force, or any other illegal constraint— force an­
other or others to practice or attend acts o f worship or rites, or to perform acts reveal-

76
ing the profession or otherw ise o f a religion, or to change their religious beliefs.”
7 W e are talking about crim inal law because it is m ore relevant to the issue o f
illicit proselytism . But that does not exclude the incidence in jurisprudence o f indi­
vidual m ental control o f a follow er o f an NRM in other branches o f law. Thus, on
Septem ber 13, 1982, a First Degree Court, considering circum stances o f depen­
dency and lack o f individual autonomy within a group, annulled the marriage o f
two m em bers o f the H are Krishna m ovement: . . [W ]e understand there is a cause
o f nullity because o f the lack o f m atrim onial consent. In those m om ents the couple
w ere depersonalized and unable to understand and wish. T hey acted as robots w ith­
out critically evaluating how serious and im portant an act m arriage is, and with the
total lack o f freedom in their mental faculties to discharge their matrimonial
aims. . . .” See the decision in II Diritto Ecclesiastico, II (1990), pp. 329-333.
8 II D iritto Ecclesiastico, II (1990), pp. 314-320.
9 Ibid., pp. 293-307.
111 See the decision in the Appendix o f my paper “Grupos m arginales y libertad
religiosa: los nuevos m ovim ientos religiosos ante los tribunales de justica,” in
Annuario de D erecho Eclesiástico del Estado, IX (1993), pp. 125-131.
" Repertorio de Jurisprudencia Aranzadi, No. 2, p. 626.
12 Iban: “Tolerancia y libertad religiosa en la Europa occidental,” in Quaderni
d i D iritto e Política Ecclesiasitica, 1 (1997), p. 200.
13 For an exam ple in Greek law, consider the statem ents o f Judges Petit and
M artens in their dissenting opinions in K okkinakis v. Greece (European Court, M ay
25, 1993).

F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS

2000
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 Religious Freedom in Russia:
The Necessity for Stability
Vladimir Ryakhovsky

Co-chairman, Slavic Center for Law and Justice

Moscow

I am comfortable with the assumption that, notwithstanding

their different views o f religious doctrine, the readers o f Fides et
Libertas are basically one in the general understanding that reli­
gious freedom is a fundamental human right. But unfortunately, it
is necessary for us to repeatedly proclaim this principle. Here at the
beginning o f the 21st century, we must say again and again that
freedom must be protected.
Freedom is a gift o f God. Humankind was created free. It was
by the Creator’s own freedom o f choice that humankind was cre­
ated in the likeness o f God.
Freedom o f conscience is a gift o f God. It is neither a benefit
o f the state nor a present from a political regime. But protection o f
freedom o f conscience is a duty o f the state. No one need feel an
obligation to thank the government for his or her rights not being
violated. The government exists to defend those rights. If it fails to
do so, it is rightly described as a totalitarian, anti-people regime.
Freedom cannot be measured in terms o f too much or too lit­
tle. One cannot be relatively free; either one is free or one is not.
One cannot say that a particular group or people is free, or some
denominations are free, even when the talk is about the majority. It
simply means that there is no freedom for all.
Freedom is not only a right but a duty. In order for an indi­
vidual to have personal freedom, one is duty-bound to respect the
religious choice o f another even when he or she cannot agree
with it. If today a Krishna is persecuted and a temple destroyed
and I am silent because I do not accept the teaching o f Krishna,
or if today a Seventh-day A dventist church is dem olished in
Turkm enistan and I say nothing because I am not a Seventh-day
A dventist, then, inescapably, tom orrow I will be persecuted and
my chapel destroyed, and nobody will come to my defense.
History records many such examples. In Germany during the
F I D E S ET 1930s democratic institutions were destroyed one by one. This is
LIBERTA S why today I, as a m em ber o f a Pentecostal church, defend the
2000 rights o f Adventists. Their rights are my rights as well. This is

78
why I defend the rights o f the Hare Krishna. I cannot share in
their religious choice, but I do share in their rights for they are
mine too.
*

Let me now turn to Russia. In many ways stability in Russia

defines stability in the entire world. We have not forgotten how
during that period o f 70 years five-sixths o f the world viewed the
remaining one-sixth with fear as the U.S.S.R. tried to force its ide­
ology on everyone else. Remember the cold war? Remember
World W ar II when two totalitarian regimes did not succeed in di­
viding the world? This is why democratic institutions in Russia are
not only a Russian issue, but a concern everywhere for everyone.
And if today we talk about creating democracy in Russia, we are
not interfering in Russia’s internal affairs. Human rights and
human freedoms are not any state’s strictly internal affair.
As the 1980s ended Russia ended a period o f religious perse­
cution. M illions o f citizens o f my country were victims o f political
repression. For me this is not an abstract tragedy. Religious perse­
cution touched my family intimately. My father, a Pentecostal
bishop, was convicted three times for sharing his faith: once during
Stalin, then during Khrushchev, and again during Brezhnev. His
1950 sentence was for “expressing his religious convictions and
his doubt in the constructing o f communism in a socialistic vil­
lage.” My father’s life and experience predefined my own choice
o f a profession: defending the rights o f believers.
In 1990 Russia passed its first religious liberty law— “On
Freedom o f Religion.” In 1993 the new Constitution proclaimed
the principles o f freedom o f conscience and equity o f religious as­
sociations before the law. This gave a powerful boost to citizens’
religious activity. Many churches emerged from the underground;
new churches and missions were created.
But today we express our concern not only for freedom of
conscience as a principle, but for the fate o f other democratic insti­
tutions in Russia. Certain groups are striving to return the nation to
one leading ideology. Their method is not communism; it is na­
tionalism and the establishment o f one religion. In 1997 Russia
adopted a new act dealing with the freedom o f conscience and reli­
gious associations. M any o f its provisions are contrary to the
Constitution and to the accepted norms o f international law on
human rights. Furthermore, the “new” act contains other controver­
sial elements which allow arbitrary interpretations at the local level
o f government. Application o f this law results in violations o f the F I D E S ET
rights o f believers. At the federal level it is sometimes possible to LIBERTA S
resolve these contradictions, but out in the vast regions o f Russia
2000
79
 we are confronted by intransigent arbitrariness.
*
Created in 1998, the Slavic Center for Law and Justice com­
prises the Christian Legal Center and the Institute o f Religion and
Law. The main purpose o f the SCLJ is to defend individual freedom
o f conscience and to provide legal assistance to religious organiza­
tions. We differ from other Russian NGOs in the religious freedom
arena in that we actually litigate in behalf o f believers and religious
associations. In my role as co-chairman, I am a practitioner, not a
politician or a theoretician. The audience with which I am most com­
fortable is a jury. Let me report on a few o f our recent cases.
In the city o f Magadan, in northeastern Siberia on the coast of
the Sea o f Okhotsk, I represented an American Baptist missionary
accused o f carrying undeclared U.S. currency. In court he said that
due to the very serious criminal situation in Russia he was afraid to
declare the entire sum o f money. He stated that the funds were des­
ignated to finance the charitable projects o f a church in Magadan.
Ordinarily the fine for such a violation amounts to U.S.$10. But the
fact that he was a foreign missionary defined the undeclared money
as contraband. Carrying contraband is a criminal offense, punish­
able by a prison term o f up to ten years. I am thankful to report that
the court acquitted the American missionary. Also in Magadan, we
successfully defended a Pentecostal church three times in one year.
The local procurator (or prosecutor) accused the church o f using
hypnosis to attract new members, a procedure harmful to good
health. The absurdity o f the accusations was exposed when the
procurator declared that only if a person were under hypnotic influ­
ence would it be possible for him or her to choose a church other
than the Russian Orthodox Church. Some 600 members o f the
Pentecostal church then appealed to the U.S. Embassy for political
asylum. The accusations were subsequently withdrawn.
Although Lutherans have a 400-year history in Russia, they
have faced exclusion in the internal Republic o f Khakassia because
there the church is under 15 in years o f establishment. The local
procurators ordered the members to stop their missionary work.
They declined to do so. The procurators then requested the court to
dissolve the church altogether. The Slavic Center for Law and
Justice came to the defense o f the Khakassia Lutherans— and won.
For the first time a Russian has appealed to the European
Court o f Human Rights for her religious freedom. The case in­
volves a judge from the city o f Noyabrsk who was dismissed sim­
ID E S ET ply because she is a member o f a Pentecostal church. Russia’s
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IBERTA S Supreme Court denied her appeal for restoration to her position.

2000 The center will now represent her before the European Court.

80
 Finally, the Slavic Center for Law and Justice is planning to
open a museum o f religious freedom. Its purpose: To remind one
and all o f the dark pages in our country’s history and to warn the
new generation never to return to the past.

Adapted and edited from an address Mr. Ryakhovsky presented at the IRLA
W orld Conference, N ew Delhi, N ovem ber 1999.

F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS

2000
81
 Legal Provisions for Proselytism
in the United States
M itchell A. Tyner

Legal Counsel
International Religious Liberty Association

Associate General Counsel

General Conference o f Seventh-day Adventists
Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A.

Is there freedom to proselytize in the United States? The short

answer: “O f course there is.” But as usual, the short answer misses
some important nuances.
Freedom to proselytize involves at least two facets: the free­
dom to change one’s religion and the freedom to urge another, by
effective means, to change his or her religion. The first has long
been established in American constitutional jurisprudence. The
second is the subject o f ongoing struggle as it is far more threaten­
ing to majoritarian impulse and established interests.
No American law or court decision overtly states that
Americans have the right to change their religious views. It is an
application o f the entrenched principle that government must be
neutral in religious matters and must treat all religions equally.
Perhaps the earliest Supreme Court enunciation o f this princi­
ple came in a church property dispute where the court was asked to
rule as to which group constituted the rightful owners based on ad­
herence to true doctrine. W ay back in 1872 the court said: “The
law knows no heresy, and is committed to the support o f no
dogma, the establishment o f no sect.” 1 Religion “should flourish
according to the zeal o f its adherents and the appeal o f its
dogma,” 2 without the influence o f government.
In a 1944 case in which a man was accused o f fraud by dis­
semination o f religious doctrines he allegedly knew to be false, the
court stated:
Freedom o f thought, w hich includes freedom o f religious belief, is
basic in a society o f free m en. It em braces the right to m aintain theories
o f life and o f death and o f the hereafter which are rank heresy to follow ­
ers o f the orthodox faiths. H eresy trials are foreign to our Constitution.
F ID E S ET M en m ay believe w hat they cannot prove. They m ay not be put to the
LIBERTAS p ro o f o f their religious doctrines or beliefs. . . . The Fathers o f our

2000 C onstitution . . . fashioned a charter o f governm ent w hich envisaged the

w idest possible toleration o f conflicting views. M an’s relation to his God

82
 w as made no concern o f the state. He was granted the right to worship as
he pleased and to answ er to no m an for the verity o f his religious view s.3
In what has been described as its finest hour, from a religious
freedom point o f view, the Supreme Court, in the midst o f World
War II, held that children o f Jehovah’s W itnesses could not be
forced to participate in a pledge o f allegiance which they consid­
ered religiously repugnant. Justice Jackson wrote for the majority:
The very purpose o f a Bill o f Rights w as to w ithdraw certain sub­
jects from the vicissitudes o f political controversy, to place them beyond
the reach o f m ajorities and officials and to establish them as legal princi­
ples to be applied by the courts. O n e’s right to life, liberty, and property,
to free speech, a free press, freedom o f worship and assem bly, and other
fundam ental rights m ay not be subm itted to vote; they depend on the
outcom e o f no election.
We can have intellectual individualism and the rich cultural diver­
sities that we owe to exceptional m inds only at the price o f occasional
eccentricity and abnorm al attitudes. . . . Freedom to differ is not limited
to things that do not m atter much. T hat would be a m ere shadow o f free­
dom. The test o f its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch
the heart o f the existing order.
If there is a fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that
no official, high or petty, can prescribe w hat shall be orthodox in poli­
tics, nationalism , religion, or other m atters o f opinion, or force citizens
to confess by w ord or act their faith therein. I f there are any circum ­
stances w hich would perm it an exception, they do not now occur to us.4
A more m odern statem ent o f the right to change o ne’s reli­
gion may be found in the 1987 case H obbie v. Unemployment
A ppeals Commission o f F lorida.5 A fter w orking 2 / years for the
Law ton Jew elry Com pany, Paula Hobbie inform ed her em ployer
that she had becom e a Seventh-day A dventist and thus was no
longer able to work on her Sabbath— from sunset Friday to sun­
set Saturday. A lthough she and the store m anager were able to
work out a m utually satisfactory arrangem ent for coverage,
upper m anagem ent fired Hobbie for her refusal to w ork when
scheduled. The em ployer also contested H obbie’s application
for unem ploym ent benefits on the ground that she was disquali­
fied, having been discharged for m isconduct connected with
her work.
The case appeared to be controlled by earlier Supreme Court
decisions holding that one could not be denied generally available
governmental unemployment benefits because o f conduct man­
dated by or forbidden by religious belief. In Sherbert v. Verner
(1963), a Seventh-day Adventist lost her job because she would
not work on the Sabbath, and was subsequently denied unemploy­
m ent benefits because she was not available for work, as required
F I D E S ET
by South Carolina statute. The Supreme Court ruled that such a de­ LIBERTAS
nial was the equivalent o f a tax on her religion.6
In 1981 the court was asked to reconsider this ruling. Eddie 2000
83
 Thomas, a Jehovah’s Witness, worked for an Indiana steel mill.
W hen production slowed, he found that all remaining work in­
volved military armament— work that was religiously unacceptable
to him. He quit his job— and was denied unemployment benefits,
in part because other Jehovah’s W itnesses similarly employed did
not resign. Citing Sherbert, the court awarded Thomas the re­
quested benefits.7
In Hobbie, the state o f Florida attempted to distinguish the
previous cases by emphasizing that Hobbie was the “agent o f
change.” In Sherbert and Thomas, the employees held their reli­
gious beliefs at the time they were hired. Subsequent changes in
the conditions o f employment made by the employer caused the
conflict between work and belief. But, Florida argued, Hobbie’s
beliefs changed during the course o f her employment, creating a
conflict that had not previously existed and was not o f the em­
ployer’s making. In essence, she should be denied otherwise avail­
able benefits because she changed her religion.
Not relevant, said the court:
In effect, the Appeals Com m ission asks us to single out the reli­
gious convert for different, less favorable treatm ent than that given an in­
dividual whose adherence to his or her faith precedes employment. We
decline to do so. The First Amendm ent protects the free exercise rights o f
em ployees who adopt religious beliefs or convert from one faith to an­
other after they are hired. The timing o f Hobbie’s conversion is immate­
rial to our determ ination that her free exercise rights have been burdened;
the salient inquiry under the Free Exercise Clause is the burden involved.
Hobbie is significant because it involves something that gov­
ernments— and most other organizations— hold dear: the expendi­
ture o f funds. The right to change one’s religion is o f sufficient
value as to be allowed to trump an appeal to conserve government
funds. The first part o f the proselytization equation— the freedom
to change one’s religion— is secure.
The foregoing notwithstanding, another thread, constant in
A m erican case law on religious freedom, must be recognized. “The
[First] Amendment embraces two concepts— freedom to believe
and freedom to act. The first is absolute, but in the nature o f things,
the second cannot be.” 8 The second part o f the proselytization
question involves urging others, by effective means, to change reli­
gious views. This is “action,” not “belief,” and therefore not the
subject o f an unlimited freedom. How has this second part o f the
right to proselytize fared in American life?
A chain o f cases beginning in 1938 rejected numerous at­
tempts to restrict the sort o f public advocacy o f religious belief
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IBERTA S
necessary for effective proselytization. In the first o f this group, the
court ruled that an ordinance prohibiting the distribution o f litera­
2000 ture o f any kind is an unconstitutional abridgement o f the freedom

84
o f the press.9 The following year the court held that an ordinance
making it unlawful to distribute handbills on a sidewalk, street, or
other public place is unconstitutional.11
In its famous Cantwell v. Connecticut decision (1940), the
court held that a state may not unduly suppress communication of
religious views under the guise o f conserving public peace or de­
ciding what is a legitimate religion for solicitation purposes. This
decision for the first time expressly applied the Free Exercise
Clause to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.11
But religious advocacy did not always win. As W orld W ar II
began, the court ruled that it is not unconstitutional to charge a pa­
rade or assembly fee limited to the purpose o f meeting the expense
incident to administration o f licensing and the maintenance o f pub­
lic order. The authority o f a municipality to impose regulations in
order to assure safety in the use o f public space is not inconsistent
with civil liberties.1'
City ordinances designed to intim idate the dissem ination o f
unpopular religious opinion did not fare well during this period.
In 1943 alone, the court decided cases involving five such ordi­
nances. It held that an ordinance prohibiting the dissem ination o f
handbills on public property is unconstitutional;1’ that an ordi­
nance prohibiting all distribution o f handbills is unconstitu­
tio n al;14 that a state may not prohibit the distribution o f handbills
in pursuit o f a religious activity because the handbills seek to
raise funds in a lawful m anner, because, even if the ordinance
w ere non-discrim inatory, liberties guaranteed by the First
Am endm ent are in a preferred p o sition;15 that the mere fact that
religious literature is sold by itinerant preachers rather than
given away does not transform evangelism into a commercial
enterprise subject to regulation;16 and that an ordinance forbid­
ding door-to-door distribution o f handbills, circulars, or other
advertising m atter is unconstitutional.17
The court, in 1944, demonstrated one o f the reasons for which
religious freedom may properly be curtailed: the protection o f m i­
nors. It held that a statute forbidding boys under 12 and girls under
18 to sell magazines on a street or in a public place is not an un­
constitutional denial o f the free exercise o f religion.15 But it also
ruled that a flat tax on a minister distributing religious material was
not constitutionally acceptable.19
As the w ar ended, the court took up the question o f how these
rulings should be applied on private property. It held that the more
an owner, for his advantage, opens up his property for use by the F I D E S ET
general public, the more his rights become circumscribed by the L IBERTA S
First Amendment rights o f those who use the property.20 The court 2000
85
 also invalidated a statute prohibiting distribution o f literature in a
government-owned town.21
But not all methods o f proselytization are permissible. It de­
pends on the existence o f objective standards applicable to all appli­
cants and users. Many decisions through the years have held that
overly loud sound amplification by evangelists may properly be
curtailed. But, said the court, in the absence o f standards, an ordi­
nance prohibiting all use o f sound amplification equipment in­
fringes the right o f free speech;22 the lack o f standards in the issuing
o f licenses renders the practice open to discrimination contrary to
the rights o f both free speech and free exercise o f religion;23 and
ordinances which require that permits be obtained from local offi­
cials for the use o f public places are unconstitutional in the absence
o f narrowly drawn, reasonable, and definite standards.24 But an
ordinance leaving officials no discretion in granting permits for
conducting religious meetings in public areas was upheld.25
Basically, these cases state the law as it stands today: require­
ment o f a permit will be upheld if it is subject to objective criteria,
rather than leaving discretion to officials as to who may and who
may not be issued such a permit. A fee for such a permit is permis­
sible if it only reflects the cost o f processing the application, and is
not so high in cost as to make the desired activity impossible.
Religious activities must be allowed, but may be subject to restric­
tions on time, place, and manner. W ithin reason, the second half o f
the proselytization equation is also secure: religious people must
be given the opportunity to use effective means to urge others to
change religious belief and affiliation.
More recently, the court has narrowed the protection o f prose­
lytizing activities by allowing the prohibition o f the sale or distri­
bution o f all written materials on a fairground.26 Although it ruled
that an airport regulation banning all “First Amendment” activities
within a public or non-public forum is a constitutional violation,27
the court also ruled that an airport terminal is a non-public forum
where a ban on religious handbills and solicitation need only sat­
isfy a reasonableness standard.28
The challenges continue, especially for minority and/or un­
popular religions. O f the major religions in the United States, Islam
is likely subject to the most consistent manifestations o f intoler­
ance. In the late 1980s Muslims in Starkville, Mississippi, found
themselves with just such a problem. They sought to establish an
Islamic center for Muslim students in a residential neighborhood
ID E S ET near the university. In that zoning district, religious uses were per­
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IBERTA S mitted only by exception. However, 25 houses o f worship were op­

erating in the district, 16 as non-conforming uses and nine by

86
exception after the ordinance was adopted. The Islamic center was
the only applicant ever denied an exception. A federal district court
(upheld on appeal) found that the city could have no compelling
interest in denying this exception, while all others— all Christian—
had been granted.'0
In the small city o f Hastings, Nebraska, a zoning ordinance
permitted religious uses in residential areas, but not in the central
business district. The city justified the exclusion by its concern for
the effects o f non-commercial use on the vitality o f the commercial
district. However, many other non-commercial uses, such as a
Masonic lodge, Alcoholics Anonymous, and a pregnancy counsel­
ing center, were permitted in the district. Ruling in favor o f a
church which challenged the ordinance, a federal court noted: “It is
difficult to imagine how a church would displace commercial ac­
tivity any more than a second story apartment, which is
permitted.” 30 Unspoken was the reality that such an ordinance dis­
proportionately affects new religions which will seek to rent any
empty space, as opposed to those religious groups which are al­
ready established in their own places o f worship.
Perhaps the most flagrant o f such cases is that o f the Church o f
the Babalu Lukumi A ye v. City o f Hialeah. In Lukumi, practitioners
o f the Santeria faith leased land in Hialeah, Florida, and announced
plans to establish a place o f worship there. A regular element of
their worship is the ritual sacrifice o f animals. Subsequently, they
cook and eat the animals. Shortly after the Santerians’ announce­
ment, the city adopted several ordinances aimed at prohibiting the
sacrifice o f animals, but not other types o f slaughter. The ordi­
nances were ostensibly based on public health concerns. But the
legislative history and strained definitions in the ordinances them ­
selves tended to show that the regulations were merely a poorly
veiled attempt to keep the Santerians out o f Hialeah. Overturning
the ordinances, the Supreme Court said: “The neutrality inquiry
leads to one conclusion: the ordinances have as their object the
suppression o f religion. The pattern we have recited discloses ani­
mosity to Santeria adherents and their religious practices.” 31
Are these zoning cases really relevant to an inquiry as to the
freedom to proselytize? Yes, if such freedom really does include
the right to urge others to change belief and to use effective means
in doing so. How can an individual or group effectively do this if
kept from establishing a meeting place and conducting the rituals
o f worship, as do all other religious groups?
Perhaps the key is in the phrase “as do all other religious F I D E S ET
groups,” for therein lies a claim not just to freedom, but to equal LIBERTAS
freedom. That equality is something the city fathers— and mothers—
2000
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 in places like Starkville, Mississippi, and Hialeah, Florida, are evi­
dently still not prepared to grant. It is a reminder to all o f us who ad­
vocate religious freedom that the ultimate protection o f our freedom
rests not with courts and legislatures, as important as they are, but
with the understanding o f the governed, the people and their repre­
sentatives, that without both a societal and governmental stance of
objective equality toward all religions, we have, at best, a situation
where all are free, but some are certainly more free than others.

