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Showing posts with label Religious Freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religious Freedom. Show all posts
3/22/19
11/22/17
Christian Persecution: Here are the 10 Worst Countries for Christian Persecution According to a UK Report - by Amanda Casanova
The U.K. All Party Parliamentary Group has released a report listing 10 of the worst countries for religious freedom.
The report, “Article 18: From Rhetoric to Reality,” found that the countries had violated Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which protects religious liberty.
The countries in the report were:
Offenses against Article 18 can include both direct government denial and state failures to protect the right to religious liberty.
Read more: Worst Countries for Christian Persecution According to a UK Report - Christian News Headlines
The report, “Article 18: From Rhetoric to Reality,” found that the countries had violated Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which protects religious liberty.
The countries in the report were:
- Eritrea
- Egypt
- U.K.
- Russia
- Saudia Arabia
- Iran
- China
- Vietnam
- Myanmar
- Bangladesh
Offenses against Article 18 can include both direct government denial and state failures to protect the right to religious liberty.
Read more: Worst Countries for Christian Persecution According to a UK Report - Christian News Headlines
1/22/13
Christians win and lose at European human rights court - by Whitney Williams
Religious freedom is a right, but not without limits, Europe’s top human
rights court said Tuesday after issuing two religious liberty rulings.
In the first case, the court ruled British Airways (BA) discriminated against a Christian employee by making her remove her crucifix. But in the second case, the court stood behind a U.K. charity that fired a marriage counselor who refused to provide sex therapy to same-sex couples.
In judgments applauded by civil liberties groups but condemned by advocates for religious freedom, the European Court of Human Rights said freedom of religion is “an essential part of the identity of believers and one of the foundations of pluralistic, democratic societies.”
But religious freedom has limits, the court said: “However, where an individual’s religious observance impinges on the rights of others, some restrictions can be made.”
The court’s judges, by a five-to-two margin, backed a claim by BA check-in clerk Nadia Eweida, who sparked a national debate in Britain over religion when supervisors sent her home in November 2006 for refusing to remove the small silver cross from around her neck. The company has rules banning employees from wearing visible religious symbols.
BA eventually changed its policy, and Eweida went back to work. But she continued to pursue a claim of religious discrimination, seeking damages and compensation for lost income.
British courts backed BA, but Eweida went to the European Court of Human Rights. The Strasbourg, France-based court ruled Tuesday that the airline’s policy “amounted to an interference with her right to manifest her religion.” Eweida’s cross was discreet and could not have detracted from her professional appearance, the court said.
“I was jumping for joy and saying ‘Thank you, Jesus,’” Eweida, 60, said when the court announced the verdict. "It's a vindication that Christians have a right to express their faith on par with other colleagues at work visibly and not be ashamed of their faith."
But vindication did not come for all.
After deciding Eweida’s case, the judges struck down claims by Lillian Ladele, a local authority registrar who said her Christian faith stopped her from overseeing same-sex civil partnerships, and marriage counselor Gary McFarlane, who refused to offer sex therapy to same-sex couples.
The court's rulings are binding on the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, the continent's human rights watchdog. The losing claimants can appeal to the court's Grand Chamber, a higher panel of five judges.
In both cases, the court said employers were entitled to strike a balance between claimants’ rights to live out their religious beliefs and the rights of others not to suffer discrimination.
But according to religious groups, the rulings make it clear sexual orientation trumps religion when it comes to rights. Europeans now live within a hierarchy of rights, said Dave Landrum, director of advocacy for the Evangelical Alliance.
Read more: WORLD | Christians win and lose at European human rights court | Whitney Williams | Jan. 15, 2013
In the first case, the court ruled British Airways (BA) discriminated against a Christian employee by making her remove her crucifix. But in the second case, the court stood behind a U.K. charity that fired a marriage counselor who refused to provide sex therapy to same-sex couples.
In judgments applauded by civil liberties groups but condemned by advocates for religious freedom, the European Court of Human Rights said freedom of religion is “an essential part of the identity of believers and one of the foundations of pluralistic, democratic societies.”
But religious freedom has limits, the court said: “However, where an individual’s religious observance impinges on the rights of others, some restrictions can be made.”
