Detailed report of the ACS (Aid to the suffering Church) on the violations of religious freedom in the world, including Europe What is the situation in Europe regarding “religious freedom”? An answer to this question is provided, in the form of an extensive section of fact-files dedicated to the old continent, by the book “Report 2001 on Religious Freedom in the World”, published by the association Aid to the Suffering Church in the series with the same title. The authors Andrea Morigi and Marco Invernizzi point out that in the western part of the continent, “where civil society is apparently more secularized, the main tensions concern the relation between the institutions, often secular in orientation, and minority religious communities, determined to achieve the recognition of their rights”. According to the authors, “the influence of an anti-sect ideology” can be felt in many states. It contributes to the establishment of commissions for the control of new religious movements and to the enactment of laws curbing religious freedom, as in the French case”. Such measures “threaten at the same time the evangelizing activity of the Catholic Church, and jeopardize even the personal choices of those who follow a religious vocation“. If Western Europe is faced by problematic aspects, the situation in Eastern Europe is hardly any better. Morigi and Invernizzi emphasize the fact that in the former Iron Curtain countries “a state-controlled mentality persists, a clear heritage of the Communist past, aimed at reaffirming that the granting of freedom of association and propaganda is one of the responsibilities of government. This is a persecution of administrative type, largely pursued by placing bureaucratic restrictions on the construction of new cult buildings or on the return of church properties expropriated during the decades of totalitarianism”. A particularly disturbing case of this style of conduct is the Russian Federation, where strong pressures are being placed on the government authorities “not to proceed to the recognition of ‘non traditional’ religions, for which persecution is the rule”. The authors stress however that this situation recurs, in similar form, in more or less all the other former Soviet republics, “where not only the Orthodox churches but even the political authorities themselves must tackle the challenge of Islam which is acquiring ever greater influence among the populations bordering on states with an Islamic majority”. The most striking example is Chechenia, which the authors call an “element of penetration of the most aggressive form of Islamism, in response to which, as testified by the war in course, the Russian state reacts militarily, also targeting the civilian communities”. Europe, as a whole, has therefore still a long way to go before it can claim to have attained a situation of substantial and generalized respect for “religious freedom” in the widest sense of the term. Below we present some specific examples of violation of religious freedom, or, vice versa, of progress in the process of religious toleration. GERMANY The German system of justice has opened the way to the teaching of Islamic religion in state schools by rejecting a suit brought by the city of Berlin against the Islamic federation that had claimed this right. Another piece of news concerns the Church of Unification, led by the Rev. Moon, “which has been authorized by the higher Court of Rheinland-Pfalz to bring an action against an order of the immigration authorities, which prevented its leader from entering the country”. FRANCE “The campaign aimed at the denial of the right to religious freedom continued throughout the year 2000 – affirms the ACS Report -, conducted at the institutional level by the political forces both of the centre-left and the centre-right”. In particular, the reports points out legislative measures that define some church groups as “religious movements considered ‘dangerous'”, exhuming “even a provision issued by the pro-Nazi Vichy regime in 1936”. As for the dissolution of the “sects”, “it’s sufficient if a member of a religious group has been sentenced by a court for any kind of offence to begin the procedure for the dissolution of the whole association to which he belongs”. ICELAND The country, which is strongly secularized (only 10 % go to church on Sundays), is witnessing “the birth of religious movements inspired by the cult of the ancient nordic deities, Thor and Odin”. One of these groups, the “Society of the ancient nordic gods” – says the Report – “has attacked the local Christian churches, whom they accuse of wishing to celebrate the millennium of the christianization of the island by the ‘squandering’ of public money”. The government then funded the event organized by the Christian churches and “refused to sponsor the event organized by the pagan Society”. Its High Priest called this decision “an outrage”. The movement claims almost 200 members; it is officially recognized by the State and its “priests” are authorized to celebrate marriages, baptisms and funerals. GREECE “The Orthodox Church is the sole Church considered by the law as ‘juridical person of public right’. (art. 3 of the Constitution of 1975). The other recognized religions are free and considered ‘juridical persons of private right’; they may construct ‘houses of prayer’ but may not, as religious entities, have property…”. Among the cases reported is that of Scientology, which has presented an application for recognition. The responsible minister has not yet decided “whether to recognize Scientology as an ‘official’ religion”. The case is also cited of the demonstration against Parliament, promoted by the Orthodox religious who belong to the Elkis salvationist movement, which links ethnicity with religion as the essence of the Orthodox credo. The protest – says the Report – “was directed against the feared abolition of the teaching of religion in schools and the separation between State and Orthodox Church”. BELGIUM According to the Report, the situation of the new religious movements remains difficult “since the government continues to adopt police measures to curb their spread”. A law of 1998 provides in fact for the setting up of a “Centre to monitor the sects”, and the request of the Anthroposophic Society that this institution be abolished was rejected, with the result that the Society is intending to appeal to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to denounce the Belgian legislation on the matter as a threat to fundamental human rights. In the meantime is reported that this Centre is “almost operational”, even if “it is authorized to propose policies or laws on the problem of the ‘sects’, though not to express opinions or evaluations on individual organizations”. According to the Report, it seems that the Belgian secret services have drawn up a kind of “black list” of sects considered dangerous. Scientology, Sahaja Yoga, the Universal Church of God and a series of apocalyptic and satanic groups are all allegedly on it. A book by Anne Morelli, with the title “Open Letter to the Sect of Enemies of the Sects”, has denounced, ACS reports, many reported ‘scandals’ that involve the ‘sects’, but that were nothing but trumped-up stories concocted by the media with little or no reference to reality. a cura di Luigi Crimella