N otes and references:

1 Watson v. Jones, 80 U.S. 131 (1872).
2 Zorach v. Clausen, 343 U.S. 306 (1952).
3 U nited States v. Ballard, 322 U.S. 882 (1944).
4 West Virginia v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 1178 (1943).
5 Hobbie v. Unemployment Appeals Commission o f Florida, 480 U.S. 136 (1987).
6 Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963).
7 Thomas v. R eview Board, Indiana E m ploym ent Security Commission, 450
U.S. 707(1981).
8 C antw ell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940). See also Reynolds v. U nited
States, 98 U.S. 145 (1879).
9 L ovell v. City o f Griffin, 303 U.S. 444 (1938).
10 Schneider v. State o f New Jersey, 308 U.S. 147 (1939).
11 C antw ell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940).
12 Cox v. N ew Hampshire, 12 U.S. 569 (1941).
13 Largent v. Texas, 318 U.S. 418 (1943).
14 Jam ison v. Texas, 318 U.S. 413 (1943).
15 Jones v. Opelika, 319 U.S. 103 (1943).
16 M urdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105 (1943).
17 M arin v. Struthers, 319 U.S. 141 (1943).
18 Prince v. M assachusetts, 321 U.S. 158 (1944).
19 F ollett v. M cCormick, 321 U.S. 573 (1944).
20 M arsh v. Alabama, 326 U.S. 501 (1946).
21 Tucker v. Texas, 326 U.S. 517 (1946).
22 Saia v. N ew York, 334 U.S. 558 (1948).
23 Niem otko v. M aryland, 340 U.S. 268 (1951).
24 K unz v. N ew York, 340 U.S. 290 (1951).
25 P oulos v. N ew Hampshire, 345 U.S. 395 (1953).
26 Heffron v. International Society o f Krishna Consciousness, 452 U.S. 640 (1981).
27 A irport Comm issioners v. Jew s f o r Jesus, Inc., 482 U.S. 569 (1987).
28 IS K O N v. Lee, 112 S. Ct. 2701 (1992).
29 Islam ic Center o f Starkville v. Starkville, 849 F. 2d 293 (5th Cir. 1988).
30 C ornerstone Bible Church v. Hastings, 948 F. 2d 464 (8th Cir. 1991).
31 Church o f the Babalu Lukum i A ye v. City o f Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520 (1993).

Mr. T yner presented this paper at the IRLA Conference o f Experts, San
ID E S ET Lorenzo de El Escorial, M ay 1999.
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Missionary Activities:
Minimizing Adverse Reactions
Without Sacrificing Rights
to Manifestation
Jonathan Bonk

Director, Overseas Ministries Study Center

New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A.

Editor, International Bulletin o f M issionary Research

Here is the question: How can missionary activities be ad­

justed to minimize adverse reactions without sacrificing the
right to manifest religious beliefs and practices?

Let me begin by saying that the relationship between the state

and those who practice what has come to be called Christianity
has, since the very beginning, been a highly ambiguous one— rang­
ing from virtual identification o f church with state on one hand, to
church as enemy o f the state on the other.
I address the question as a son o f missionary parents— one o f
whom became an evangelical Christian out o f a Polish-Jewish-
Catholic-Pentecostal heritage, while the other came to evangelical
faith out o f a Canadian mutation o f Scottish Presbyterianism— and
as one who spent his formative years (until the age o f 16) in
Ethiopia (to which 1 return annually if possible).
I respond as the director o f a study center that, since 1922, has
been a temporary home to Christian missionaries and leaders from
every point on the ecclesiastical, geographical, and cultural com ­
pass. The persons who reside with us do so voluntarily, despite
sometimes formidable obstacles placed in their path by hostile— or
simply corrupt— states which demand proprietary rights on the
ways in which their subjects identify themselves as human beings.
I respond as the editor o f the International Bulletin o f
Missionary Research, a professional academic journal devoted to a
sympathetic yet objective analysis and critique o f the Christian
world mission. The journal seeks to be forthright about the failures
F I D E S ET
and limitations o f Christian mission, while at the same time ad­
LIBERTAS
vancing an appreciation o f the contributions o f Christian mission
to the world and its peoples. 2000
89
 I respond as a Mennonite— as one o f those whose theology,
history, and painfully personal experiences are the wellsprings o f a
profound agnosticism with respect to a state’s ability either to com ­
prehend or legislate on matters o f personal opinion, including reli­
gious opinion, no matter how well intentioned.
I respond as one who taught global Christian studies for some
20 years at an interdenominational seminary in Canada.
And I respond as a Canadian— a citizen o f a country whose
people swell with a smug sense o f superiority whenever they com­
pare their hockey players or their health care plans with those o f
their neighbor to the south; a people whose populism understands
the nation’s charter o f rights and freedoms, with its emphasis on
“we,” to be more communitarian, and hence more humanitarian,
than the perceived obsession with “me” in competition with “you”
espoused by the United States.
This background must be considered by those who read this
article because, w hatever m y contribution, however measured my
response, my perspective will be necessarily colored and perhaps
even distorted. For this I apologize, but I see no way out o f it!
Through long practice I have learned that it is much easier to pro­
voke than to enlighten. Accordingly, I will provoke. Provocation
produces sparks. Sparks kindle a flame. Flames ignite combustible
material to produce light— and heat, o f course. So then, I must ad­
dress some highly questionable assumptions that are implicit to the
question raised at the top.

Assumption 1: North America— especially the United

States— continues to be the heartland of self-assured Christianity
of the missionary variety.

This, in fact, is not the case. Christians number just under an

estimated 2 billion— about 33 percent o f the total population o f the
world. An approximate breakdown: Africa— 335 million; Asia—
307 million; Europe— 537 million; Latin America— 476 million;
North America— 212 million; and Oceania— 21 m illion.1

Assumption 2: M issionaries tend to be from North

America, and constitute the religious expression of its cultural,
economic, and military domination o f the world.

In fact, the North American component o f the global Christian

ID E S ET missionary force is a steadily diminishing proportion o f the whole.
li. J

IB ER TA S In 1900 there were an estimated 16,000 missionaries— m ostly from

Europe, Great Britain, and North America. One hundred years

90
later, the total num ber o f missionaries is estimated to be 420,000—
with only 12 percent to 15 percent coming from Europe and North
America. The Christian “center o f gravity” is no longer the West,
whose Christian confidence has been steadily eroded or at least
leavened by subliminal agnosticism.2 It is— and always has been—
the poor who respond to the good news. Christianity has never re­
mained healthily vigorous within comfortable or merely dominant
societies. It is a faith that attracts the disenfranchised, even as it
poses a threat to the vested interests o f the establishment.

Assumption 3: Missionaries are employees of corporate en­

tities known as mission societies.

In fact, the vast majority o f missionaries work more or less

spontaneously— as formal or informal extensions o f local commu­
nities o f faith, with little or no organic link to the European tribal
Christianity we have come to identify as the norm. Western cogna-
tive maps and vocabularies have yet to catch up with this reality, for
they often reflect the era o f religious triumphalism when missionar­
ies were Americans— or at least Europeans or Canadians— who
went overseas to the less civilized (now read, underdeveloped) parts
o f the planet. Thus to think that by keeping the more inflammatory
elements o f the Western missionary contingent under control
(through such agencies as the U.S. Department o f State) will re­
solve the problem o f proselytism is quite like imagining that popu­
lation control in India will be achieved by strictly enforcing laws
forbidding the marriage o f eunuchs.

Assumption 4: Missionaries are members of identifiable,

mainline Christian denominations and traditions, and as such,
can be specifically identified and enumerated.

In fact, most missionaries today derive from denominations

whose names do not appear in our most up-to-date encyclopedias.
They are lay persons, not ordained clergy, who tend to be associ­
ated with non-affiliated charismatic or Pentecostal churches.
Furthermore, the rate at which denominations are proliferating
makes any kind o f control— even o f the most draconian variety—
well nigh impossible. Governments might try to curtail the activi­
ties o f their own citizens by issuing various cautions, directives,
and stem missives, but given the tremendous diversity o f Christian
opinion, I doubt that such will work. F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS
Assumption 5: Christian missionaries get paid for what
2000
91
 they do; they do w ell by doing good.

In fact, most missionaries do not receive remuneration. Only

members o f those societies modeled after W estern agencies receive
more than a subsistence allowance, if that. Thus, if no one is pay­
ing the fiddler, he will call his own tune.

Assumption 6: Christian missionaries have a lot of

power— including the ability to coerce unwilling people to
become converts.

In fact, most missionaries— including those from the W est—

are persons o f moderate intelligence, modest means, and limited
dialectical skills. Most missionaries from the W est are not involved
in aggressive evangelism, but rather in serving churches already
established in the countries to which they have gone.

Assumption 7: Given the opportunity to make deeply per­

sonal choices affecting themselves and their fam ily’s cultural
and religious life, most people in the world are not capable of
making sensible decisions. State and/or religious officiaries can
best do this for them.

W hat an insulting, patronizing view o f human intelligence—

and one with which Christian missionaries have little sympathy.
Laws against proselytizing reflect an elitist view o f ordinary
human beings— the view that when faced with alternatives, human
beings deemed intellectually, socially, or economically inferior
will not choose judiciously; the view that authoritarian powers of
political or military ilk best dictate all such decisions.
I suspect that the word “offensive,” when used to describe
missionary activities, is simply code language to mask the syntax
and vocabulary o f stifling national, regional, or local xenophobia,
and that such xenophobia is not infrequently a reaction to both per­
ceived and real threats to the vested interests o f those who benefit
most from the status quo. A case in point from India: Laws de­
signed to curb Christianity are being put forward in the states o f
Gujarat, Orissa, and Uttar Pradesh. In Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh
converts will be required to register their conversion with authori­
ties. In Orissa, where in 1998 Graham Staines and his two young
sons were burned alive, persons will have to get official permission
F I D E S ET to change religion.3
LIBERTAS The fact is, most missionary activity— even o f the W estern va­

2000 riety— needs little “adjustment” since most missionary activity

92
causes no— or very little— offense to the local populace. One
Samaritan assisting a battered Jew by the side o f the road was ap­
parently offensive to the sensibilities o f the religious authorities o f
the time, but it was not offensive to the one being helped.
Now let me repeat the question:

How can missionary activities be adjusted to minimize ad­

verse reactions without sacrificing the right to manifest reli­
gious beliefs and practices?

Here are some tongue-in-cheek suggestions to policy makers

in Washington:

(1) Urge American missionaries not to behave as

Americans.

Observed Galbraith: “Nothing so gives the illusion o f intelli­

gence as association with large sums o f money.” Accordingly,
Americans tend to think that they must be right about everything.
So, urge missionaries from the United States not to behave like
Americans, with their inflated sense o f entitlement, their overbear­
ing sense o f superiority, their deplorable parochialism, their blatant
materialism, their incapacitating mono-lingualism, their cultural
boorishness, and the general way they move in noisy herds through
exotic lands, cameras at the ready. (The fact is, the many American
missionaries 1 know are, by and large, exceptions to these
American “rules.”)

(2) Either halt globalization or engage in genuine free

trade with no tariffs, no quotas, no economic borders.

Why? Because W estern missionaries are really little more than

the religious expression o f far more formidable forces o f global
transformation through economics and cultural destruction through
education (a term that now implies some variation o f Western en-
culturation). Western missionaries are like Sidney Sm ith’s “flies on
a chariot wheel”— unable to determine its motion, affect its direc­
tion, or dictate its speed.

(3) Perhaps the state could require some certifiable proof

o f cultural sensitivity.
F I D E S ET
For example, the completion o f a course titled Humility in LIBERTAS
Cross-cultural Communication. O f course this requirement would
2000
93
 be applied not merely to religious evangelists, but to all bearers of
American glad tidings— scientists, economists, corporate execu­
tives, politicians, and development experts as well.
Finally, for those still wondering about the role o f the state in
missionary activity, i.e., proselytizing, I suggest recourse to Lord
Macaulay, one o f England’s grand old masters o f the language.
Though it is obviously dated, his review o f W. E. Gladstone’s 1839
book The State in Its Relations with the Church, published in the
April 1838 issue o f The Edinburgh Review, remains salutary. I
highly recommend it!4

N otes and references:

1 The figures are provided by David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson in their
A nnual Statistical Table on G lobal M ission: 2000, appearing in the International
Bulletin o f M issionary Research, Vol. 24, No. 1 (January 2000), pp. 24, 25. Barrett
is the editor o f the W orld Christian Encyclopedia, first released in 1982.
2 See D ana L. Robert: “ Shifting Southward: G lobal Christianity Since 1945,”
in the International Bulletin o f M issionary Research, Vol. 24, No. 2 (April 2000),
pp. 50-58.
3 Reported by M anpreet Singh (in New Delhi) in Christianity Today (M ay 22,
2000), p. 31.
4 Essays by Lord M acaulay (Reprinted from The Edinburgh Review).
Com plete edition. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1887; pp. 490-524.

Edited from a paper Dr. Bonk presented at a Conference on Religion and

Foreign Policy arranged by the U nited States D epartm ent o f State, W ashington,
M ay 2000.

D E S ET
IL J

BERTAS

2000
94
 Fides et Libertas

2000

SPECIAL SECTION I

Guiding Principles
for the
Responsible Dissemination
of
Religion or Belief

International Religious Liberty Association

Conference o f Experts

San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain

May 1999

Las Navas del Marques, Spain

January 2000
 Guiding Principles for the
Responsible Dissemination of
Religion or Belief
PREAMBLE
W ith increasing globalization and growing interreligious and
ideological strife, a constructive relationship among religions has
become imperative. To deal with these issues, the International
Religious Liberty Association convened meetings and conferences
o f experts in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain in
1999 and early 2000, and adopted the following statement on spe­
cific points o f agreement.

Freedom o f religion or belief is a basic human right. Despite

the strong support given to this universal right during the past fifty
years by the various international instruments, beginning with the
Universal Declaration o f Human Rights o f 1948, and including the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights o f 1966, the
Declaration on the Elimination o f All Forms o f Intolerance and o f
Discrimination Based on Religion or B elief o f 1981, and the
Declaration on the Rights o f Persons Belonging to National or
Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities o f 1992, widespread
violations o f this right continue to occur and are to be deplored.

Freedom o f religion or belief includes the right to manifest

and communicate one’s faith or belief to others. Religions have
differing beliefs about how they should disseminate their convic­
tions. The question o f “proselytizing” or making converts in­
evitably affects interreligious relations. The term “proselytism” has
various meanings and connotations. To avoid ambiguity, hereafter
this document does not use it.

Accepting the increasing reality o f religious pluralism and

with the aim o f strengthening religious liberty, tolerance, dialogue,
and respect for equal rights for all, the Conference o f Experts sug­
gests the following guiding principles regarding the responsible
dissemination o f religion or belief. These principles have primarily
an ethical character and provide criteria to guide individuals and
ID E S ET
communities in their relations with each other. They also have rel­
IL J

IBERTAS evance for relations between religious communities and states.

2000 These principles are based on the dignity o f the human person and

96
the p erso n’s freedom to follow the voice o f conscience.

The conference participants are convinced that the observance

o f the following guiding principles is invaluable in enhancing a
culture o f peace, social cohesion, personal and collective responsi­
bility, and the upholding o f equal rights for all.

The conference participants hope that all individuals and reli­

gious communities will look at these principles in the light o f their
own beliefs and practices, and make them their own, thus being fully
committed to the divine mandate or high ideals in which they believe.

PRINCIPLES
(1) To teach, manifest, and disseminate one’s religion or belief
is an established human right. Everyone has the right to attempt to
convince others o f the truth o f one’s belief. Everyone has the right
to adopt or change religion or belief without coercion and accord­
ing to the dictates o f conscience.

(2) Aware o f their common responsibilities, religious commu­

nities should build relationships through contacts and conversa­
tions, manifesting convictions with humility, respect, and honesty.
Dialogue should replace confrontation. In witnessing to others or
in planning missionary activity, the inviolable dignity o f the ad­
dressed persons requires consideration o f their history, convictions,
way o f life, and cultural expressions.

(3) Religion, faith, or belief is best disseminated when the w it­

ness o f a person’s life is coherent with the message announced, and
leads to free acceptance by those to whom it is addressed.

(4) In disseminating faith or beliefs, one should be truthful and

fair towards other religions and beliefs. This requires comparing
the ideals o f one’s own community with the ideals o f other com­
munities, and not with the alleged failures o f others.

(5) In the dissemination o f religion or beliefs, both the rights

o f majority and m inority should be protected in accordance with
international human rights instruments which condemn all forms of
discrimination and intolerance.

(6) In referring to other religious and belief communities, re­

spectful and non-offensive terminology should be used. F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS

(7) Social and humanitarian activities should not be linked to 2000

97
 the dissemination o f faith or beliefs in a way that exploits the poor
and vulnerable members o f society by offering financial or other
material incentives with the intent to induce people to keep or
change their religion or belief.

(8) W hile the right to hold and manifest religious beliefs and
convictions is recognized, interreligious strife, hatred, and antago­
nistic religious competition are to be avoided and replaced by dia­
logue in truth and mutual respect.

(9) No one should knowingly make false statements regarding

any aspect o f other religions, nor denigrate or ridicule their beliefs,
practices, or origins. Objective information about these religions is
always to be desired in order to avoid the spreading o f ill-founded
judgm ents and sweeping prejudices.

( 10) Dissemination o f religious faith or belief should respect

the addressed person’s freedom to choose or reject a religion or be­
lief without physical or psychological coercion, and should not
force that person to break the natural ties with family, which is the
foundational component o f society.

(11) Using political or economic power or facilitating its

spread under the guise o f disseminating religious faith or belief is
improper and should be rejected.

(12) Responsible dissemination o f religious faith or belief

should accept that it may invigorate the faith o f the persons or
groups addressed, or lead to a free and unfettered choice to change
one’s religious affiliation.

(13) Bearing in m ind their responsibilities for the common

good o f society, religious communities should, where feasible and
in harmony with their convictions, join in efforts aimed at improv­
ing justice and welfare, and peace among peoples and nations.

(14) Where conflicts arise with respect to dissemination o f re­

ligion or belief, the relevant communities should consider entering
into a process o f conciliation.