The court’s judges, by a five-to-two margin, backed a claim by BA check-in clerk Nadia Eweida, who sparked a national debate in Britain over religion when supervisors sent her home in November 2006 for refusing to remove the small silver cross from around her neck. The company has rules banning employees from wearing visible religious symbols.
BA eventually changed its policy, and Eweida went back to work. But she continued to pursue a claim of religious discrimination, seeking damages and compensation for lost income.
British courts backed BA, but Eweida went to the European Court of Human Rights. The Strasbourg, France-based court ruled Tuesday that the airline’s policy “amounted to an interference with her right to manifest her religion.” Eweida’s cross was discreet and could not have detracted from her professional appearance, the court said.
“I was jumping for joy and saying ‘Thank you, Jesus,’” Eweida, 60, said when the court announced the verdict. "It's a vindication that Christians have a right to express their faith on par with other colleagues at work visibly and not be ashamed of their faith."
But vindication did not come for all.
After deciding Eweida’s case, the judges struck down claims by Lillian Ladele, a local authority registrar who said her Christian faith stopped her from overseeing same-sex civil partnerships, and marriage counselor Gary McFarlane, who refused to offer sex therapy to same-sex couples.
The court's rulings are binding on the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, the continent's human rights watchdog. The losing claimants can appeal to the court's Grand Chamber, a higher panel of five judges.
In both cases, the court said employers were entitled to strike a balance between claimants’ rights to live out their religious beliefs and the rights of others not to suffer discrimination.
But according to religious groups, the rulings make it clear sexual orientation trumps religion when it comes to rights. Europeans now live within a hierarchy of rights, said Dave Landrum, director of advocacy for the Evangelical Alliance.
Read more: WORLD | Christians win and lose at European human rights court | Whitney Williams | Jan. 15, 2013
9/12/12
Suriname: Religious and Political Protests Around Government Scrapping and Adding National Holidays
 |
| Desi Bouterse |
The Commission, established last year to evaluate all national holidays, has recommended that Good Friday, the day on which Christians commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, Id-Ul, Adha, the Muslim holiday to commemorate the Festival of Sacrifice and Divali, the Hundu holiday to mark the Festioval of Lights, be scrapped.
Commission Chairman Marlon Powell says people can still request days off from their employers, if they wish to commemorate religious holidays that are important to them.
But local pastor Paul Doth, has already warned that Christians would not give up Good Friday. He says no way Good Friday can be scrapped. The Desi Bouterse government has come in for much criticism after it announced national holidays for the Maroon and Indigenous People last year.
In addition, the government also reinstated February 25th as a holiday to mark the military 1980 coup that first brought Desi Bouterse, then an army sergeant and presently the President, to power. The Commission is now recommending that the government declare national holidays to observe Sasi Suro, the Javanese New Year as well as the Chinese New Year.
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3/24/12
Turkey slams US negative findings on Turkey in report on religious freedoms
Turkey criticized a US report on religious freedoms that listed Turkey among the world's worst violators of religious freedoms, saying it considers the document "null and void.", pro-government newspaper Today's Zaman reported.
In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the report, prepared by the bipartisan US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), fails to acknowledge steps that Turkey has taken in recent years to protect religious freedoms and minority rights. "No impartial observer could take allegations in this report, which intentionally turns a blind eye to the steps forward and the political will that has constituted the basis for the reforms, seriously," the statement said. "This report is null and void for us."
The report grouped Turkey among 15 other nations in its "countries of particular concern" category for "systematic and egregious limitations" of religious freedoms. The ranking was a sharp downgrade from Turkey's less-severe status as a watch-listed country in years past.
For more: Turkey slams US report on religious freedoms - Trend
In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the report, prepared by the bipartisan US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), fails to acknowledge steps that Turkey has taken in recent years to protect religious freedoms and minority rights. "No impartial observer could take allegations in this report, which intentionally turns a blind eye to the steps forward and the political will that has constituted the basis for the reforms, seriously," the statement said. "This report is null and void for us."
The report grouped Turkey among 15 other nations in its "countries of particular concern" category for "systematic and egregious limitations" of religious freedoms. The ranking was a sharp downgrade from Turkey's less-severe status as a watch-listed country in years past.
For more: Turkey slams US report on religious freedoms - Trend
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