International Religious Liberty Association

F ID E S ET Conference o f Experts
LIBERTA S Adopted by consensus January 29, 2000

2000 Las Navas del Marques, Spain

98
Disestablishment in Sweden:
A Reflection on the Development
of the Relationship Between
Church and State
Urban Gibson

Former president
Church o f Sweden Fund Stock Company
Stockholm

The title above states both the theme and the method o f this
article. My reference point is the changing relationship between the
State o f Sweden and the Church o f Sweden, the latter also known
as the Evangelical-Lutheran Church o f Sweden.
Christianity was brought to Sweden more than 1,000 years ago
by missionary monks o f the Roman Catholic Church. In the 16th
century Sweden became part o f the Lutheran reformation. During
the 1520s King Gustavus Vasa seized control o f the Catholic
Church and its wealth, even minting church bells into coins.
But some o f his successors, such as King John, his son
Sigismund (later king o f Poland), and Queen Christina (who con­
verted to Catholicism in the 17th century), sought to lead Sweden
back to the Catholic faith. The church remained, however, a solid
Lutheran state church from the middle o f the 16th century to the
beginning o f the 19th. Local parishes were given the tasks o f keep­
ing the public records o f births and deaths, educating the children
o f the lower classes, and performing certain other social services.
To this end, each parish elected laymen to a church board to gov­
ern these local activities. What was “church” and what was “state”
became very unclear.
Swedish citizens were not allowed to leave or remain outside
the church without leaving the country, the exception being
German and Jewish merchants who were permitted to build their
own churches and synagogues in certain cities. In 1726 Sweden
adopted a law prohibiting private religious meetings— the so-called
konventikelplakatet. The statute remained in force until 1868.
Challenges to the established church began to appear around
the middle o f the 19th century, inspired in part by Baptist congre­ F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS
gations in Europe and the United States and by the M ethodist
movement in England. W hen many local priests, especially in cen­ 2000
99
 tral and western Sweden, clearly showed their lack o f personal be­
lief in the faith they preached, people began to hold religious meet­
ings in private homes, sharing Bible study, prayer, and communion
w ithout the leadership o f clergy. Many lay leaders were severely
punished by imprisonment, fines, and even exile; many chose to
leave the country with their followers.
In time, the religious laws were changed to allow the activities
o f the so-called “free churches” o f Sweden. In 1860 it became pos­
sible to leave the Church o f Sweden for another confession. But
not until 1951 did Sweden adopt a law on religious freedom that
allowed people to leave the Lutheran Church without joining an­
other church.
The free church movement and the temperance movement
were strong forces for democracy and the rule o f law in Sweden at
the end o f the 19th century and into the early 20th. The members
o f these movements used their knowledge o f and experience in po­
litical life, nationally and locally. The two movements became
closely linked to the Folkpartiet, the Social Liberal Party o f that
period. The Social Liberals actually got Socialist workers elected
to Parliament before the Social Democrats were able to win seats
o f their own.
Up until the middle o f the 20th century, about 98% o f the pop­
ulation belonged to the Lutheran Church (in that period it was not
yet called the Church o f Sweden). Children were automatically
“bom into” the church if at least one o f the parents belonged. Most
children were baptized in the local parish church. Constitutional
law recognized local parishes as local authorities with the right to
collect local taxes.
In 1958, however, the first government study was initiated for
the purpose o f separating the Church o f Sweden from the state.
W orking for 10 years, the first committee prepared recommenda­
tions which were turned over to a parliamentary committee. The
latter group failed, in 1973, to agree on a proposal based on the
work o f the first committee. Just one member o f the parliamentary
committee, representing the Farmers Party (now the Center Party),
objected. O laf Palme, then minister o f education and church af­
fairs, did not have the courage to bring the recommendations to
Parliam ent because national elections were imminent.
A fter some time, discussions began within the church to allow
it to comment on the long-overdue reforms which the parliam en­
tary committee had failed to propose. The main goal was to give
ID E S ET the church a new structure at the central level. Welcoming this ap­
IL J

IBERTA S proach, the government invited the church to a four-year dialogue.

2000 In 1979 the government offered a proposal to the church’s

100
General Synod. At the time, the Social Liberal Party was in sole
power, but without a parliamentary majority. Presenting to the de­
cision makers a plan that would give the Church o f Sweden inde­
pendent status was a delicate task. The church would lose the right
to tax its members, but the government would assist in the collec­
tion o f membership fees. The Social Liberal government favored
the reform in the face o f much criticism from the local parishes
which did not want to lose the tax-collection role.
Reform failed again. Prior to the General Synod, a majority o f
the delegates supported a motion rejecting the governm ent’s offer.
Lay persons comprised the majority o f the opposition.
But Bertil Hansson, then minister o f church and community
affairs, did not want to give up the reform effort. He appointed four
governmental committees to resolve the issues that had prompted
the lay rejection o f the original proposal.
The first problem concerned women in the priesthood. Many
lay persons feared that an independent church structure would
overturn the 1959 reform that allowed women clergy. The problem
was solved in 1982 by a parliamentary decision reaffirming the
right o f women to become ministers o f the Church o f Sweden. The
wording o f the 1959 action was changed to deny ordination to
male candidates if they refused to cooperate with female priests,
including the administration o f the Eucharist.
The second issue solved through a decision in Parliament was
to maintain the existing protocol on burials even if the relationship
between the church and the state were to change. Burials have al­
ways been a parochial responsibility.
The third area o f contention was the keeping o f the civil reg­
istry, by tradition a function o f the vicars o f the local parishes.
W hen a person moved, changed civil status, or needed a birth cer­
tificate, he or she contacted the local vicar who determined where a
person actually resided. Any change in parish maintenance o f the
civil registry would have financial repercussions since local taxes
vary from parish to parish. Here, one o f Hansson’s parliamentary
committees proposed a radical change. The whole system was
transformed; registrars became civil servants rather than church
servants. But it took about eight years for this solution to be ap­
proved by Parliament.
The fourth issue was one o f law. A governmental committee
was assigned to amend the Constitutional Act in the area o f church
regulation without changing the formal relationship between
church and state (since such an attempt had just failed). However, F I D E S ET
recent changes in the Constitution on freedom o f religion blocked LIBERTAS
the committee from including paragraphs on church structure.
2000
101
 Instead (and as a temporary solution), the committee included the
old, basic church laws in the new rules o f change annexed to the
new Constitution. If the proposed reform program was accepted by
the church and Parliament approved, the result would be the much-
longed-for restructuring o f the central church organization.
The committee (of which I was a member) succeeded. Several
paragraphs o f the old law were deleted. Reform o f church struc­
ture, albeit only partial, was a big step in the direction o f freedom
from state regulation. The church now had a democratic central
structure. Still, the free churches, among others, immediately
heaped criticism on reform because it seemed to give the now offi­
cially-designated Church o f Sweden a stronger base for influencing
parliamentary legislation. Not many then realized that this reform
paved the way for, at a later stage, the cutting o f the ties between
church and state.
Reform commenced formally in 1984. The new central church
organization enlarged the General Synod from 96 to 251 persons,
representing each parish through indirect election. Each parish
elects persons who, on the diocesan level, elect the members o f the
General Synod. In turn, the new General Synod names persons to a
reform innovation, the Central Board (Centralstyrelsen). The gov­
ernment originally intended for this body only to draft motions for
the General Synod, but in reality, the Central Board soon became
the power center in the church, deciding matters previously han­
dled by the government— which nevertheless remained the head of
the church.
While this strengthening o f the General Synod and the Central
Board was taking place in 1984, eight non-governmental church
organizations, including Swedish Church Aid (Lutherhjalpen), the
Church o f Sweden Abroad (SKUT), the Church o f Sweden
M ission (SKM), the Parish Union (Pastoratsforbundent), and four
others, joined forces to form the Church o f Sweden Foundation for
Free Activities (the SFRV), an organization totally independent o f
the state. The SFRV is a service organization for parish financial
affairs and, save for parish priests who remain state civil servants,
for parish employees. The SFRV decided to use the Church o f
Sw eden’s General Synod as its own assembly and the church’s
Central Board as its own board. This meant that the synod and the
board could deal with both matters regulated by church law and
private matters at the same meetings.
This, then, is an outline o f the organization o f the Church of
F I D E S ET Sweden through December 31, 1999.
L IBERTA S The history o f church reforms was not complete in 1984; actu­

2000 ally, it had only begun. A few years after, a diocesan reform gave

102
the diocese the same structure as a local parochial association, with
its own synod and the bishop presiding ex-officio. The bishop and
the members o f the cathedral chapter (domkapitel) remained civil
servants. Until January 1, 2000, the cathedral chapter in each dio­
cese would decide in matters o f state church law— matters relating,
in the main, to the clergy.
A big step— some say the main step— towards independence
for the Church o f Sweden was taken in 1994 when Parliament, on
a proposal by the church itself, decided that Swedish citizens
would no longer become members o f the church at birth. Since
then, membership comes through baptism. But parents may request
their children to be “counted” as members in anticipation o f bap­
tism to follow at a later date. At the age o f 18, every individual has
the opportunity to decide whether he or she wants to stay in the
church, baptized or not.
In the late 1980s the government was ready to appoint a state
commission to determine the one remaining issue: the formal con­
stitutional relationship between the state and the church. But the
approval o f the General Synod was a pre-requisite before the pro­
cess could start. Synod members from three nomination groups
were more or less in favor o f a reform that would free the church
from the state, while others called for reform within the existing
framework o f church-state relations. The General Synod stipulated
that the state commission explore both options.
Some years later, the commission concluded that the old rela­
tionship should be discontinued. For the church this was an oppor­
tunity to become a real church— a church free from the state.
While the state had long wanted to change the church-state rela­
tionship through the political process in Parliament, every initiative
had been blocked by a majority o f the Social Democrats and others
who did not want to decide the issue until the synod asked.
The state commission was succeeded by a parliamentary com ­
mittee, i.e., a committee in which all political parties in Parliament
have a seat and voice. The majority report o f this committee stated
that “from the viewpoint o f the state, there is still reason to take a
positive view o f religious activities, partly because o f their impor­
tant social ramifications. This should be combined with respect for
those citizens who choose to disassociate themselves from reli­
gious activities. In contemporary society, there is no reason for the
state to favor any one denomination. On the contrary, the state
should remain as neutral as possible to the different denomina­
tions.” In the end, the committee recommended, and Parliament F I D E S ET
decided, that the Church o f Sweden be given legal status in its own LIBERTA S
right, affiliated neither to national nor local government. Its posi­
2000
103
 tion would be set forth in the Constitutional Act and in a special
Church o f Sweden Act. Parishes and charitable and parochial asso­
ciations would remain legal entities in their own right, but would
cease being local ecclesiastical authorities. Additionally, the
Religious Denominations Act provided that as o f January 1, 2000,
the Church o f Sweden would automatically become a “registered
denomination.” Other denominations were given the same opportu­
nity to acquire similar status.
The parochial tax o f former years has been replaced by an ec­
clesiastical charge, payable by members o f the Church o f Sweden
and levied through the regular national revenue system. Other de­
nominations may employ this method o f collecting membership
fees. In both cases, it is not a question o f state taxation, but o f re­
ceiving the assistance o f the national revenue system to collect
membership dues. The amount o f the fee is determined by each
parish o f the Church o f Sweden and by the national boards o f the
other participating denominations. The Methodist Church and the
Mission Covenant Church, for example, proposed a fee o f 1 per­
cent o f taxed income. O f the money thus collected, 30 percent sup­
ports central church administration, 70 percent benefits the local
congregation. Other denominations have different models o f col­
lection and distribution.
Church taxes for 1999 averaged 1.17 percent o f the taxed per­
sonal income. For many years wealthy parishes o f the Church of
Sweden have paid a solidarity tax based on 50 percent o f their
levied income. Solidarity tax revenue goes into a church fund to
benefit poor parishes including some building expenses. Thus up to
25 percent o f the income o f some parishes (the Stockholm diocese
and other large urban parishes) is shared with poorer ones. Some
call it a Robin Hood system, but it is likely to continue.
Each congregation among the free churches must now decide
if it wants to use the new fee collection system. Individual m em ­
bers o f the congregations have to agree in writing to have the
membership fee deducted with his or her taxes.
Under the reform actions, the Church o f Sweden retained its
property and the general mandate to provide burial services, the
latter supported by individual residents paying a burial charge
through the national tax system. Burials o f non-Christian citizens,
however, are no longer a diocesan responsibility, but are handled
by local parishes.
In sum, the few changes to the Constitutional Act and the
F ID E S ET adoption o f the two new laws replaced 1,200 paragraphs o f old na­
LIBERTAS tional law and governmental decrees. But in my opinion the re­

2000 m aining num ber o f paragraphs is still too large. The government

104
says the definition o f the Church o f the Sweden in the law corre­
sponds to what the church itself is saying. But if the church were to
change its identity so that the legal definition no longer applies,
Parliament would have to act— and this is not in keeping with full
freedom o f religion. Still, the changes in church-state relations are
so great and the overall results so beneficial that I, for one, am in
favor o f the reform.

A form er teacher and director o f the Swedish headm aster organization, Urban
Gibson has also served as m ayor o f a Stockholm suburb, vice chair o f the
Stockholm County Council, deputy managing director o f the Church o f Sweden
Publishing C om pany, and (for ten years prior to retirem ent) president o f the Church
o f Sweden Fund Stock Com pany. In various years since 1975 he has been a m em ­
ber o f the Church o f Sweden Assem bly and the church’s Central Board. This article
is edited from an address Mr. Gibson presented at the International A cadem y for
Freedom o f Religion and B elief Conference on Religious Pluralism in Northern
Europe, Riga, Latvia, M arch 1999.

F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS

2000
105
 The Rising Star
of Religious Freedom:
A Fundamental Right
in the 21st Century
Inaugural Address o f the IRLA World Conference
New Delhi, November 1999

Manmohan Singh

Member o f the Parliament o f India

New Delhi

I feel greatly honored in being invited to inaugurate the IRLA

W orld Conference on Religious Freedom. India has a unique tradi­
tion o f religious co-existence and tolerance towards people belong­
ing to different faiths. It is fitting that this conference is being held
in the capital o f a country which has allowed every religious tradi­
tion to flourish and has also provided shelter to those who were
being persecuted in the land o f their birth. Except for Con­
fucianism and Shintoism, almost all the well-known religious tra­
ditions were either bom in India or have made India their home.
Christianity, for example, arrived in India long before it reached
Europe and the Americas. According to popular tradition, St.
Thomas, one o f the original 12 apostles o f Jesus Christ, came to
India in the 1st century.
*

We are living in a world o f unprecedented change. Human

knowledge— particularly scientific and technological knowledge—
is increasing at a pace unthinkable only a few decades ago and rev­
olutionizing the very basis o f human existence by its ability to
harness nature to serve humankind. The saga o f m odem scientific
discoveries reveals how humankind, in a disciplined pursuit o f sci­
ence, has developed an extraordinary capacity to wrest from nature
truths whose application has greatly enhanced our capacity to sat­
isfy hum an wants. Properly harnessed, advances in science and
technology now make possible, as never before in human history,
the eradication o f poverty, ignorance, and disease from the face o f
ID E S ET
Il J

the earth.
IBERTA S
There is, however, a darker side. The power that science and
2000 technology has given us over nature has been won at a price.

106
Concern for the environment has followed hard on the heels o f
concern about the destructive potential o f weapons o f mass de­
struction gifted to the people o f the world by 20th century technol­
ogy. Moreover, the sheer rapidity o f technological change has
given rise to a num ber o f social and psychological problems which
make the m odem world, for all its technological marvels, an un­
comfortable and unfulfilling place to live. There is a growing feel­
ing that a society o f acquisition prevents human beings from
cultivating the warm, affiliative side o f human nature.
*

Scientific and technological knowledge has immense potential

both for good and for evil. For example, both nuclear physics and
biogenetic research give rise to profound moral dilemmas as to
their possible uses. But by itself science does not provide a moral
compass to guide humanity in making wise choices in the use o f
scientific knowledge. This is possible only when scientific progress
is accompanied by a mass moral awakening to raise relevant ques­
tions about the use o f knowledge. The enlightened notion o f man
as a creation o f reason, proportion, and decency is not adequate. To
guide humankind in a socially constructive use o f knowledge, we
need to develop a morally informed consciousness which empha­
sizes self-control and asks basic ethical questions.
For the discovery o f these moral values and ethical norms we
must turn to religion and spirituality. I do not here refer to any par­
ticular sect or creed, but to the eternal and universal religion which
emphasizes the essential oneness and unity o f all mankind. It is this
religious tradition which finds eloquent expression in ancient Indian
scriptures— to which Vivekananda referred when he said that in
India the backbone, the foundation, the very center o f life is religion
and religion alone. It is precisely this concept o f religion that
Gandhiji made the basis o f his policies, and, on the strength of
which, he wished to spiritualize politics. There are alternative spiri­
tual paths supported by different philosophical systems to guide us
in our quest for self-perfection and social good through a judicious
mix o f self-study, self-control o f body and mind, and righteous con­
duct. But basically, they all explore the same fundamental truths, al­
though they use different idioms. Spirituality thus becomes a quest
for inner and outer perfection, the better to face the challenges o f
life. It is a quest for a design for living— a design informed and
guided by divinity. This gives our lives meaning and purpose.
*

Religious thought has been a powerful factor in shaping the F I D E S ET

course o f human history. Now as never before, we need a new spir­ LIBERTAS
itual awakening to ensure that the increased material well-being
2000
107
 and leisure time made possible by science and technology are not
wasted in costly excitements catering exclusively to bodily desires.
Science and technology influenced by religious thought ought to
become the means to reignite impulses for both self-perfection and
social reform, including a reformation o f religious practices based
on the dignity o f the individual human being— on compassion, tol­
erance, gentleness, truthfulness, and non-violence.
I see religion’s key mission as contributing powerfully to the
evolution o f a truly universal human civilization based on both rea­
son and spirituality. Perhaps Einstein had this synthesis in mind
when he stated that science without religion is lame and religion
without science is blind. It should be the common endeavor o f
those engaged in inter-faith dialogue to develop a truly universal
value system for the guidance o f human conduct in the increas­
ingly interdependent world in which we now live.
*

We stand on the threshold o f a new century and a new m illen­

nium. There are exciting opportunities as well as enormous chal­
lenges. At such a momentous point in time, it is appropriate to
reaffirm the essence o f our unity in peaceful coexistence. More
than ever before, we need to rededicate ourselves to the goal o f an
open society committed to respect for all fundamental human free­
doms. Human rights in religion and belief have not been merely in­
tuited; they have been enunciated by every major community o f
faith. Throughout history people have made enormous sacrifices to
uphold the sanctity o f these rights. The state, society, and the indi­
vidual have distinct roles in preserving these rights. Promoting an
environment that is more explicitly protective o f these rights is ur­
gently relevant today— particularly so in the context o f incidents o f
communal disharmony that are erupting with terrible violence all
over the world.
Through specific international instruments, the world has
come some distance in its efforts to protect more actively the fun­
damental human rights to religious liberty and freedom o f belief.
And yet most o f these instruments have been only recently formu­
lated— in ju st over the last 50 years.
• On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration o f Human Rights.
• In 1966 the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights was adopted. It addresses civil, political, and social rights.
• In 1976 the ICCPR became a legal obligation for ratifying
F I D E S ET states.
LI B E R T A S • In December 1981, following 20 years o f preparation, the

2000 United Nations issued its Declaration on the Elimination o f All

108
Forms o f Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.
• And in 1989 the Vienna Accords strengthened the 1975
Helsinki Final Act regarding human rights in general and religious
liberty in particular.
*

I have cited the international instruments that emphasize stan­

dards for all nations, all governments, all religions, and all peoples
because they are the most recent developments and they are the
m ost widely encompassing. Let me note here that India, in its
Constitution and in its religions, provides one o f the finest exam­
ples o f commitment to and respect for the noble concept o f reli­
gious freedom.
Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-1675), the ninth master o f the
Sikhs, sacrificed his life in a defense o f the religious faith and free­
dom o f the Hindus o f his time. He challenged the authority o f the
rulers on an issue that did not directly affect him. Thereby he saved
Tilak and Janeo, two ritualistic symbols o f the Hindus. Such an un­
precedented act o f defense o f human rights was for what Bahadur
believed: the right o f everyone to believe and to practice the reli­
gion o f his or her choice.
Freedom o f conscience is a fundamental tenet o f ancient
Indian philosophy. It is indispensable to self-realization (moksha).
Religious tolerance as a value is deeply embedded in India’s cul­
ture and civilization. Mahatma Gandhi once said: “Hinduism tells
everyone to worship God according to his own faith or Dharma,
and so it lives at peace with all religions.”
In the preamble to the Indian Constitution, it is solemnly re­
solved to secure to all citizens “liberty o f thought, expression, be­
lief, faith, and worship.” In Articles 25 through 28 o f the
Constitution, freedom o f religion is a part o f the fundamental rights
guaranteed to every citizen. Under the heading “Freedom of
Conscience and Free Profession, Practice, and Propagation,” the
Constitution states:
Subject to public order, m orality, and health, and to other provi­
sions o f this part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom o f con­
science and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion.
The essence o f Indian nationhood can be characterized as a quest
for unity in diversity, peace, freedom , and harmony. Respect for the reli­
gious beliefs o f individuals is endem ic to Indian culture. Tolerance and
acceptance m ark Indian life. The cultural heritage o f this country was
conducive to producing G autam a Buddha, Mahavir, and Mahatma
Gandhi. Guru Nanak made a significant contribution to the concept o f
brotherhood and the right o f m an to live according to the dictates o f his
conscience. India’s long, historical past sparkles with the incidents o f F I D E S ET
m en and w om en who, at great personal risk and sacrifice, endeavored to LIBERTAS
preserve freedom o f religion, com m unal harm ony, and peace.
Unfortunately, the picture today is not so bright. We face grave 2000
109
 threats to these cherished ideals. The price o f religious freedom,
communal harmony, national integration, and peace is eternal vigi­
lance. To this let us commit ourselves. Unless the offensive is taken
to move public opinion to favor these ideals and see that they are
instilled in the hearts o f or children, the future will not be better.
Every legitimate grievance must be attended to. Justice and
fair play must define our national life. Regardless o f religious affil­
iation, every person must feel accepted as a full-fledged citizen o f
the country. Opportunities for personal development and contribu­
tions to society should not be hindered by caste or religion. These
principles underline the concept o f religious freedom, communal
harmony, and peace.
*

In the final analysis, let us not forget that today, as always, the
battle is for the minds o f men. Our youth must have minds which
are independent, free, objective, and devoted to the investigation of
truth concerning the issues that are ever before us in regard to life
on Planet Earth. Man must be free to seek his own destiny, to es­
tablish his own relationship and communion with his Maker, and
to follow the dictates o f his own conscience; but always in the
framework and full consciousness o f his place, role, and obliga­
tions in and for the society o f which he is an integral part, and to
the reality that the liberty and individuality he seeks must be ex­
tended to every other member o f the community. As stated in the
Declaration o f Principles adopted by the International Religious
Liberty Association, the spirit o f true religious liberty is epito­
m ized in the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have oth­
ers do unto you.
It is in that affirmation and commitment that we find the gene­
sis and the revelation o f communal harmony and peace. It is then
we shall see the evolution o f communities where freedom o f reli­
gion shall be both cherished and nourished in an atmosphere o f
mutual love and respect, where fellowship and service to others
shall flow like rivers, where everyone shall call our God, Father,
and his neighbor, brother. It is then we shall see and experience the
star o f religious freedom rise and shine in an atmosphere o f toler­
ance, peace, and harmony. All o f us have an obligation to work for
the realization o f this noble vision.
I take great pleasure in inaugurating this world conference on
religious freedom. May our path be blessed.

F I D E S ET
LIBERTA S Dr. Singh leads the opposition in the Raja Sabha, the upper house o f India’s
Parliament.
2000
110
Religious Liberty and the
Third Millennium:
A Baha’i View of the Turning
Point for All Nations
A. K. Merchant

Director o f External Affairs

National Spiritual Assembly o f the B aha’is o f India
New Delhi

Thoughtful commentators have written both negatively and

positively about the past millennium and, especially, about the
20th century. Some talk apprehensively o f the fall o f culture and
the consequent disappearance o f values, o f the loss o f the fullness
o f the inner life, o f a technological civilization facing an increas­
ingly serious crisis. A survey conducted by The New York Times in
April 1995 may be cited as a typical example. The newspaper in­
vited its readers to characterize the age in which we live. Common
offerings were what one might expect: “The Age o f Anxiety,”
“The Age o f Uncertainty,” “The Age o f Fragmentation,” “The Age
o f (Great and Failed) Expectations,” “The Age o f Disillusion (and
Dissolution),” “The Age o f Tribalism,” “The Age o f
Fundamentalism,” “The Age o f Deconstruction,” “The Age of
Greed,” and approximately 20 variations on “The Age o f
Eschatology and Messianism.” A few readers reflected their preoc­
cupation with “The Transnational Era” and “The Age o f
Kakistocracy”— government by the worst people. Editors reported
that the word “global” was very common in entries, as were the
prefixes “dis,” “re,” “post,” “cyber,’’and “fin de.”
On a more scholarly level, the eminent historian Eric
Hobsbawm titled his 1995 history o f the 20th century Age o f
Extremes. The book’s first major section, covering the years 1914 to
1945, is “The Age o f Catastrophe,” while the final section, covering
the last two decades, is “The Landslide.” Others deserving o f men­
tion who have written about present-day society as social scientists,
futurists, or historians include Jonathan Schell, Paul Kennedy,
Samuel Huntington, Alvin Toffler, and Vaclav Havel. In general,
they perceive the human species as moving perilously on the road to F I D E S ET
L IBERTA S
self-destruction, unable to control itself, and in dire need o f divine
wisdom and foresight— a need its psyche is unable to recognize. 2000
111
 Such writings in the media and elsewhere indicate the deep
skepticism and pessimism with which our age is generally re­
garded. They reflect, too, on the issue o f identity: how we see our­
selves as individual citizens and as a society. As Prof. Hobsbawm
puts it: “Since the middle o f the century . . . the branch o f the old
civilization has begun to crack and break. . . . The old maps and
charts which guided human beings, singly and collectively,
through life no longer represent the landscape through which we
move, the sea on which we sail. . . . We do not know where our
journey is taking us, or even ought to take us.” Here is the view o f
the Universal House o f Justice, the supreme governing council o f
the worldwide Baha’i Community:
Indeed, the world in its current condition has lost its bearings
through the operation o f forces it neither understands nor can control. It is
a period in which great dynasties and empires have collapsed in rapid suc­
cession, in which powerful ideologies have captured the hearts o f millions
only to expire in infamy, in which two world wars wreaked havoc on civi­
lized life as it was known at the beginning o f the twentieth century.
In the wake o f such horrendous disruptions, there have been unex­
am pled advances in the realms o f science, technology, and social organi­
zations; a veritable explosion o f know ledge; and even m ore rem arkable
burgeoning in the awakening and rise o f m asses o f hum anity which were
previously presum ed to be dorm ant. These m asses are claim ing their
rightful places w ithin the com m unity o f nations which has greatly ex­
panded. W ith the sim ultaneous developm ent o f com m unications at the
speed o f light and transportation at the speed o f sound, the world has
contracted into a m ere neighborhood in which people are instantly aware
o f each other’s affairs and have im m ediate access to each other. And yet,
even with such m iraculous advances, w ith the em ergence o f interna­
tional organizations, and with valiant attem pts and brilliant successes at
international cooperation, nations are at woeful odds with one another,
people are convulsed by econom ic upheavals, races feel m ore alienated
than before and are filled with m istrust, hum iliation, and fear. . . . This
calls attention to the em ptiness o f the m oral landscape and the feeling o f
futility deranging personal life.
[In fact,] a paralyzing contradiction has developed in hum an af­
fairs. On the one hand, people o f all nations proclaim not only their
readiness but their longing for peace and harm ony, for an end to the har­
row ing apprehensions torm enting their daily lives. On the other, uncriti­
cal assent is given to the proposition that hum an beings are incorrigibly
selfish and aggressive and thus incapable o f erecting a social system at
once progressive and peaceful, dynam ic and harm onious, a system giv­
ing free play to individual creativity and initiative but based on coopera­
tion and reciprocity.
A broader consideration o f history is needed to understand a
deeper truth: Humanity is subject to change, to development. In the
history o f human relationships, the most primitive stage is that o f
D E S ET
U. J

BERTAS
individual self-interest. This loyalty extends to the family unit,
then to the tribe. After the constitutional city states, there is nation­
2000 hood, whose culmination has been marked by the achievement, in

112
the case o f the majority o f the w orld’s nations, o f independence
from former colonial powers. Now we face the challenge o f the
last and crowning stage in our collective social and religious devel­
opment— world unity.
According to B aha’u ’llah, founder o f the Baha’i faith, the cen­
tral issue facing all people, whatever their nation, religion, or eth­
nic origin, is that o f laying the foundations o f a global society that
can reflect the oneness o f human nature. The unification o f the
earth’s inhabitants is neither a remote utopian vision nor, ulti­
mately, a matter o f choice. It constitutes the next, inescapable stage
in the process— a stage toward which all the experience o f past and
present is impelling us. Until humanity acknowledges and ad­
dresses this issue, none o f the ills afflicting our planet will find so­
lutions, because all the essential challenges o f the age we have
entered are global and universal, not particular or regional. Says
Baha’u ’llah: “So powerful is the light o f unity that it can illuminate
the whole earth;” and, “The well-being o f mankind, its peace and
security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly estab­
lished.” Thus it is understandable why Baha’is view the 20th cen­
tury— with all its disasters— as “The Century o f Light.” For these
100 years w itnessed a transformation in both the way the earth’s
inhabitants have begun to plan a collective future and in the way
they are coming to regard one another. The hallmark o f both has
been a process o f unification. Upheavals beyond the control o f ex­
isting institutions compelled world leaders to begin putting in place
new systems o f global organization that would have been unthink­
able at the century’s beginning. As this was occurring, rapid ero­
sion overtook habits and attitudes that had divided people and
nations through unnum bered centuries o f conflict, and that had
seemed likely to endure for ages to come.
How does religion fit into the current scheme o f things? To
many, religion is irrelevant: It is preoccupied by vacant rituals, im ­
poverished by superstitious traditions, and thoroughly corrupted by
self-serving individuals and groups. Judging from today’s world,
religion seems the least plausible answer to hum anity’s manifold
and increasingly urgent problems. Inter-religious conflict lies at the
heart o f almost every war; fundamentalism impels bloodthirsty ter­
rorist groups and spawns dangerous cults. The greatest obstacle to
religion as a source o f unity appears to be the differences found
among the w orld’s great faiths. Surely the animosity that has long
separated Christian from Jew and Muslim from Hindu can be over­
come. Indeed, a dispassionate study o f these faiths shows that the F I D E S ET
essential message o f each is the same. LIBERTAS
B aha’is believe—
2000
113
 • That “true religion, far from being the product solely o f
human striving after truth, is the fruit o f the creative Word o f God
which, with divine power, transforms human thought and action.”
• That “the essential purpose o f the religion o f God is to es­
tablish unity among mankind.”
• That “there can be no doubt whatever that the peoples o f the
world, o f w hatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from
one heavenly Source, and are the subjects o f one God.”
Thus the foremost challenge to the followers o f every religion
today is the claim to be the sole possessors o f truth, the desperate
clinging to narrow interpretations o f their religion’s teachings. This
stubborn refusal to appreciate and accept other faiths only leads to
bitter antagonism and futile division— as it has in the past. The
declaration o f the Parliament o f the W orld’s Religions (“Towards a
Global Ethic,” Chicago, 1993) suggests that it is indeed possible to
find much common ground:
“We affirm that a common set o f core values is found in the
teachings o f the religions, and that these form the basis o f a global
e th ic .. . . There already exist ancient guidelines for human behav­
ior which are found in the teachings o f the religions o f the world
and which are the condition for a sustainable world order.”
In our efforts to promote religious liberty it is important for us
to understand the role o f religion and how it may impact positively
on civilization as we know it. I submit that a “new” religion must—
• Help us heal the earth— inspire us, through practical exam ­
ple, to adopt an environmental ethic.
• Embody and encourage a balance o f masculine and feminine
values in society and in individual consciousness.
• Provide a radical therapy for the delirium o f civilization.
Each o f us has been w ounded by the fragmentation and alienation
o f society. Part o f the job o f religion is to help us feel our pain.
• Offer a sage context for emotional release through celebra­
tion and ceremony.
• Avoid the pitfalls o f reliance on a charismatic figure and
suppression o f dissent.
• Encourage people to grow in knowledge and self-reliance.
Instead o f opposing or dismissing, religion must incorporate scien­
tific discoveries and the scientific requirement for evidence. At the
same time, it must restore the soul o f science— the sense o f w on­
der, humility, and proportion that reminds us that there are many
things we can do that we need not or should not do.
• Offer different paths for development. Acknowledge that
ti

ID E S ET
IBERTA S people have different talents, different psychological makeups.
r

2000 Honor uniqueness.

114
 • Offer a compelling cosmology with mechanisms for change
and adjustment so that the new religion does not simply turn into
the new dogma.
• Portray a vision o f the Creator God— a vision that is loving,
supportive, and accessible to every person.
• Encourage members o f society to love and protect children
rather than abuse them.
• Provide philosophical and practical tools for dealing with evil.
• Generate an authentic sense o f community that it may be­
come (in the words o f Baha’u ’llah) “distinguished for its abiding
sense o f security and faith, its high standard o f rectitude, its com­
plete freedom from all forms o f prejudice, the spirit o f love among
its members, and for the closely knit fabric o f its social life.”
The effort o f will required to overcome the barriers that block
the realization o f Vasudeva Kutumbakkam (the “kingdom o f God
on earth”), foretold and sung throughout the ages by prophets,
avatars, seers, and poets, must be galvanized by a vision o f peace
and prosperity in the fullest sense o f the term— an awakening to
the possibilities o f the spiritual and material well-being o f all the
planet’s inhabitants. W hat is required o f the peoples o f the world is
a measure o f faith and resolve to match the enormous energies
with which the Creator o f all things has endowed this spiritual
springtime o f the race. Here, in the words o f B aha’uTlah, is the
Baha’i appeal:
“Be united in counsel, be one in thought. May each m om be
better than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday. M an’s
merit lies in service and virtue and not in the pageantry o f wealth
and riches. Take heed that your words be purged from idle fancies
and worldly desires and your deeds be cleansed o f craftiness and
suspicion. Dissipate not the wealth o f your precious lives in the pur­
suit o f evil and corrupt affection, nor let your endeavors be spent in
promoting your personal interest. Be generous in your days o f
plenty, and be patient in the hour o f loss. Adversity is followed by
success and rejoicing follows woe. Guard against idleness and
sloth, and cling unto that which profits mankind, whether young or
old, whether high or low. Beware lest you sow tares o f dissension
among men or plant thorns o f doubt in pure and radiant hearts.”

This article is adapted from an address Dr. M erchant presented at the 1RLA
W orld Conference, N ew D elhi, N ovem ber 1999.

F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS

2000
115
 A Christian Perspective
of Religious Freedom
Valsoti Thampu

Chairman
Theological Research and Communication Institute
New Delhi

Freedom is not a human creation, but a divine gift. It is a spiri­

tual concept. We are unfree materially, unfree mentally. W e are
truly free only in the sphere o f the spirit. Jesus described the Holy
Spirit as the embodiment o f pure freedom. St. Paul saw life in
Jesus Christ as freedom, life in sin as bondage. The goal o f Jesus’
ministry was to set captives free. Jesus emphasized that freedom is
inseparable from truth. Untruth is the logic o f unfreedom.
For all the importance ascribed to it, religious liberty is not an
end in itself. It needs to be understood and practiced with reference
to the spiritual goal o f the “fullness o f life.” Life is the primary
value, not freedom. Freedom is important only because life is.
Isolated from life, freedom makes no sense. The basic question is
whether we are directed towards life or towards death. To be life-
directed is to be free. Death is the ultimate unfreedom— a violation
o f the purpose o f God in whose image and likeness we are created.
Freedom is a spiritual concept because it is encoded in the sub­
stance o f our being. It is the imprint o f the Creator on us. God is
pure freedom. We are capable o f freedom, but we are not freedom
in its essence. Because God is pure freedom, its substance is safe
against change and decay. Human beings, however, put freedom in
perpetual risk o f being turned into its opposite. But for this, the con­
cern for religious liberty, as with other forms o f freedom, would be
merely academic. Thus any concern for religious liberty must rest
on two basic facts: First, freedom is the bedrock o f our humanity;
and second, we are poor custodians o f freedom. We can use our
freedom to undo our freedom— as did the prodigal son. We can also
use our freedom to undo the freedom o f others— as did the unmerci­
ful servant. How so? Because human ambivalence towards freedom
makes us covet freedom for ourselves but deny it to others. We
think our freedom has to grow at the expense o f the freedom o f oth­
F I D E S ET ers. This notion is apparent in the sphere o f religions in conflicted
LIBERTAS relationship with other religions, resulting in serious implications
2000 for freedom o f religion in practice, as is the case in India today.

116
 Religious freedom does not exist in a vacuum. It combines
with other forces, especially political and institutional. Power cre­
ates inequalities that impact freedom. Ironically, the fiercest enemy
o f religious freedom all along has been any religious establishment
preoccupied with its own power and control. Jesus recognized this.
He pointed out that at no time in human history could people toler­
ate their own prophets. It was the powerful religious establishment
that masterminded the m urder o f Jesus. (In contrast, the state has
actually done better in the protection o f religious liberty.) Intolerant
religious establishments do not limit themselves to combating exter­
nal enemies. They are fiercer towards their own prophets and
reformers, routinely burning them, crucifying them, as heretics and
schismatics— whose extermination is determined a religious duty o f
the faithful. Nothing is more symptomatic o f the depravity o f a reli­
gious establishment than this. In point o f fact, the more degraded a
religious tradition, the more intolerant it is to both dissent within
and differences without.
The world o f freedom has two spheres— the sphere o f inner
freedom and the sphere o f outer freedom. They interact with and
impact each other. Only those persons who are inwardly free can
enter fully into the creative potentialities o f outward freedom. At
the same time, outward freedom is vitally important for manifest­
ing the hidden treasures o f inner freedom. Outer freedom has al­
ways been more fiercely contested. Yet it is inner freedom that is
basic to the religious domain. The enemies o f inner freedom lurk
within one’s very self or within one’s own religious establishment.
In a spiritual sense, we are our worst enemies. No external enemy
prevents us from living up to the ideals and values our scriptures
teach us. It is, instead, something within us and among us. No
enemy o f our communities o f faith prevents us from upholding ju s­
tice, truth, and freedom. It is the vested interests within our respec­
tive religious communities. From a spiritual angle, the foremost
agenda for religious freedom is the struggle for personal liberation,
as well as the spiritual reformation o f one’s religious community.
It is not crying w olf against the putative enemies o f the faith
prowling in the world beyond our communal boundaries.
Religious intolerance is indeed a symptom o f religious deca­
dence. But it is naive to assume that only the detractors o f one’s
own religion are decadent. More often than not, aggressors and
victims unwittingly, but actively, collaborate to create an atmo­
sphere o f hate that reduces the scope o f religious freedom. This
basis for this collaboration is the exaggerated importance ascribed FI D E S E T
to the external, exhibitionist, public flourishes o f a particular reli­ LIBERTAS
gion. The shell is deemed all-important, the kernel o f no conse­
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 quence. This is where the Pharisees stood in the time o f Jesus. It
was precisely their (ir)religious posture that accounted for their
penchant for persecution in the name o f religion, and for their ex­
treme cruelty in the name o f the God o f love. Jesus denounced this
dangerous attitude. He urged his followers to emphasize inward
truth more than outward postures and prescriptions o f religious
practices. Jesus knew that freedom from irreligious ideas o f reli­
gion, as well the unspiritual practices o f religion, was crucial for
religious freedom. The more we absolutize the external, superficial
trappings o f religion, the greater our alienation from faith’s inner
resources— and greater still our offense in the eyes o f others. As
religious life is increasingly relocated to public space, religion will
be caught in the culture wars o f the times and resisted by the
vested interests o f the day. This is not only a political issue, but a
m ost serious spiritual problem.
The quest for religious liberty looks toward two major spiri­
tual frontiers. First, we need to be vigilant about threats to freedom
o f religion, and then engage them. How do we do this? Jesus in­
sists that evil must be overcome, not resisted. This concept gives
religious freedom an inner scope and direction too profound to be
turned into simplistic action plans. It is critical that we who cam­
paign for religious liberty in the world are fully committed to free­
dom in the soul. Second— and more importantly, we need to
enlarge our inner capacity for freedom. The core o f religious free­
dom is freedom from the dictates and distortions o f one’s own
self—freedom from the tyranny o f one’s instincts, impulses, pas­
sions, and preferences. The teaching that we should love our ene­
mies and “turn the other cheek,” rather than pay back in the same
coin, is an invitation to inner freedom. Thus freedom o f religion
can never ignore the freedom to do what is good. To the extent that
our inner religious freedom is positive and creative, we reinforce
the case we make for safeguarding, even enlarging, outer religious
freedom. Religious liberty that engineers a fortress against one’s
enemies is fundamentally unspiritual and unsafe. The basic discov­
ery is this: W e have no enemies; therefore we do not need to be
protected from anyone.
This will require a re-examination o f the reigning model of

6
F ID E S ET
LIBERTAS
inter-religious interaction. The religions o f the world are in con­
flict. They are mutually alienated. This state o f lovelessness has se­
rious consequences for religious liberty in practice. Freedom can
survive and be perfected only in a climate o f love. God is love.
Love is the essence o f true spirituality. Love must become the
essence o f a new world o f human freedom. Thus a core principle

2000 o f religious liberty has to be the freedom to love— to love God ab­

118
solutely and one’s neighbor equally. Freedom to love one’s neigh­
bor includes freedom from any ideological compulsion to hate
one’s neighbor. Nothing is more inimical to the cause o f human
freedom than hate. And present efforts to spread the poison o f hate
and to create a culture o f violence are the foremost issues con­
fronting all o f us who care so much about religious liberty. We
need to ask ourselves what it means to reposition our communities
o f faith as models o f mutual love without sacrifice o f basic doctri­
nal principles.
Because the discipline and responsibilities o f freedom are not
native to human nature, our passionate craving for freedom
notwithstanding, we have to push the quest for religious liberty to a
commitment to train people in the art and science o f liberty. The
history o f human experience demonstrates that unless people are
trained for freedom they will turn what liberty they have into a tool
o f oppression. India’s five-decade political experiment proves be­
yond doubt that it is dangerous and naive to equate freedom with
independence. Millions o f our people remain strangers to the fruits
o f freedom. Indeed, the freedom o f some as a threat to the freedom
o f others is a sinister reality. This is not an accident. Nor does it
betoken the perversity o f our national fate. W hat we see today are
the symptoms o f spiritual bankruptcy resulting from a merely secu­
lar idea o f nation-building that holds independence and freedom to
be one and the same. Thus India remains naive about the dynamics
o f human nature.
The seed o f fascism is the delusion that freedom for another is
incompatible with my own, that anyone who is different from me
is therefore hostile to me. But Jesus maintains that I must love my
neighbor as myself, irrespective o f who or what he or she is. Only
in a culture o f love and compassion wherein I learn to limit the lust
o f self, wherein I leam to accommodate the needs o f others, will
religious liberty be safe. The golden principle o f every human free­
dom is the Golden Rule. To you, to me, Jesus says: “ Tn every­
thing, do to others as you would have them do to you.’”
This is the Christian perspective o f religious freedom.

C ondensed and edited from an address Dr. Tham pu presented at the IRLA
W orld Conference, N ew Delhi, N ovem ber 1999.

F I D E S ET
LIBERTA S

2000
119
 A Hindu Response
to Violence and Intolerance
Swami Gokulananda

Secretary o f the Ramakrishna Mission

New Delhi

The ancient Persians had a name for India: Hindustan. They

called the people o f India Hindus and their religion Hindu Dharma.
Such a view suggests that the religions o f Indian origin—
Buddhism, Jainism, or Sikhism, to cite three— are different facets of
Hinduism. However, Hindu tradition defines itself as the religion of
the Vedas as practiced by the Aryan race: Sanatana Dharma— a
timeless religion comprising eternal values, a religion that did not
arise at a particular period o f human history, a religion that did not
originate with any single prophet. Hinduism is unique in being
based on super-conscious experiences and spiritual realizations o f
saints, sages, and seers, each o f whom can claim the role o f a
prophet whose own foundational spiritual experiences are verifi­
able. Like the Ganges, Hindu tradition has flowed for millennia.
Because Hindu religious philosophy is based on experience,
personal discovery, and the testing o f things, it does not say,
“Believe as others do or suffer.” Rather, it says, “Know thyself.
Inquire and be free.”
Hinduism knows no heretics, for God is everywhere and in all
things. Every instinct o f Hinduism rejoices in tolerance, in acknowl­
edging the many paths— even those that seem to contradict its own.
When Hindus believe that God is everywhere and in all things, they
find it is impossible to hate, to injure, or to aggressively convert oth­
ers. Here then are two important tenets o f Hinduism: First, no particu­
lar religion teaches the only way to salvation; all genuine religious
paths are facets of God’s power, love, and light, deserving o f tolerance
and understanding. Second, all life is sacred, to be loved and revered.

Ahimsa: Non-violence. Since all life is sacred, the practice o f

Ahimsa, or non-injury, is a must. A foremost ethical principle o f
Hinduism, Ahimsa is non-violence— physical, mental, emotional.
It is abstaining from causing harm to all beings. This philosophy
ID E S ET o f non-injury is based on the beliefs that harm caused to others
L. J

IBERTA S unfailingly returns to oneself, and that the Divine shines forth in
2000 all people and all things.

120
 To elaborate: The Hindu is convinced that violence he com­
mits will be returned by a cosmic process, if not in this life, then in
another. The H indu’s belief in the existence o f God everywhere as
a pervasive, self-effulgent energy and consciousness, creates an at­
titude o f sublime tolerance and acceptance o f others. Actually, the
term “tolerance” is insufficient to describe the compassion and rev­
erence the Hindu holds for the intrinsic sacredness within all be­
ings. Ahimsa thereby becomes the higher-nature basis for the
actions o f all Hindus. Says the Bhagavad Gita: “Non-violence,
truth, freedom from anger, renunciation, serenity, aversion to fault­
finding, sympathy for all beings, peace from greedy cravings, gen­
tleness, modesty, steadiness, energy, forgiveness, fortitude, purity,
good will, freedom from pride— these belong to a man who is bom
for heaven.”
The practice o f non-violence out o f cowardice has no merit.
Real non-violence is the greatest strength and endurance a man can
attain. It is the greatest courage coupled with the greatest love. It is
the total absence o f hatred. In the animal kingdom, struggle for ex­
istence may be necessary because, according to evolutionary the­
ory, the law o f “survival o f the fittest” operates there. But man is
not an animal— and should not behave like an animal. He should
transcend the laws o f the animal kingdom. In the kingdom o f God,
the law is love and sacrifice. Thus a spiritual man, filled with com­
passion and love for others, feels the miseries o f others more than
they do themselves, including those who behave arrogantly or vio­
lently. He holds others in love, even at great personal sacrifice.
Self-realization is the basis o f Ahimsa. As stated in the
Isavasya Upanishad, when a person sees the Self in all people and
all people in the Self, then he hates none. And yet an aspirant to
Ahimsa must be extremely careful in dealing with others: he
should not be too soft or yielding. The absence o f any grit will re­
sult in a most troublesome spiritual life. Facing the evils o f the
world takes tremendous strength and strict self-control. For one
may outwardly put up with others, but within bum with indigna­
tion. This is most harmful. The practice o f non-violence within, as
well as without, increases mental strength, for only the strong can
be non-violent.
M ahatma Gandhi was the greatest m odem exponent of
Ahimsa. Said he:
“Non-violence is a perfect stage. It is a goal towards which all
mankind move naturally, though consciously. Man does not be­
come divine till he personifies innocence in himself. Only then F I D E S ET
does he truly become a man. In our present stage we are partly man LIBERTAS
and partly beast, and in our arrogance say that we truly fulfill the
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121
 purpose o f our species when we deliver blow for blow and develop
the measure o f anger required for the purpose. We pretend to be­
lieve that retaliation is the law o f our being, whereas in every
scripture we find that retaliation is nowhere obligatory, only per­
missible. It is the restraint that is obligatory. Restraint is the law o f
our being. For the highest perfection is unattainable without the
highest restraint.”
The pacific character o f Hindu civilization results from the
ideal o f Ahimsa. If it is a fact that the masses o f India, in spite o f
their terrible poverty, are far less brutal than the masses in other
countries, it is due to the principle o f non-violence.

Religious tolerance. Hinduism stresses the plurality o f paths

to God and the oneness/sameness o f God. Since all paths converge
at the same goal, God, every path must be respected, allowed to
exist and thrive. This fundamental teaching o f Hinduism provides
for absolute freedom in matters o f faith and worship. Everyone has
the right to follow his own ways as long as the ways do not come
into confrontation with others.
The Hindu term for a personal preference is matam. One may
prefer the Christian path, or the Hindu, Jewish, or Muslim. One
prefers certain foods, specific styles o f clothing. A universal fact—
fire is hot, w ater is wet, 2 + 2 = 4— is a tattwam shared by all. Both
matam and tattwam are fundamental to human life. The Hindu ob­
servation o f the mutual relationship between matam and tattwam
also calls for religious toleration in belief and practice. W hen the
principles o f the plurality o f paths and the mutual relationship be­
tween matam and tattwam are realized, and when love o f virtues
(Ahimsa, self-renunciation, truthfulness, among many) and es-
chewal o f vices (theft, murder, hatred, malice, anger, greed) are ac­
tuated, then not only is religious freedom guaranteed, but
communal peace and harmony are realized.

Edited from an address Swam i Gokulananda presented at the IRLA W orld

Conference, N ew Delhi, India, N ovem ber 1999.

ID E S ET
L. J

IBERTA S

2000
122
The Sacred Fire: A Zoroastrian
Response to Conflict and Violence
Ardeshri M. Sethna

Lieutenant General (Retired)

President, Delhi Parsi Anjuman
New Delhi

The world in general and India in particular are again w itness­

ing intolerance and violence for which religion is blamed.
Inasmuch as the religions o f the world aim at a union o f God and
man, intolerance and violence in the name o f religion are an aber­
ration. That said, let me come directly to the nature o f conflict and
violence as brought out in the principal Zoroastrian scriptures— the
Avesta (a major division o f which is called the Yasna); the
Denkard; and the Bundahishn.
In the story o f creation is the legend o f “The Soul o f
Creation.” Gaush Urva, the cow, complains to Ahura Mazda, the
lord o f wisdom:
For whom have you brought me into being?
Who shaped me?
Wrath and rapine, aggression and violence crush me.
N o one is m y protector except you, O lord,
so reveal to m e the caring herdsm an (Yasna 29.1).
In answer to Gaush U rva’s prayer, Ahura M azda appoints
Zarathushtra as her protector— and he is “blessed with sweetness
o f speech” (Yasna 29.8). Gaush Urva is not satisfied. She wails
that she must now submit “to the words o f a feeble man,” when
what she really longed for was a powerful warrior to help her with
the “might o f his hands” (Yasna 29.9). But in the very next verse
she blesses the prophet and his followers and prays they may es­
tablish a peaceful existence through the “good m ind,” for both the
herdsman and his herds and mankind (Yasna 29.10).
In Yasna 28:1 we find Gaush Urva, with a voice like that “o f a
thousand men calling out at one tim e,” demanding justice. In one
stride she reaches the stars, then the moon, and finally the sun. But
they are helpless. Only her appointed protector, Zarathushtra, will
fight to bring justice to her and her herds. We infer here that the
teaching o f Zarathushtra is not merely for human beings— the poor
and the downtrodden— who cry out for justice, but for all o f cre­ F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS
ation: humankind, animals, and plant life. Little wonder the reli­
gion o f Zarathushtra has been called the first ecological religion o f 2000
123
 the world (see Piloo Nanavutty: The Gathas o f Zarathushtra:
Hymns in Praise o f Wisdom).
The three tenets o f Zoroastrianism are good thought, good
word, and good deed. Thoughts are like the stars— beautiful, dis­
tant, but unseen in the light o f day. Words are like the moon—
waxing, waning, and sometimes not there at all. But deeds are
different. They are like the sun— strong, powerful, the very engine
o f energy. Zoroastrianism emphasizes the action o f good deeds for
they help not only man, but the whole universe. And Ahura Mazda
signifies the indestructible essence o f life without beginning or
end. He is the lord o f wisdom from whom emanates all creation.
Ahura M azda’s first thought
blazed into m yriads o f sparks o f light
and filled the entire heavens.
He him self, in his wisdom ,
is the creator o f truth which
upholds his suprem e m ind (Yasna 31.7).
Yet side by side with this high philosophy stands great practi­
cality for life and action. Daily the Zoroastrian prays the Atash
Niayesh (Praise to the Angel o f Fire):
Grant m e also offspring with inborn wisdom ,
rising to perfection,
able to rule over lands and to guide assemblies,
harm onious in growth, active in work,
delivering from bondage, and high aspiring,
who shall advance the progress o f our home, o f our village,
and w ho shall make brighter the honor o f our land (Y asna 62.4, 5).
(Translated by I. J. S. Taraporewala.)
*

Cyrus II the Great (b. between 590 and 580 B.C.; d.529 B.C.)
is an example o f the Zoroastrian combination o f practicality with
wisdom and faith. In a short time he became the emperor o f Persia
whose borders extended from India to Greece. His innovative pol­
icy held together an empire consisting o f very different peoples,
cultures, and religious traditions. The greatest o f the Achaemenid
dynasty, Cyrus II broke with the tradition o f victor as avenger and
despoiler. Instead o f suppressing ethnic and religious aspirations,
he provided a high degree o f cultural, political, and religious free­
dom (see S. A. Nigosian: The Zoroastrian Faith). Acting with hu­
mane compassion, he released the Jews o f Babylon from captivity
and called for the rebuilding o f the temple o f Yahweh in
Jerusalem. No wonder the Bible (Isaiah 44:28-45:4) describes him
as the anointed shepherd o f the Lord. As the w orld’s first charter o f
human rights, the edict o f Cyrus II the Great is inscribed at the en­
ID E S ET
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IBERTA S
trance o f the United Nations in New York (see Aspi D. Moddie:
Zarathushtra’s “Frasho-Kereti ”).
2000 But even empires founded on faith and high religious princi-

124
pies have their ups and downs. Two hundred and some years later,
Alexander o f M acedonia stormed into Persia and defeated the
army o f Darius III. The period o f foreign domination by Alexander
and his Seleucid successors was disastrous for the development o f
the Zoroastrian community. The Greek invasion and destruction
were so catastrophic that Alexander him self is depicted in
Zoroastrian tradition as the guzastag (accursed), an epithet applied
to Ahriman (the adversary). Zoroastrian scriptures record the mate­
rial damage and moral crimes committed by Alexander and his co­
hort: temples sacked; priests slaughtered; holy texts “written on ox
hides with gold ink” burned (Bundahishn 33.14; Denkard 5.3.14;
Arda Wiraz Namag 1.1-11). The Zoroastrians’ greatest loss was
the death o f their priests who, as “living books,” handed down all
tradition from one priestly generation to the next (see Nigosian).
Nonetheless, some fragments survived. Gradually— and especially
during the long rule o f the Parthians in the first centuries after
Christ— the Zoroastrians regained their former strength.
During Persia’s Sasanian dynasty, however, the purity o f the
faith was compromised. In 651 Yazdagird III was so swiftly and
completely defeated that to this day Zoroastrians speak o f the
wrack and ruin that came from the Arab conquerors.
The empires o f Persia ended, but Zoroastrianism survived.
Recent archaeological evidence indicates that it moved east, exist­
ing for some 300 years in what is now western China. By the 10th
century a small band o f Zoroastrians, carrying their sacred fire, had
come by sea from southern Persia, the land o f Pars. They found
refuge at Sanjan on the west coast o f India. Today they are called
the Parsis.
From Indian soil has sprung Parsi flowering in all fields of
human endeavor. The multi-cultured tapestry o f Hindu philosophy
and the general way o f life in India provided the rich environment
in which the refugees from Persia were permitted to settle and live,
like “sugar in the milk” o f India’s human kindness. A century after
their landing, the Parsis raised their own army to aid the king o f
Sanjan in fighting o ff invaders from North Gujarat. Initially, the
campaign succeeded, but a year later the Parsi commander,
Ardeshri (whose name I bear), was killed, and the force scattered.
As they had done earlier in Persia, the Parsis, with their sacred fire,
retreated to hill caves at Bahrot.
*

I have gone into this in some detail because the Parsi

Zoroastrians have a long tradition o f reverent service to their most F I D E S ET
sacred and potent symbol— a symbol they have cherished and pro­ LIBERTAS
tected from time immemorial: the sacred fire. In the face o f conflict
2000
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 and violence, it is the emblem o f their cause and their faith.
And more must be said about the matter o f faith and conflict.
Knowing the nature o f life, Zoroastrianism realizes that conflict is
inevitable.
Evil will sim ply not go away from this w orld since it has m ixed it­
se lf w ith the good. The mixed state (gumezism)is the battleground o f
conflicting forces o f life (H. M. Homji: Z arathushtra’s Teachings fo r
M odern Times).
The good Zoroastrian wearing the sudreh and the kusti (the
cotton shirt o f purity and the girdle o f wool) wears the uniform o f a
soldier o f Ahura Mazda, the lord eternal, who is ever engaged in
the conflict between good and evil or, more correctly, the truth and
the lie. He is a co-worker, not a servant, o f the lord in this battle.
With hands outstretched in reverence, he prays to this lord on his
feet, not his knees. He is told to “listen to the noblest teachings
with an attentive ear” and then decide the path he is to follow
(Yasna 28.1). The true soldier chooses to follow truth and fight the
lie. Each person must “discriminate man to man and make his
choice” (Yasna 30.2). Depending on his choice and his action, the
end result follows: “A long period o f suffering for the wicked, and
salvation for the ju st” (Yasna 30.11). Heaven or hell is in each
m an’s heart. The outcome depends on how he handles the con­
flict— a conflict which must go on until the end o f time— zarwane
akarane khadate. Ultimately, with the coming o f the Soyshant (the
savior), the “world will be made whole.” Each one will pass
through a stream. For him who chooses the lie, it will feel like a
river o f molten lead; but for him who has fought for truth, it will be
like passing through a stream o f warm milk. The point to note here
is that in the Zoroastrian faith all must cross this river to obtain
final salvation. W hen the world is made whole, all will rejoin their
loved ones and rejoice. Father will say to son, and husband to wife,
and brother to sister: “Where hast thou been these many years, and
what was the judgm ent upon thy soul?” (From the Pahlavi text as
quoted by S. H. Camas in her thesis Blake and Zoroastrianism.)
Zoroastrianism, the religion o f choice, gives each man and
woman the freedom to choose. “As he grows, so shall he reap.”
The tenets o f faith and a righteous lifestyle based on good thought,
good word, and good deeds enable the Parsi Zoroastrian to survive.
As long as he continues to fight to make the whole world whole
and take it forward to frasho-kereti at the end o f time, he may
bend, but he will not break. This is the Zoroastrian response to
conflict and violence.
ID E S ET
IL J

IB ER TA S
Edited from an address Gen. Sethna presented at the IRLA W orld Conference,
2000 New Delhi, N ovem ber 1999.

126
 Fides et Libertas

2000

SPECIAL SECTION II

Religious Freedom World

Report 2000

General Conference o f Seventh-day Adventists

Department o f Public Affairs and Religious Liberty

April 2000

F I D E S ET
LIBERTA S

2000
127
 Religious Freedom
World Report 2000
THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Organized on May 20, 1863, in Battle Creek, Michigan, U.S.A.,
the Seventh-day Adventist Church has more than 11 million mem­
bers and represents a community o f 25 million who are active in
over 200 nations o f the world. The Annual Statistical Report fo r
1998 showed that the church employed 165,213 persons who staffed
6,329 hospitals and medical centers, media centers, orphanages, ele­
mentary and secondary schools, universities, and other institutions.
Since its beginning, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has de­
fended religious freedom for all. Under its patronage several religious
liberty associations have been established, among which, in 1893, the
International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA). The IRLA
became a non-sectarian association in 1946. Its president for 2000 is
Dr. Bert Beach, general secretary o f the Council on Interchurch
Relations o f the General Conference o f Seventh-day Adventists.
This report focuses on the current experience o f the Seventh-
day Adventist Church, but does not neglect a broader outlook. Its
content was supplied by officials o f the church’s Department o f
Public Affairs and Religious Liberty stationed in various parts o f
the world. Additionally, we received information from other recog­
nized non-governmental organizations and from reliable private
correspondents. We are particularly grateful for the volume o f m a­
terial supplied by Adventist News Network (ANN), Adventist
Press Service (APD), Compass Direct, Keston Institute, and
Religion Today.
Contact the Department o f Public Affairs and Religious Liberty,
General Conference o f Seventh-day Adventists, 12501 Old Columbia
Pike, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6600, U.S.A. Our phone num­
ber is (301) 680-6680. Reach us by fax at (301) 680-6695.

John Graz, Director (74532.240@ CompuServe.com)

Richard Lee Fenn, Associate Director
(104474.245 l@ Com puServe.com )
Jonathan Gallagher, Associate Director
(JonGallagher@ Com puServe.com)
F I D E S ET Bert B. Beach, General Secretary, Council on Interchurch Relations
LIBERTAS (74617.2745@ Compuserve.com)
2000
128
A DIVIDED WORLD
What is new? Our 1999 Religious Freedom World Report un­
derlined the reality o f increasing persecution around the world.
This report for 2000 further documents the fact that we live in a
world o f religious persecution. Some examples: In some states of
India, tensions between Hindu extremists and the Christian minor­
ity remain high. On certain islands o f Indonesia civil war broke out
between Muslims and Christians. Seventh-day Adventists were not
spared. Members lost their lives; churches were destroyed.
Adventists are still in difficulty in southern M exico’s Chiapas state.
In various parts o f the former Soviet Union the principle o f reli­
gious freedom challenges the new political authorities and the
leaders o f the dominant religions. The situation in Turkmenistan il­
lustrates the problem. With the specific permission o f President
Niyazov, in 1992 Seventh-day Adventists began constructing a
new church building in Ashkhabad. But in 1994, a new and more
restrictive law was passed requiring all churches to apply for regis­
tration. Adventists provided the required papers, but the govern­
ment refused to grant recognition. According to Keston News
Service, Adventists endured months o f harassment and threats
leading up to Saturday, November 13, 1999, when, during the con­
gregation’s evening service, security agents and other workers
commenced demolishing the new church building.
Traditional democracies are not beneath the politics o f reli­
gious intolerance. France led a group o f countries which published
official lists o f sects, thus subjecting religious minorities to govern­
ment-sponsored persecution. While the Seventh-day Adventist
Church is not identified as a sect on the French list, adult members
and their children nevertheless now encounter more problems than
before as they seek Sabbath accommodation in public schools and
universities. The Inter-Ministerial Com m ission’s report on the
“The Struggle Against Sects” referred indirectly to Adventist
teachers who asked to have Saturdays o ff because o f their religious
convictions. Opposition to accommodation is rising in France’s
overseas territories where the Adventist population is significant. A
request for a religious day o f rest gets no more consideration than a
request for a day o ff for a sporting event or other leisure activity.
Heretofore there prevailed a climate o f positive understanding and
good relations, but that has deteriorated markedly. Religious lib­
erty is just not seen as a fundamental freedom, but rather as an un­
acceptable exigency.
But note the happy resolution o f the Cape Verde case. F I D E S ET
Adventists arrested, tortured, and jailed in July o f 1998 for al­ LIBERTAS
legedly desecrating Catholic churches were found not guilty and
2000
129
 released. The judge wryly declared that their only “wrong” was
being Adventist. And in Sri Lanka, we are pleased to report, Pastor
Anthony Alexander was finally found innocent o f all charges o f
anti-government activity. The presiding judge ordered his immedi­
ate release from prison.
A report such as this tends to emphasize the bad— the viola­
tions o f religious liberty. But we must not ignore the nations which
have good records in upholding religious freedom and protecting
the rights o f religious minorities. Even if perfection is not to be
found in this world, we would applaud several countries which
have maintained and even reinforced the principle o f religious
freedom. Italy and Spain lead in Southern Europe. In Northern
Europe, Norway and Sweden have avoided discrimination against
minority religions. The United States is to be commended for its
active defense o f religious freedom on a global basis. Many o f the
Latin American nations extend great tolerance o f and support for
religious diversity. In Mexico, for example, the Chiapas conflict
mentioned above, should not be confused with the government’s
general openness to religious minorities. Consider also Colombia.
The good news there is that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is
recognized and legislation is in force providing for Adventists to
be accommodated for Sabbath observance. In a world divided,
Colombia is taking the side o f religious liberty.
Indeed, too many countries assert “no exceptions” and block
efforts to establish religious freedom. They have not learned his­
tory’s lesson: Religious intolerance and persecution do not lead to
justice and peace. We are thankful then for the nations that open
the door to dialogue and accommodation. We are thankful also for
the excellent work o f United Nations Special Rapporteur for
Religious Intolerance Abdelfattah Amor and the role o f the UN
Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. In the end, religious
freedom, as defined by the Universal Declaration o f Human Rights
and other international instruments, is an effective factor for global
peace, harmony, and stability.

CLASSIFICATIONS
The Religious Freedom W orld Report 2000 places the nations
o f the world, as well as certain territorial entities, in one o f five cat­
egories, from most tolerant to least tolerant:
Category 1: Government and legislation provide religious
freedom for all. No problems exist for Seventh-day Adventists.
ID E S ET Category 2: In spite o f favorable legislation, Adventists have
Li. J

IB ER TA S some problems in public schools and in the workplace.

2000 Category 3: Legislation is not against religious freedom, but

130
religious extremists, authorities, and/or the media create difficulties
for Adventists.
Category 4: The government has voted restrictive legislation.
Seventh-day Adventists encounter problems practicing their faith
and fulfilling their evangelistic mission.
Category 5: There is no religious freedom. The Seventh-day
Adventist Church is banned.
The difference between Category 1 and Category 2 is subject
to interpretation. In m ost cases, we have accepted the classifica­
tions applied by our correspondents. This year we again note that
an American or Canadian or Brazilian Adventist, for example, is
likely to be more critical o f his or her nation with its pro-religious
liberty climate, than an Adventist living in a country with many re­
strictions to religious freedom. In other words, where religious
freedom is a real human right, minor restrictions, such as school
and workplace accommodations for Sabbath observance, are more
readily identified as problems. Where religious freedom is only an
elusive concept, such restrictions are simply accepted as the price
to pay.
The difference between Category 3 and Category 4 is more
significant when it comes to the violation o f religious freedom.
Category 5 represents extreme violation o f religious freedom.
For the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Syria remains the rare
country where the church was expelled after being there for
decades. Opposition rising from the nation’s traditional Christian
church seems to be more decisive than the will o f the government.
Ordinarily, Syria would be listed in Category 3 or 4, but for the
Seventh-day Adventist Church, Category 5 is more accurate.

F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS

2000
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 AFRICA

CATEGORY 1 CATEGORY 2 CATEGORY 3

Burundi Benin Comoros
Cameroon Botswana Djibouti
Cape Verde Burkina Faso Niger
Cote d ’Ivoire Central African Nigeria
Equatorial Guinea Republic Sudan
Gabon Chad
Guinea Congo CATEGORY 5
Guinea-Bissau Democratic Republic Mauritania
Liberia o f Congo
Madagascar Eritrea
Mali Ethiopia
Mauritius Gambia
Rwanda Kenya
Seychelles Malawi
Mozambique
Senegal
Somalia
T anzania
Togo
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe

CATEGORY 1
Cameroon The country offers religious freedom and rela­
tions with the government are good. The only problem is Saturday
examinations public schools. Adventist students may lose a year
when they decline to take examinations scheduled on Saturdays.
Studies are being conducted to determine the number o f students
effected. Meanwhile, solutions are not always easy.
Cape Verde Cape Verde is a Portuguese-speaking country
o f ten small islands south o f Senegal, o ff the west coast o f Africa.
About 90 percent o f the nation’s approximately 400,000 citizens
are Roman Catholic. Seventh-day Adventists number just over
3,000. Since 1992, there have been incidences o f persons breaking
into Catholic churches and destroying icons or images. The gov­
ernment has consistently blamed members o f the “opposition.”
While some arrests have been made, no case has yet been proven.
I D E S ET In July o f 1998 Jose Maria M onteiro Rodriguez and Jorge
Il J

IBERTAS Adalberto Ramos Tavares were arrested and jailed on charges of

2000 desecrating Catholic churches and property on the island o f

132
Boavista. A third man, Benvindo de Cruz Ramos, was accused of
being an accomplice, but was not held. M onteiro Rodriguez and
Ramos Tavares spent a year in jail during their protracted trial.
Pastor Joao Felix Monteiro, president o f the Seventh-day Adventist
Church’s Cape Verde Mission, reported that while incarcerated,
the men were subjected to ongoing torture, including beatings to
the head and stomach, starvation, and electric shock, all in an at­
tempt to force them to confess to crimes they did not commit.
The trial was unique in its length and the public interest it en­
gendered. Pastor Monteiro stated that the press considered it “the
longest and the most polemical case ever handled by the judiciary
in Cape Verde.” Not one o f the more than 40 prosecution witnesses
contributed to a conviction. Perhaps the most telling aspect o f this
case was the three defendants’ demeanor. As Judge Helena Barreto
emphatically noted in her verdict o f acquittal: “The only ‘crim e’
which the three Adventists committed, if that constitutes a crime,
was to be Seventh-day Adventists.” The ordeal o f the three Cape
Verdians ended July 26, 1999.
Cote d ’Ivoire Religious freedom is respected. To illustrate:
On October 10, 1998, two Seventh-day Adventists were chased out
o f Elokate because they declined to attend a village meeting on
Saturday. The local chief declared the Seventh-day Adventist reli­
gion “closed down and no longer authorized.” Church members
sought refuge in neighboring villages. But by May 26, 1999, the
matter was resolved through the intervention o f Adventist church
leaders and local government authorities.

CATEGORY 2
Democratic Republic of Congo There are Sabbath accom­
modation conflicts in both public and private schools. At the
University o f Kinshasa, where examinations are conducted on
Saturdays, a meeting was held with university administrators and
faculty along with the governm ent’s minister o f human rights.
Eritrea Predominantly Christian with a small Muslim pop­
ulation.
Kenya There is a small Muslim population, but Kenya is
mainly Christian.
M ozambique Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders are
holding discussions with the Ministry o f Education concerning
classes and examinations conducted on the Sabbath.
Tanzania Almost half the population is Muslim and half
Christian. Tanzania does not grant Sabbath accommodation in its F I D E S ET
public schools. There are other intolerant restrictions against reli­ LIBERTAS
gious freedom.
2000
133
 U gand a M ostly C hristian w ith a sm all M uslim population.

CATEGORY 3
Nigeria Christians became the targets o f violence when the
government o f Kaduna state proposed the introduction o f Islamic
law (Shari’a). Two Seventh-day Adventists were killed during two
days o f religious conflict that began February 21 though they were
not involved in the protest marches against Shari’a. Adventist
News Network reported on February 29 that “the first victim,
Jonathan Yohanna, was a teacher at the local Adventist nursery
school. The second, Zacharia Idi Yaugo, was killed in front o f his
wife and children.”
Stated an Adventist pastor who was on the scene: “It all began
when a Christian organization mobilized its members to protest in­
troduction o f Shari’a law in Kaduna state. The peaceful procession
lasted barely an hour when some pro-Shari’a Muslim groups inter­
vened to disrupt the march. There was a clash. Missiles were
thrown. There were violent fist fights. Guns, machetes, and bows
and arrows suddenly emerged. Cans containing petrol were pro­
duced, cigarette lighters were employed, and then the bubble burst.
Many Christians were killed outright. Others who were able to
reach their homes did not live long enough to relate their experi­
ences. A number escaped to army barracks and police stations.
Many big shops in major streets went up in flames. The raging fire
spread to virtually all parts o f Kaduna metropolis.”
In M uslim dominated Zamfara state, Shari’a went into effect
at the beginning o f the year. Two other largely Muslim states have
also m oved to adopt Shari’a as the basic civil code. ANN reported
that Nigerian Christians oppose the introduction o f religious law as
an infringement o f their constitutional right to freely practice their
own faith.
Established in N igeria in 1923, the Seventh-day Adventist
Church lists nearly 200,000 members.
Sudan Although an Islamic government is in power,
Christians in Khartoum, including Seventh-day Adventists, have a
fair degree o f freedom. According to our correspondent, Adventists
conduct their mission without too many difficulties. They build
chapels, hold worship services in a rather public way, and even bap­
tize converts in Nile. Dr. Bertil Wiklander, president o f the Advent­
ist church’s Trans-European Division, and other leaders have
established helpful relationships with Sudan’s social planning and
F I D E S ET foreign relations ministers. ADRA International, the church’s global
LIBERTA S development and relief agency, is especially welcomed in Sudan.

2000
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 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

CATEGORY 1 CATEGORY 2 CATEGORY 3

American Samoa Cambodia China
Australia French Polynesia Mongolia
Cook Islands Japan
Fiji Korea CATEGORY 4
Kiribati New Caledonia Indonesia
New Zealand Niue Nauru
Papua New Guinea Vanuatu Vietnam
Pitcairn Western Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu

CATEGORY I
American Samoa No problems. Citizens are protected by
the U.S. Constitution.
Australia Complete freedom though there is but little legis­
lation to protect religious freedom. Occasional instances o f reli­
gious discrimination resulting from problems which occur with
Saturday-work expectations.
Cook Islands The Seventh-day Adventist Church is one o f
four officially recognized denominations. But the government is
increasingly pressured by the dominant churches to legislate
Sunday observance.
Fiji The constitution provides for the separation o f church
and state and religious freedom for all. But in mid 2000 a coup fol­
lowed by a military counter-coup brought into question Fiji’s com­
mitment to democracy in a pluralistic society.
Kiribati Seventh-day Adventists are well respected. There
are no real problems.
New Zealand Full freedom. No problems save for occa­
sional cases concerning Saturday-work expectations.
Papua New Guinea The constitution protects religious
freedom. There are some tensions rising from inter-church activity.
Pitcairn No problems. This famous island remains under
British control.
Solomon Islands There is constitutional protection. Usually
there are no problems, but civil tension has created difficulties.
Tonga Seventh-day A dventists are well respected. No
problems. F I D E S ET
Tuvalu Adventists are well respected in spite o f the domi­ LIBERTAS
nant state church o f Tuvalu.
2000
135
 CATEGORY 2
Cambodia W hen the current government o f this tradition­
ally Buddhist nation took power in 1993, the new constitution
granted religious freedom. Every citizen is guaranteed the liberty
to choose his or her religion. But Cam bodia’s southern province o f
Kamput has experienced conflicts between certain religious
groups. G overnor Ly Sou and Vong Samet, head o f the province’s
religious affairs department, requested Seventh-day Adventist
Pastor Ung Chan Tha to organize a conference to include the lead­
ers o f all religions in the region. In turn, Pastor Ung appealed to
Pastor M. Daniel Walter, the International Religious Liberty
Association representative for Southeast Asia.
Conference invitations were sent to the Buddhists’ chief monk
and to all other leaders o f religions in the province. The governor
and the religious affairs director contacted the national government
which then sent Senator Sales Sen, a member o f the National
Assembly, and Ismail Osmon, undersecretary in the Ministry o f
Cults and Religions.
The conference was held on July 26, 1999, with 35 in atten­
dance. In the dialogue following the speeches, one o f the religious
leaders expressed the view o f those present: “This has been a good
experience for us to come and see each other’s faces. Now we can
understand and respect each other and fulfill our responsibility to
build a better Cambodia.”
This was the first meeting o f this nature ever to be held in the
country o f Cambodia. It was videotaped for airing on national tele­
vision. Government leaders were so pleased with the conference
and its results that they now desire to have a similar one on the na­
tional level.
French Polynesia Good relationships with other churches
and the government. The church’s education and youth programs
receive solid support. But difficulties with Saturday schooling in­
crease. Mainland France’s anti-sect policy is applicable here and
echoes in the public school system.
Japan During World War II, Seventh-day Adventists in
Japan experienced great problems with religious freedom. The
doctrines o f Adventism— one divine and eternal God expressed in
three persons, the second coming o f Jesus Christ, and the establish­
ing o f a never-ending dominion o f the redeemed— irritated the
government. At the time, religion and the state were one and the
same: The emperor was considered a living god, worthy o f wor­
F ID E S ET ship, and the nation itself, the people believed, would be forever
LIBERTA S prosperous on this planet. On September 20, 1943, the government

2000 arrested Seventh-day Adventist Church workers and jailed 42 pas­

136
tors and lay leaders, some o f whom died for their faith.
But today, generally speaking, Japan has religious freedom, al­
though Adventists face special issues. A significant concern is the
conflict Japan’s educational system presents to observers o f the sev­
enth-day Sabbath. The country maintains a six-day school week—
Sunday through Saturday. If students expect to graduate, they must
attend classes every day. In terms o f accommodation, progress is
painfully slow. About two years ago, public elementary schools
stopped having classes on the second and fourth Saturdays o f each
month. In the future— perhaps two or three years, public elementary
schools will cease all Saturday classes. Not so for secondary level
students where the six-day school week prevails. For Seventh-day
Adventists and other Sabbatarians, the conflict continues.
A problem confronting Seventh-day Adventists in medicine is
the governm ent’s fairly rigid policy o f scheduling the required an­
nual two-day national board examination on a Saturday and
Sunday. It is difficult, o f course, for Adventist physicians to take
the Saturday half o f the test. And the government is reluctant to ar­
range exceptions to the rule given the recent rise o f anti-social ac­
tivity. Such discrimination is a major reason for Japan’s chronic
shortage o f Adventist medical doctors. Is regular accommodation
possible? Yes. In the past 20 years or so, the government has occa­
sionally made special arrangements. This year, for example, the
government acted favorably following the appeals o f a member o f
the Japanese Diet who is personally acquainted with the president
o f Tokyo Adventist Hospital, members o f the U.S. Congress, and
the U.S. Embassy. The International Religious Liberty Association
also intervened. The result: Candidates were able to take the na­
tional board examination after sunset Saturday until midnight and
then continue on Sunday. Will religious accommodation continue?
With changes in the type and length o f the examination expected in
a year or two, there is no guarantee.
Meanwhile, many Christian organizations are openly opposing
government moves to legalize the national flag and anthem.
According to polls, more than one in three citizens view official
recognition o f the flag and anthem as symbols o f Japanese remilita­
rization. School teachers and administrators question the govern­
m ent’s pledge not to make homage to the flag and anthem
compulsory. Students and teachers in some schools now boycott
graduation ceremonies at which the flag is hoisted and the anthem
sung. And Japan’s Asian neighbors consider legalizing the flag and
anthem evidence o f intent to remilitarize. The National Christian F I D E S ET
Council in Japan has told the prime minister that legalizing the flag LIBERTAS
and anthem is to destroy freedom o f thought and belief.
2000
137
 Korea We refer here to the Republic o f Korea, often termed
South Korea. Because the Democratic People’s Republic o f Korea
(or North Korea) remains essentially closed, we are unable to eval­
uate in any credible detail the status o f religious freedom there. On
balance, it appears bleak at best and probably non-existent.
In South Korea, however, religious liberty is constitutionally
guaranteed. But it is not easy to put full benefits into practice. The
government is open on Saturdays, closed on Sundays. Government
employees work on Saturdays, then have Sundays off. Thus no
Seventh-day Adventist who faithfully observes the seventh-day
Sabbath is able to work in any government institution.
The military draft system in South Korea creates problems for
young Adventists. By law every young man is conscripted for
more than two years o f duty. The army does not allow for obser­
vance o f the Sabbath. As a result, many Adventist soldiers who
struggle to keep the Sabbath according to conscience are thrown
into jail. More than 1,000 Seventh-day Adventist young people are
presently in the army, but only 200 or so are able to attend Sabbath
services in churches or worship privately within their barracks.
Seventh-day Adventists face religious problems in education.
They begin when students enter non-compulsory but strictly regu­
lated middle school. Sabbatarian students are regularly absent on
Saturdays. Teachers do not appreciate such regular absentees be­
cause regular student absenteeism makes the teachers look bad.
Because o f a lack o f understanding and even a form o f religious
hatred and fear o f other potential problems, teachers choose to
drive Adventist students out o f school rather than keep them in
their classrooms.
At the university level, Adventist students face serious con­
flicts. Entrance examinations o f some national universities are held
on the Sabbath. Many medical students are confronted by conflict­
ing class or exam schedules almost every week. And if and when
Adventists do graduate they have problems taking tests for some li­
censes. Medical board and bar examinations are often scheduled on
Saturdays. Adventist church appeals to the appropriate ministries
have not elicited any positive responses.
Adventist workers in companies or factories face similar prob­
lems in keeping the Sabbath. Opportunities for employment and
certainly for advancement are thus greatly restricted.
Having said all this, our correspondent remains optimistic:
“Generally, Korea is a country o f religious freedom. Seventh-day
ID E S ET Adventists can gather together anytime anywhere to worship as
U. J

IBERTA S they choose.”

2000 New Caledonia As in other French territories, there are po­

138
tential problems with Saturday schooling and increasing misunder­
standings from school authorities.
Niue The dominant established religion is able to create
some opposition to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Strict
Sunday-observance laws prevail.
Vanuatu There is constitutional protection o f religious free­
dom. No problems.
W estern Sam oa Ethnic traditions and customs lead to
persecution o f minority religions. Some abuse o f human rights
has been reported.

CATEGORY 3
China In mainland China, 1999 was not a good year for reli­
gious liberty. Overall, government tightened its control. The people,
however, continue to hope that 2000 and the years ahead will bring
something better and brighter. They know that reform and openness
have reached the point o f no return. They hold a stronger sense of
security, they call for more mature leadership. Having achieved
normal trade status with the United States, China will, o f business
necessity, be subject to outside audit. Human rights in general and
religious freedom in particular will not escape scrutiny.
Hong Kong: Were China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative
Area independent, it would rank in Category 1. From its founding
as a colony o f the British Empire to its transfer to China on
January 1, 1997, and right up to the present, Hong Kong has en­
joyed full religious freedom. The government provides for and pro­
tects religious liberty. The territory is replete with
temples— Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, and Tao, M uslim mosques, and
Christian churches. Many o f these m ajor religious groups operate
schools and hospitals which not only offer general education and
comprehensive health care, but also serve to advance the unique
beliefs and doctrines o f the sponsoring faith communities. Among
these is the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Besides its schools and
hospitals, the church is active in social welfare, public evangelism,
media ministry, and personal contact— all o f which are protected
by the government.
Taiwan: This island community has always respected different
religious beliefs. Buddhism, Christianity— Catholic and Protestant,
and Islam all fare well. Taiwanese promote their belief systems by
carrying out various religious activities with full freedom. The
Seventh-day Adventist Church ministers in the fields o f evange­
lism, education, and healthcare. The government does not deny the FI D E S E T
church its connection to the world organization. LIBERTAS
But there are difficulties for working people who want to ob­
2000
139
 serve the seventh-day Sabbath. Taiwan still follows a six-day work
week. Government offices, schools, companies, and factories grant
Saturdays o ff only every other week.
Two years o f military service are required o f every young
man— a difficult period for non-combatant, Sabbath-keeping
Adventist youth. But recently a new law was passed that will allow
young men to choose, on religious grounds, a three-year term o f
community service.
Taiwan not only provides religious liberty, but now fosters
openness and liberality in its religious policies. If Taiwan were
counted a fully independent nation, it would place in Category 2.
M ongolia W hile the government has voted restrictive legis­
lation that could negatively effect Seventh-day Adventists and their
mission, the new law has, so far, not been enforced. A possible rea­
son: Mongolia has entered into growing relationships with the gov­
ernments o f other nations which are pro-religious freedom.

CATEGORY 4
Indonesia This vast nation o f islands is in turmoil.
Religious liberty is suffering. For example, on January 30, 2000,
an anti-Christian mob o f thousands ripped through the streets o f
Central Java’s capital, Yogyakarta, damaging or destroying a
dozen Catholic and Protestant church buildings— including the
Adventist Gareja Masehi Advent Hari Ketujah.
From our correspondent in Indonesia (January 23, 2000): “A
pastor had to evacuate Lombok as the situation was getting too
dangerous there. There is one Adventist church in Mataram on the
island o f Lombok which is in the news. The church was destroyed
along with the pastor’s house. The church elder’s house was also
burned, and a m em ber’s hotel. Some church members have fled to
Bali. Some o f the Christian churches in Bali have opened their
doors as refuge for those who have fled. Four or five churches in
Ambon were destroyed. An Adventist church in [now independent]
East Tim or has been left empty because all our members fled.”
Nauru Flere the Seventh-day Adventist Church encounters
m ajor problems. The government requires religious organizations
to be officially registered, but rejects the Adventist church’s appli­
cation. Presently three registered churches are able to function:
Catholic, Congregational, and the Bom Again Church. Our corre­
spondent, an Adventist minister and church administrator, writes:
“Although the Seventh-day Adventist Church has had mem­
F ID E S ET bers practicing their faith on the island for over 20 years, the Naum
LIBERTAS government has continually refused to allow registration. I was
2000 told that the law set no special criteria for registration— simply

140
apply by letter. I was also advised that the policy o f the govern­
ment was to allow no additional churches to register on Nauru, but
I could try. I did— and received no reply. In answer to a second
written request, I received a letter denying registration. No reason
stated. Non-registration means the church cannot
• Purchase or lease land.
• Meet in a public place.
• Conduct public meetings.
• Use an interdenominational church building.
• Conduct baptisms legally.
• Solemnize marriages among its members.
• Bury its own deceased members.
At present the Adventist group meets in a m em ber’s home. So far
the government is not interfering with this practice.”
Such draconian restrictions have tragic effects. Our pastoral
correspondent recounts a sad story:
“A recent experience has caused me to seek redress o f reli­
gious intolerance. I arrived in Nauru November 9. After some
questioning at the airport, I was granted entry. Adventists who met
me reported that a church m ember had died the previous evening.
After conversing about the tragic loss (the man, only 37, left a wife
and two young children), I inquired about funeral arrangements. I
was asked to conduct a private funeral service in the deceased’s
house— and please do it early, before the minister o f the Nauru
Congregational Church arrived, or we would be in trouble. Earlier
that day, a church member had gone to the office o f the Nauru gov­
ernment’s first secretary to request that the church be allowed to
bury the man. Permission was denied. The member then told the
government officer that an Adventist minister and church leader
would be arriving, so could he bury the man. That request was also
denied. In the end, the Congregational clergyman conducted the
service in a m ost gracious and appropriate manner. About his work
we have no complaints. But it is a hurtful experience when the
government compels you to turn to a stranger to bury a member o f
your own church family.”
The m inister continues:
“Our Nauru members have been threatened with jail if they con­
duct baptisms. Our members are denied use o f the Nauru Phosphate
Company Interdenominational Chapel even though most o f them are
company employees. Adventist ministers have been denied normal
transit entry to the country. I m yself am never sure whether or not I
am going to get in as the government will not grant a visa despite my F I D E S ET
following the required procedures well in advance. The denomina­ LIBERTAS
tion cannot send a pastor to care for the church.”
2000
141
 Vietnam According to Reuters (April 21,1999), the
Seventh-day Adventist Church, which lost its Saigon hospital, still
has a mission office that belongs to the church. But its church
buildings have been demolished and the properties turned into
markets and restaurants. The government has allowed the church to
keep open five churches, all south o f Saigon. Reports our own on-
the-scene correspondent: “The southern area is much more relaxed
about Christianity than the central provinces where control is still
very tight.” States the Vietnam News Agency: “A new decree on
religion in Vietnam enshrines religious rights, but warns o f punish­
ment for those who use religion to harm the state. Issued by the
government, the decree also states that the property and land o f re­
ligious organizations once handed to the state belongs to the state.”

D E S ET
IL J

BERTAS

2000
142
 EUROPE, CANADA, UNITED STATES

CATEGORY 1 CATEGORY 3 CATEGORY 4

Czech Republic Albania Armenia
Hungary Austria Azerbaijan
Iceland Bosnia and Belarus
Netherlands Herzegovina Georgia
Poland Bulgaria
Switzerland Cyprus CATEGORY 5
France Turkmenistan
CATEGORY 2 Greece
Belgium Kazakhstan
Bermuda Kyrgyzstan
Canada Luxembourg
Croatia M acedonia
Denmark Moldova
Estonia Russia
Finland Tajikistan
Germany T urkey
Great Britain Uzbekistan
Ireland Yugoslavia
Latvia
Lithuania
Norway
Portugal
Romania
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Ukraine
United States

CATEGORY 1
Netherlands Complete religious freedom. W hile economic
trends are threatening some members, Adventists, working with
other churches, are opposing these trends.
Poland The Seventh-day Adventist Church enjoys full lib­
erty, based on an act o f Parliament (June 30, 1995) which granted
all basic rights. The issue o f “sects” continues to be o f some con­
cern because, at times, the media uses the term pejoratively in de­
scribing the Adventist church. The director o f Poland’s office for
new religious movements told Keston News Service (March 27, F I D E S ET
2000) that “we have evaluated some registered churches as danger­ LIBERTAS
ous sects which threaten civic freedoms. We may now have to
2000
143
 withdraw their registration, although we haven’t come under any
[Catholic] church pressure to do this.”

CATEGORY 2
Bermuda Religious freedom is assured to every citizen and
to all faith groups. But there are a few problems in connection with
Sabbath accommodations for employees in the workplace. There
are also issues in the commercial sector relating to Sabbath-keep­
ing persons whose businesses are part o f an association or a mall.
However, the attitude o f officials is one o f cooperation and willing­
ness to resolve conflicts.
Canada The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada is
well known and respected. There have been some problems with
labor union membership and Sabbath accommodation, but these
are usually resolved without legal action. Where litigation has been
necessary, the courts have often ruled favorably.
Denm ark Public schools occasionally require A dventist
students to attend school on Saturday. Church leaders have pre­
sented this m atter to the proper authorities, but the question
rem ains unanswered.
Finland Religious liberty is adequately protected by law. But
some other forms o f legislation do not harmonize with religious lib­
erty principles. Labor laws recognizing Sunday as a day o f rest do not
provide for alternatives. This is bad for Sabbatarians. Two examples:
A young man employed in the office a state-owned transporta­
tion company was dismissed because he was unable to work fol­
lowing sunset on a few Fridays each year. Eventually he took his
case to the European Commission for Human Rights. He lost.
A young lady’s vocational retraining as a dairy worker in­
cluded a compulsory period o f paid duty. The dairy company she
was assigned to refused to grant her Sabbath privileges. She was
unable to graduate.
The Adventist church’s minister for religious liberty is able to
provide input in the development o f new legislation providing for
religious freedom. He has stressed that all laws, including those ap­
plying to labor, need to be in harmony with the principles o f reli­
gious liberty.
And consider this: Because most cemeteries are owned by the
Lutheran Church o f Finland, non-Lutherans are often required to
pay up to ten times the “Lutheran price” to purchase a burial site.
Germany There are a few scattered Sabbath problems for
ID ES ET employees in general and for students regarding exams. Children
Ll J

IB ER TA S in elementary schools face no problems.

2000 Great Britain Seventh-day Adventists in the workplace face

144
occasional problems in getting Sabbath off, but these can normally be
solved by intervention from the church’s religious liberty ministry.
Latvia The government is still working on legislation for
church-state relationships. Though not proposing to block the pres­
ence o f Latvia’s smaller churches, some o f the larger religious
bodies strongly suggest that “traditional” churches o f a certain age
and size be granted more privileges than “new” churches.
Romania The most serious religious liberty issue confronting
the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1999 centered on the national
capacity examination which was scheduled on a Saturday at the end
o f the compulsory educational program. Some 650 children were un­
able to sit for the test. A presentation to the Court o f Appeals was re­
jected, but the Supreme Court ruled otherwise, directing the Ministry
o f Education to schedule a new examination time for the Adventist
children. With few exceptions, the Supreme Court decision was car­
ried out. But Adventist high school students from ethnic Hungarian
families faced a conflict in that the Hungarian language and litera­
ture test was still set on a Saturday. Somehow they had not been
included in the Supreme Court decision.
The Adventist church in Romania also faces problems related
to its evangelistic mission. Local congregations often rent auditori­
ums or theaters for religious programs to which the general public
is invited. Following the initial meetings, priests sometimes try to
block the series by pressuring the mayors to direct the auditorium
or theater managers to cancel their contracts with the church. This
happens in the countryside or in small towns where the cultural
halls are generally subordinate to municipal authorities.
The Romanian Constitution guarantees freedom o f religion
and conscience. There is no law on religion— yet. The law en­
forced during the Communist regime is considered inappropriate
for the present. W hile the government had discussed a new draft
law on religion for more than seven years, it was prevented from
submitting it to Parliament until autumn o f 1999. Although it was
supported by the majority church, the government subsequently
withdrew the draft in the face o f opposition from minority
churches and international organizations.
Sweden There are some problems in the education sector at
college and university levels. It is becoming more common to
schedule tests on Saturdays.
Ukraine The Seventh-day Adventist Church has experi­
enced some difficulties in renting halls for evangelistic programs.
While existing national legislation is supposed to prevent violations F I D E S ET
o f religious freedom, the various regions o f the do not act in full LIBERTAS
harmony with the constitution. Local authorities have attempted to
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 stop evangelistic campaigns. Olga Murga conducted a series o f
meetings in the Crimea. Orthodox opposition made it very difficult
hard to secure a venue. Vladimir Dyman held a campaign in the
Chernigov region. Pressured by the Orthodox church, authorities
created obstacles. Dyman had to continue elsewhere. Such prob­
lems are exacerbated when the media do not present objectively the
equality o f all religious organizations before the law.
United States The Constitution guarantees religious free­
dom. Civil rights legislation makes it illegal to discriminate against
religious convictions. The church supports current efforts to clarify
existing legislation, thus eliminating all confusion about employer
obligations to arrange religious accommodation in the workplace.

CATEGORY 3
Albania Problems are encountered by Adventist students
wanting permission to be absent from school on Saturdays.
Adventists who are drafted into the army may face difficulties in
honoring their religious convictions.
Bulgaria Although the Parliamentary agenda did not list it
as business, on February 2,2000, Socialists (i.e., former
Communists) proposed the first reading o f three different drafts o f a
new law on religious organizations. The motion carried. W ithin a
half hour all three drafts were moved to the second round. A special
commission was set up to merge the three bills into one proposal for
the second and final reading. W ritten by the government, the
Socialists, and the VM RO party, the three drafts had been accepted
by a Parliamentary legislative committee in November 1999. The
committee rejected a fourth draft law, prepared by representatives
o f various religious minority communities and Bulgaria’s Helsinki
Committee.
Six days later— on February 8,2000— representatives o f nine­
teen religious minorities and other organizations in Bulgaria met in
Sofia for a national conference concerning the first reading o f the
draft laws. The conferees issued an eight-point appeal to the presi­
dent, the prime minister, and the chair o f Parliament. Religious
communities who signed the appeal included Baptists, members o f
the Church o f God, Congregationalists, Methodists, Mormons,
Pentecostals, Roman Catholics, Seventh-day Adventists, and mem ­
bers o f the United Churches. Other organizations which signed:
Bulgaria’s Helsinki Committee, the Institute for the Principle o f
Justice, the Association for the Protection o f Religious Freedom,
F ID E S ET the Christian Coalition, and the Tolerance Foundation.
LIBERT AS France For several years, the French government has been

2000 the European leader against “sects and cults.” Thankfully, France’s

146
official list did not name the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a
sect. But the document has indeed fed prejudice and justified dis­
crimination against all religious minorities.
On December 16, 1999, the Senate started the process o f revis­
ing a law dating from 1936 by adopting legislation to dissolve groups
which “cause trouble to public order.” This bill proposes to treat reli­
gious minorities the same as private militias and terrorist groups.
Meanwhile, it is becoming more and more difficult for many
Adventist students both in France and in its overseas territories to
observe the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday). According to Pastor
Jean-Paul Barquon, secretary o f the church’s North France
Conference, this is a dramatic change. As early as 1876, Seventh-
day Adventists were accorded the various governments’ under­
standing and good will. From 1950 to 1981, the minister of
education gave his support. In 1981, a new minister introduced the
term “situation à caractère dérogatoire.” A law on compulsory
schooling, adopted on December 10, 1998, increased understand­
ing towards Adventist students and teachers.
At present, it is clear from the January 2000 report o f the
Inter-Ministerial Commission Against Sects that France’s list o f
sects targets all religious minorities. It sets the sectarian population
o f France’s overseas territories at 20-25% o f the general popula­
tion. Former understandings have changed, hostility has become
the rule. Strong pressures are put upon parents to force their chil­
dren to go to school on Saturday. The religious character o f
Sabbath observance is denied. The usual comment is, “If we give
you Saturday off, we will have to provide a day off for those who
want to go fishing or play soccer.” Sabbath worship is thus com­
pared with secular entertainment.
Seventh-day Adventists comprise between 5% and 10% o f the
population o f Guadeloupe and Martinique. Adventist teachers, par­
ents, and students holding sincere religious convictions are accused
o f having “excessive requirements.” “ Some teachers refuse to
work on days that their confession claims are holidays.” What day?
“Especially Saturday.” “These unacceptable attitudes ” says the re­
port, “should not remain unsanctioned.” Article 18 o f the Universal
Declaration o f Human Rights and all the other international docu­
ments which state that religious freedom is “a fundamental free­
dom” are simply forgotten.
Comment on France would not be complete without mention­
ing the position o f the M inister o f the Interior. In a letter to
International Religious Liberty Association President Bert B. F I D E S ET
Beach (March 13, 2000), he states that the report o f the Inter- LIBERTAS
Ministerial Commission is to be understood as information only
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 and not as a normative document. The minister says that a bill is
not a law until it is adopted by the National Assembly. And he un­
derlines his “profond attachement aux principes républicains et
démocratiques” and to the free exercise o f all religions.
Greece Most difficulties encountered by Seventh-day
Adventists seem to be touched o ff by G reece’s dominant church
rather than by the government itself.
M acedonia Over the past few years, the official Seventh-
day Adventist Church has had to deal with a small “offshoot”
m ovement that hijacked the name o f the church and forcibly seized
the central office and the main church in Skopje. Though the courts
have repeatedly ruled in favor o f the official Seventh-day
Adventist Church, the decisions have not been implemented. States
Dr. Bertil W iklander, president o f the church’s Trans-European
Division: “The church in Macedonia is leaving troubles behind and
is vigorously moving forward.” Leaders o f the church in
M acedonia reported in M arch 1999 that “baptisms have been
higher than in previous years. Eighty thousand copies o f seven dif­
ferent books were published during the last three years.” The
church officers said they take this as a sign o f freedom.
Moldova Notwithstanding favorable legislation, Seventh-
day Adventists have workplace and school problems. Government
bureaucracies and mass media create difficulties for the church. For
example, Adventists in Rybnitsa purchased a house for worship,
then had difficulty in registering the congregation. Documents were
prepared and sent to the registry, but they were simply returned—
many times. The churches in Bendery and Kamenka encountered
the same difficulties.
Russia Kaliningrad: In January 1999, an Adventist pastor
secured permission to use the cultural hall in Chemjakhovsk for a
series o f youth meetings. Once the program began, the Orthodox
priest stopped the series, forcing the Adventist pastor to relocate.
This time the priest’s sons tried to stop the program by beating the
pastor’s wife severely enough to require medical attention at a
local hospital. In Kolomna, Orthodox opposition blocked Olga
M urga’s family program. Local authorities could do nothing. In
Chehov, a pastor who wanted to conduct an evangelistic program
became the target o f a newspaper article discrediting the Seventh-
day Adventist Church. The pastor’s request for the article to be re­
futed was refused.
Narjan-Mar: In April 1999, Adventists were prepared to con­
ID E S ET duct a family and health program. Notwithstanding conference doc­
Il J

IBERTAS umentation authorizing the program, authorities closed it after the

2000 initial meeting because the congregation itself was not registered.

148
 Novgorod: Pastor Eduard Siminyuk received an army draft
notice. His conference officers appealed first to the military office
and then to the city court, both in Valdai. Siminyuk’s request for a
clergy deferment was rejected— a denial o f a constitutional provi­
sion. During the autumn months o f 1999, Siminyuk asked the draft
commission to allow him alternative service in accordance with
Russia’s Constitution, but the commission ignored his argument
that military service contradicts his beliefs. On January 26, 2000,
the Novgorod Regional Court o f Cassation overturned the lower
court decision and ruled that the military office’s draft notice was
illegal. This is one o f the few decisions in Russian judicial practice
in favor o f a military draftee who is unable to serve on the basis o f
religious belief. Since Russian courts do not, as a rule, grant ap­
peals on draft commission actions, the decision by the Novgorod
Regional Court o f Cassation breaks the vicious circle surrounding
conscientious objectors. Siminyuk was represented by M oscow’s
Slavic Center for Law and Justice.
Volga: Orthodox representatives in Kamenka tried to stop an
evangelistic campaign in February. In Volgograd, the newspaper
described Seventh-day Adventists as members o f a sect who “in­
flict violence, slaughter, and exhausting work without necessary
food and sleep.” In the Saratov region, the church has not been
able to register congregations for two years. In Pugachev, the assis­
tant chairman o f the local government granted permission for an
evangelistic campaign, but after the program began, it was stopped
and the director o f the hall was fired. There are also several cases
o f church members having to serve in the army without being
given a chance for alternative service.
Volga-Vyatskaya: In the regional capital, local authorities pro­
hibited the church from renting public buildings for evangelistic
programs. In Alekseyevka, in October 1999, local authorities pro­
hibited a campaign. In Kotelnich, representatives o f the Russian
Orthodox Church and Russian National Unity Party tried to stop a
crusade. The mayor o f Navashino rejected Adventist evangelism
because a local Orthodox priest was negative on the plan. In
Nizhny Novgorod, the Adventist church has experienced some dif­
ficulties in renting halls for worship.
Uzbekistan The religious sphere throughout Uzbekistan is
definitely strained. Authorities at all levels are vindictive. Churches
can neither support nor satisfy the spiritual needs o f their members
for they are unable to provide literature, organize small worship
groups, or even meet in homes. Although censorship is constitu­ F ID E S ET
tionally forbidden, churches cannot bring religious literature into L IBERTA S
the country. Heavy customs and other obstacles function as cen-
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149
 sors. Moreover, there is no possibility o f printing the Bible or
Christian literature. The government is required to get expert opin­
ions as to whether a certain book might upset society. Registered
churches do not have legal status. All their activities must be per­
formed through the governm ent’s Council on Religious Affairs.
Those in charge o f the council’s Christian sector are Muslims.
Their actions clearly show that other religions are not welcome.
The council refused to register the Seventh-day Adventist Church
in Bukhara in spite o f the fact that the Ministry o f Justice autho­
rized the church’s right to registration.

CATEGORY 4
A zerbaijan In Gyandja, the Seventh-day A dventist con­
gregation was able to overcom e serious obstacles and secure of­
ficial registration.
Belarus Leaders o f the Adventist, Baptist, and Pentecostal
churches organized the Belarus Religious Liberty Association in an
effort to protect what little freedom they have. There exists an offi­
cial government declaration o f religious liberty, but it is not opera­
tive in practical terms.
Georgia In Tbilisi, the Seventh-day Adventist congregation
was able to overcome serious obstacles and secure official registration.

CATEGORY 5
Afghanistan The Taliban government has invited Loma
Linda University to help rebuild the nation’s medical school.
Turkmenistan The government has refused to register the
Seventh-day Adventist Church. Its pastor and members are regu­
larly subjected to persecution. No longer can they worship in their
own sanctuary because, between November 13-27, 1999, the
church building in Ashkhabad was demolished. The congregation’s
efforts to protect legal rights and freedoms were unsuccessful.
M any public and legal organizations tried to influence the govern­
m ent with regard to violations o f human rights and religious lib­
erty, but they too did not succeed. The following report from
Keston News Service (by Felix Corley; January 21, 2000) provides
a credible perspective o f the situation in Ashkhabad:
“Despite claims that the land was needed to build a new road,
visitors to the city report that there is no sign o f any new road
being constructed. The second reason authorities cited for the de­
struction o f the church building was the poor condition o f the
ID E S ET church building itself, but visitors to the church before its destruc­
li. J

IBERTAS tion and those who have viewed videos o f the building refute this

2000 suggestion. The bulldozing o f the Adventist church— which began

150
November 13 and took two weeks to complete— has been widely
regarded as the defining moment o f Turkm enistan’s suppression o f
its religious minorities.
“During a Helsinki Commission [Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe] delegation visit to the site where the
church had stood, Karen Lord stated, ‘It is evident from visiting
the site that the authorities have no immediate plans to construct a
road. The building remains as a pile o f rubble with no indication
that work continues on the site. No other buildings have been de­
stroyed save the church and a home behind the church. The
Adventist church, a neighboring school, and 17 houses surrounding
the site all received notice from city planners, but no others have
been demolished to date.’
“Lord added that after initially saying the church had to be de­
m olished to make way for a new road, the authorities declared the
building had to be condemned because it was structurally unsound,
‘fro m the information obtained by the Helsinki Commission staff,
both o f these reasons appear to be fallacious. There is a major road
a few blocks away which serves as a primary artery for traffic in
the city. No new road appears to be needed through a quiet resi­
dential area. The building itself was solidly constructed. The time
it took to demolish it is testimony to that.’
“Other visitors to the site since the demolition have also con­
firmed to Keston Institute that the former building remains a pile o f
rubble and that no construction work on a new road has begun. The
architect denied that the church had been singled out for demolition.
He claimed the demolition had taken place in accordance with the
‘general plan for the city.’ The first the church’s pastor had learned
o f the impending demolition had been a letter dated November 11
ordering the Adventists to vacate the building ahead o f the immi­
nent demolition. The deputy chairman for religious affairs there de­
clared that the demolition o f the Adventist church and two Hare
Krishna temples ‘was all done in accordance with the law.’
“Pastor f edotov told the OSCE delegation that while conduct­
ing the Saturday evening service on Novem ber 13, approximately
five workers and 25 security officers arrived to begin the demoli­
tion. None would identify themselves and no papers were produced
indicating governmental permission. The police blocked all roads,
gardens, and walkways out o f the area. Ten people were actually in
the church as the destruction began. The British and American am ­
bassadors attempted to visit the site but were prevented from enter­
ing the area. Representatives from the O SC E’s center in Fl D E S ET
Ashkhabad were also notified o f the situation and they attempted to LIBERTA S
visit the area.
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 “The day the destruction began, Fedotov received a notice
from the procurator declaring, ‘Your appeal to the procurator has
been considered. The questions in your appeal are regulated by the
Religion Law o f Turkmenistan.’
“According to Karen Lord, when the OSCE representatives in­
terviewed the workers who were engaged in destroying the build­
ing, the workers expressed deep concern because they believed
they were destroying ‘a house o f G od.’ Said Lord: ‘Apparently it
was well known on the streets that this church had been destroyed
and there was some concern that because a holy place had been
desecrated, negative things would befall the Turkmen people.’
Other sources told Keston that when a crane being used to knock
down the building broke unexpectedly, the operator said in fear
that he was not prepared to continue with the demolition and left
the site. The following day the authorities found a new crane and a
new operator to continue the work.
“The demolition came after months o f harassment and threats to
the unregistered community. In September 1999, Pastor Fedotov and
other pastors had been invited to meet officials of the Council for
Religious Affairs. The Council suggested to Fedotov that he end all
services: ‘If you do not stop your services, then there will be recon­
struction in the city.’ Fedotov indicated that he was gathering docu­
ments to apply for re-registration and asked what documents were
needed to complete the application. In October, a month later, Fedotov
was told that his request had been denied, even before he had applied.
“Also in October, some 15 police officers raided a service at
the Adventist church, ordering parishioners to cease the illegal
meeting and forcing Fedotov to sign a statement. The pastor was
then summoned to the Administrative Court and fined following
what he described as a ‘sham ’ trial. Fedotov reportedly saw the
document with the final decision for the fine before the hearing had
even taken place.
“The Adventist church gathered signatures to petition President
Niyazov to stop the destruction o f the church, but they were given
no reply. They also sent a letter to the mayor requesting another
plot o f land and compensation for the destroyed building. They
have not had an official answer to this request, although Fedotov
knows that there is a negative response which the mayor is reluctant
to sign. This response, Fedotov maintains, does not discuss any city
construction project, but rather states that the building was tom
down because the church did not have the proper permits.
ID E S ET “Construction o f the Adventist church in Ashkhabad was
Ll J

IB ER TA S begun in 1992 with permission from President Niyazov and was

2000 completed in 1996.”

152
 Meanwhile, despite meeting all legal requirements, registration
of a local Bible society has been refused by the government of
Turkmenistan. The application was a collaborative effort by members
o f the Baptist, Greater Grace, Pentecostal, and Seventh-day Adventist
churches. Turkmenistan is the only country o f the former Soviet
Union that does not have an officially recognized Bible society.

F I D E S ET
LIBERTAS

2000
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 LATIN AM ERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

CATEGORY 1 CATEGORY 2 CATEGORY 3

Belize Argentina Mexico
Costa Rica Antigua and Barbuda
Dominican Republic Aruba
Guatemala Bahamas
Honduras Barbados
St. Eustatius Bolivia
Brazil
Cayman
Chile
Colombia
Dominica
Ecuador
El Salvador
French Guyana
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guyana
Haiti
Jamaica
Martinique
Montserrat
Netherlands Antilles
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Puerto Rico
St. Kitts-Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Maarten
St. Vincent
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
U. S. Virgin Islands
Uruguay
Venezuela

CATEGORY 1
ID E S ET St. Eustatius Ideal situation. The Adventist church’s rela­
Il J

IBERTA S tionship with the community is excellent.

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CATEGORY 2
Antigua and Barbuda Problems are being reduced. The gov­
ernor general, a Seventh-day Adventist, has been extremely helpful.
Barbados The private sector is a problem, but there has
been excellent intervention. New laws such as the Shoppes Bill
have been enacted.
Colombia According to Statutory Law 133 approved by the
Colombian Parliament, religious liberty is protected. Article 6
opens the door for Seventh-day Adventists to keep the Sabbath
(Saturday) free o f regular work, school attendance, or military ser­
vice by agreement o f the parties involved. This law benefits several
levels o f life. Education: The national test for admission to public
and private universities is now available to Adventist students on
Saturday night. Universities respect the right o f Adventist students
not to take tests on the Sabbath. Military: Adventist students are no
longer forced to perform military duty on the Sabbath. Adventist
chaplains are accepted in public schools, hospitals, and the m ili­
tary. Adventist church weddings: The process is nearly complete to
accept an Adventist wedding certificate as legal. Colombia’s only
difficulty for Adventists: The church’s situation in areas controlled
by armed guerillas.
Dominica General problems. The majority Roman Catholic
Church dominates but inter-church relations are improving.
El Salvador Sabbath problems. Visits have been made to
the government leaders and ministries.
Grenada Police service and the private sector have brought
some problem s, but there is excellent intervention by church
representatives.
Guyana University security service presents some prob­
lems, but the church is initiating dialogue with the new govern­
ment and has an excellent relationship with tertiary institutions.
Adventist pastors are allowed to preach in the prisons.
Jamaica Successful intervention brought to solve a few
problems in some public schools.
Nicaragua There are some problems with employment. A
national chapter o f the International Religious Liberty Association
is being organized.
Panama There are some Sabbath problems in public schools.
Puerto Rico There are some problems. Letters sent to the
organizations involved. Some cases are taken to court.
St. Kitts-Nevis There have been few complaints. Effective
dialogue with authorities in government. F ID E S ET
St. Lucia Difficulties in the private sector on the matter of LIBERTA S
Sabbath accommodation. Good relations with the government.
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155
 According to the census, Adventists may constitute up to 17 pecent o f
the population. The minister o f tourism is a Seventh-day Adventist.
St. Maarten Private sector problems, but the church has a
high profile and works diligently in response to social issues.
St. Vincent The general Sabbath issue is a problem, partic­
ularly in the public service and security areas. The nation’s m inis­
ter o f health is a Seventh-day Adventist physician.
Trinidad and Tobago Public service, school examinations,
and private enterprise are sometimes problematic. The attorney
general understands the situation. Parliament will consider an
equal opportunities bill which includes a day-of-worship clause.
U.S. Virgin Islands Some problems in the private sector.
Venezuela A few Sabbath problems in public schools, mili­
tary service, and employment. A church representative interviewed
the president o f the Constituent Assembly.

CATEGORY 3
Mexico Problems were reported in North Chiapas where
Adventists have been forced to join a paramilitary group in protest
marches against the government. They endure religious intolerance
in the community. An ANN dispatch on March 5, 2000, reported
on anti-Protestant persecution in several Chiapas villages. “Twelve
Seventh-day Adventist families were among 72 Protestant families
apparently expelled from the village o f Fleur de Agala by the com ­
m unity’s Roman Catholic majority.” ANN quoted Pastor Isaias
Espinosa: “Fourteen homes were demolished by the mob as
Protestants fled to the hills for refuge.” Other attacks against evan­
gelicals were reported during March and April 1999 in several vil­
lages. Since 1994, ongoing conflict between different Christian
groups in the region o f Plan de Ayala has forced at least 20
Adventist families to leave the area. Ten homes were burned. The
current dispute results from plans by the five remaining Adventist
families to build a new church in the village on land donated by a
church member. The General Assembly, a local governing body,
has refused to allow the building to be constructed and is threaten­
ing to evict the Adventists from the village. In search o f solutions,
dialogues have been initiated with the government, the param ili­
tary group, and the community.

ID E S ET
1L J

IBERTA S

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 NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

CATEGORY 2 CATEGORY 4 CATEGORY 5

Iraq Bahrain Afghanistan
Jordan Kuwait Iran
Lebanon Libya
CATEGORY 3 Morocco Saudi Arabia
Egypt Oman Syria
Israel Pakistan Tunisia
Qatar Yemen
United Arab Emirates

CATEGORY 2
Jordan While Seventh-day Adventists welcomed Jordan’s
recent move toward a Friday-Saturday weekend, they are sensitive
that the new arrangement may present problems for some who
worship on Sunday.

CATEGORY 3
Egypt The Seventh-day Adventist Church is one o f only a
handful o f Christian faith groups officially recognized by the gov­
ernment which, o f course, then keeps a close eye on the church’s
activities. Adventists are now experiencing problems in the area o f
marriage because the large and highly influential Coptic Church
seeks the imposition o f restrictions on non-Copts.
Israel Though opportunities for public evangelism are lim­
ited, Adventists have freedom to worship and practice their faith.
In the W est Bank, some difficulties are encountered concerning
Sabbath privileges because the Palestinian authorities tend to see
observance o f the seventh day o f the week as a Jewish thing.

CATEGORY 4
Lebanon Although in many ways Lebanon offers more reli­
gious liberty than any other country in the region, the government
has put restrictions on the number o f churches it will recognize.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is recognized only as a unit
under the umbrella o f an organization for evangelical churches.
Pakistan Major problems are encountered in acquiring
visas for expatriate church workers. Christians are probably more
restricted in Pakistan than in Sudan. Proselytism among Muslims is
dangerous. Shari’a law is sometimes applied. In July o f 2000
Pakistan declared itself to be an Islamic state. Meanwhile, the F I D E S ET
Adventist church continues to exist as a Christian organization. It LIBERTAS
owns property, builds churches, and applies for and receives some
2000
157
 m issionary visas. The church operates schools, a seminary, and a
major hospital.

CATEGORY 5
Afghanistan One positive note in an otherwise oppressive
environment, the Taliban government has invited Loma Linda
University to help rebuild the nation’s medical school.
Saudi Arabia According to religious liberty activist
Gianfranco Rossi (quoted by the Adventist News Network), “Saudi
Arabia is the only country in the world that formally prohibits on
its territory the public practice o f any religion except Islam.
Among the six million immigrant workers, there are many who are
not Muslims. They would like to profess their faith freely.
However, if they try to do this they are arrested, imprisoned, and
expelled from the country. Saudi authorities prohibit Jews,
Christians, and all other non-Muslims from having their own
places o f worship and even from meeting in private.”

I D E S ET
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IBERTAS

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 SOUTHERN ASIA

CATEGORY 3 CATEGORY 4 CATEGORY 5

India Nepal Bhutan
Sri Lanka Maldives

CATEGORY 3
India India is a democratic, secular republic. The constitu­
tion guarantees religious freedom as a fundamental right. Article
25 o f the Indian Constitution provides to all people freedom o f
conscience and the right to profess, practice, and propagate any re­
ligion subject to the prescribed limitation o f public order, morality,
and health. Moreover, the government must not support any one
particular religion.
But due to the rise o f Hindu fundamentalism, India is facing
many difficulties. The present government is dominated by a
Hindu religious party. Though the state governments have made
public pronouncements in support o f secularism, some have never­
theless passed legislation to prevent religious conversions.
Additionally, India’s six-day work week creates Sabbath problems
in public schools and workplaces in many places. In spite o f all the
difficulties, we are able to carry on evangelistic work in many parts
o f the nation.
The government has decided to form a committee to review the
constitution. This has raised questions in the minds o f many people.
However, the government has given assurances that such basic
tenets as democracy, republicanism, and secularism will not be
touched. Still, secularists have expressed their apprehension about a
hidden agenda in the whole process o f constitutional review.
Religious conversions have been prohibited. In January 1999,
Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were
burned to death. The man alleged to be behind this crime has been
arrested. However, the state o f Orissa, where the murders took
place, passed an order in N ovem ber 1999 prohibiting conversions
without prior permission from the local police and the district m ag­
istrate. This order means that anyone wishing to convert to any
other religion must undergo police inquiry to explain his or her
reasons. The police report is then drawn up, supplemented by in­
formation from family members and neighbors, and then passed on
to the district magistrate who is authorized to grant or deny permis­
sion. The law obviously targeted Christianity. Little wonder that it
has created widespread dismay among India’s Christian commu­ F I D E S ET
nity. The bad situation is likely to deteriorate further if, as ex­ LIBERTAS
pected, Orissa brings to power a new legislative assembly
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 controlled by a Hindu-influenced political party.
Places o f worship have been limited. In the state o f Uttar
Pradesh, India’s most populous, legislators on January 4 passed a
bill restricting the construction and use o f places o f worship.
Christians fear this could lead to denial o f permission to hold,
legally speaking, any meetings anywhere in the state. However, at
the tim e our correspondent prepared this report, the bill had not
been ratified by the governor.
M eanwhile, the Gujarat state government lifted a ban on its
employees being members o f the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya
Swayam Sevak Sangh. Not only Christian organizations but also
secular political parties have objected. However, India’s prime
m inister and home minister have both justified Gujarat’s action.
The Gujarat assembly is also expected to discuss its new freedom
o f religion bill this year. It would forbid conversion o f a person by
use o f force, fraud, or enticement. Anyone involved in activity
leading to a conversion could be fined and imprisoned for up to
three years. This bill, if and when it becomes effective, will haunt
Christians working with tribal and marginal people simply because
conversion by “enticement” or “allurement” or by “fraudulent
m eans” can be interpreted in many ways. Such circumstances indi­
cate that Christianity in India is going through difficult times. At
the same time, there is overwhelming evidence that a lot o f people
have a great thirst to know about Jesus.
The government o f India approved New Delhi as the venue o f
the International Religious Liberty Association’s World Conference
on Religious Freedom, conducted November 16-18, 1999. Most re­
ligions were represented. The Seventh-day Adventist Church sup­
ported it in full. Leaders from the governing coalition and the
opposition joined representatives o f India’s— and the world’s— reli­
gions in sharing their understanding o f religious freedom. Coming
ju st a few days after the visit o f Pope Jean Paul II, the IRLA World
Conference was understood and perceived as an effort to build
bridges between religions and to create a climate o f peace.
Sri Lanka The decades-long ethnic struggle between the
m ajority Sinhalese and minority Tamils continues. The basic issue:
Aspirations o f some Tamils for an autonomous homeland in the
northern section o f this beautiful island, once known as Ceylon.
But the conflict has clear linguistic and religious overtones. The
Sinhala-speaking Sinhalese are Buddhists; the Tamil-speaking
Tamils are, in the main, Hindu. English is the bridge language;
ID E S ET street signs in Colombo, for example, are tri-lingual. Christians in
IL J

IBERTAS both groups feel trapped. They want to be faithful to the teachings
2000 o f Jesus Christ and, at the same time, loyal to their ethnic commu­

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nities. The M. Anthony Alexander story is illustrative.
A Seventh-day Adventist minister and teacher— and a Tamil,
Alexander was arrested by the national police in March 1998. The
charges: Supporting the anti-government Tamil Tiger movement.
Though subjected to exquisite physical torture, he resisted signing
a false confession— until the police warned him that they would
get his wife and five children if he continued to hold out.
Imprisoned without trial— technically legal under Sri Lanka’s
emergency laws— Alexander did not get a first hearing in court
until December 1999. And that came about because the Adventist
church focused global attention on his case. The charges having
been divided, Alexander was tried in separate courts before differ­
ent judges, one o f whom became so accustomed to seeing people
from Bermuda, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the United States in
his courtroom that when they were not present he was constrained
to ask: “Where are all the international people?” As the trials con­
tinued through the winter and spring o f 2000, the government’s
case unraveled. The coerced “confession” was ruled inadmissable.
Physical evidence was shown to be utterly incredible. Ruling on a
defense motion, the presiding judge on May 15 declared Pastor
Alexander innocent o f all charges and ordered his immediate re­
lease from prison.
A footnote: Over the long months behind bars, Alexander’s
Sinhalese prison wardens and guards came to appreciate the Tamil
minister whose only agenda was the peace o f God in Sri Lanka and
good will among the nation’s peoples. In prison, Pastor Alexander
daily shared, in word and deed, the love o f Christ with other Tamil
prisoners— young fellows, most o f them, and considered by the
government guilty o f terrorism simply because they are Tamils.
Anthony A lexander’s prison ministry was, in fact, so meaningful
that the leadership o f the revolutionary movement pleaded: “Please
stop your preaching. We know that when you have converted all
our young men to Christianity, they w on’t fight with us anymore.”
Another footnote— this from The Washington Post (June 8,
2000): “Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 7— A suicide bomb blast near
Colombo shattered Sri Lanka’s first W ar Heroes Day, killing a
cabinet minister and 20 other people. There was no claim o f re­
sponsibility for the bombing, but it was similar to previous attacks
by the Liberation Tigers o f Tamil Eelam, a group that has been
fighting the Sri Lankan military for 17 years to create a separate
homeland for minority Tamils in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.
The rebels have a suicide unit, the Black Tigers, that has targeted F I D E S ET
government officials and politicians. After the bombing, crowds o f LIBERTAS
angry people began attacking the homes o f Tamils, a government
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 official said. The government, which has already assumed em er­
gency powers to deal with the Tamil insurgency, imposed a curfew
on the Ratmalana neighborhood and two adjacent suburbs and
barred journalists from the area. The government information
agency issued a statement appealing to the public ‘to stay calm at a
sensitive time such as this when emotions are running high.’ It
added that steps had been taken ‘to protect all communities from
any backlash.’”

CATEGORY 4
Nepal Nepal has declared itself a Hindu kingdom. But the
Seventh-day Adventist Church has a presence in this nation high in
the Himalayas: a few churches, a school, and an internationally-
known hospital. ADRA International, the Adventist Development
and R elief Agency International, is very active. Among the restric­
tions that inhibit the church’s mission: conversion (a serious of­
fense) and ownership o f property. But Nepalese Christians can and
do worship.

CATEGORY 5
Bhutan Religious freedom does not exist in Bhutan, a Hindu
kingdom ruled by a young monarch. There is a general ban on all
Christian churches including the Adventist church. Nonetheless, a few
Bhutanese people have recently adopted the Seventh-day Adventist
faith, but they cannot build a church anywhere in the nation.
M aldives There is no religious freedom in the Maldives.
All churches are banned. Islam is the dominant religion. Those
Christians from other nations who have entered the Maldives as
expatriate workers must worship in private.
ti

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CONCLUSION
The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Religious Freedom
World Report 2000 is a modest contribution to the collection o f
similar documents on religious intolerance currently issued by var­
ious governments and non-governmental organizations. We strive
to fill a complementary role. This report’s focus on the experience
o f Seventh-day Adventists should not be seen as a sign o f denomi­
national exclusiveness. It was the best way to channel the flow o f
information we receive and to report on some unique aspects o f the
global condition o f religious freedom. We work diligently with the
best we have in the current circumstances. Certainly we are con­
cerned about all violations o f religious freedom against all reli­
gions and beliefs.
Though this report is seriously— even severely— edited, the
feeling persists that much work still needs to be done and improve­
ments made. Informational input remains unequal in detail and accu­
racy. We simply hope this report will serve as a resource document
for the United Nations as well as other agencies, institutions, and
countries. May it open doors to dialogue and better understanding.
Religious freedom is always in the process o f being given or
denied, o f being built up or tom down. The Seventh-day Adventist
Church is fully committed to this principle: Religious freedom is a
fundamental freedom. The church is also committed to this mis­
sion: To defend, protect, and promote religious liberty for all peo­
ple everywhere.

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 The First Word and the Last
W illiam Wordsworth (United Kingdom; 1770-1850) describes
the person o f faith and defines faith itself:
One in whom persuasion and belief
Had ripened into faith, and faith become
A passionate intuition. (The Excursion, Book IV.)
For such a one, witness to that “passionate intuition” called
faith flows as naturally-and positively-as breathing in and breath­
ing out. W itness to a whole and healthy faith does not resort to
negative proselytism resulting in persecution. Writes Alfred
Tennyson (United Kingdom; 1809-1892):
To persecute
M akes a faith hated, and is furtherm ore
No perfect witness o f a perfect faith
In him who persecutes. (Queen Mary, Act III, Scene 4.)
*

For most readers o f Fides et Libertas, Miguel de Cervantes

(Spain; 1547-1616) states the obvious:
Liberty . . . is one o f the m ost valuable blessings that Heaven has
bestowed upon mankind. (Don Quixote, Part II, Chapter 58.)
But it’s an obvious worth stating. And restating. Flere’s Daniel
W ebster (United States; 1782-1852):
G od grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready
to guard and defend it. (From a speech given June 3, 1834, and pub­
lished in W ebster’s Works, Volum e IV.)
To guard and defend religious liberty: This is the mission of
the International Religious Liberty Association. Our mission must
succeed. We will fail only if falters our faith in
The G od who gave us life, [who] gave us liberty at the sam e tim e.
(Thom as Jefferson [United States; 1743-1826]: Sum m ary View o f the
Rights o f British A m erica.)
We will fail if we fear to confront the mother o f fears: the fear
o f freedom itself.
One should never put on one’s best trousers to go out in to fight for
freedom. (Henrik Ibsen [Norway; 1828-1906]: The Enem y o f the People.)
Indeed,
T hey that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little tem porary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. (In a response from the
Assem bly o f Pennsylvania to the G overnor, N ovem ber 1755, and subse­
quently appearing in Benjamin Franklin [United States; 1706-1790]:
H istorical Review o f Pennsylvania.)
*

Right here I ’ll pause to express gratitude for the privilege of

Fl D E S ET
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2000 with enthusiasm my successor, Jonathan Gallagher. F&L is in

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good h an d s-h is and yours.
*

Alfred Austin (United Kingdom; 1835-1913) asks if life is

worth living-and then answers his own question:
. . . Yes, so long
As there is w rong to right.

So long as faith w ith freedom reigns

And loyal hope survives,
And gracious charity rem ains
To leaven lowly lives;
While there is one untrodden tract
For intellect or will,
And m en are free to think and act,
Life is worth living still.
Faith and freedom. Fid.es et libertas.
The first word. And the last.
— Richard Lee Fenn

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