Advocacy, Educational, and Training Materials
Freedom of Religion or Belief
To address the need for more educational materials related to
freedom of religion and belief, on November 23–25, 2001—the 20th
anniversary of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and
of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief—the UN and Spain hosted the
International
Consultative Conference on School Education in Relation to Freedom of Religion
or Belief, Tolerance and Non-Discrimination.
The purpose of the conference was to develop a strategy for writing textbooks,
curricula, media, and training materials on freedom of religion and
belief. In the Final
Document from this conference, the Special Rapporteur
noted the Òurgent need to promote, through education, the protection and the
respect for freedom of religion or belief in order to strengthen peace,
understanding and tolerance among individuals, groups and nations, and with a
view to developing a respect for pluralism . . . Ó (E/CN.4/2002/73 at
(w)(1)). Considering that Òthe
young generation should be brought up in a spirit of peace, tolerance, mutual
understanding and respect for human rightsÓ (Id. at (w)(3)), the conference encouraged states, Òat the
appropriate level of government and any other concerned institution or organ .
. . to improve the ways and means of training teachers and other categories of
educational personnel . . .Ó (Id. at
(w)(10)). To do this, the
conference recommended the following:
(10)(a). Developing
the motivation of teachers for their action by supporting and encouraging
commitment to the human rights values and in particular tolerance and
non-discrimination in the field of religion or belief;
(b). Preparing teachers to educate children
concerning a culture of respect for every human being, tolerance and
non-discrimination;
(c). Encouraging the study and the
dissemination of different experiences in education in relation with freedom of
religion or belief, especially innovative experiments carried out all over the
world;
(d). Where appropriate, providing teachers
and students with voluntary opportunities for meetings and exchanges with their
counterparts of different religions or beliefs;
(e). Encouraging exchanges of teachers and
students and facilitating educational study abroad;
(f). Encouraging, at the appropriate
level, general knowledge and academic research in relation to freedom of religion
or belief;
And further:
(11). Encourages States at the
appropriate level of government and other concerned institutions or
organizations, where appropriate and possible, to increase their efforts to
facilitate the renewal, production, dissemination, translation and exchange of
means and materials for education in the field of freedom of religion or
belief, giving special consideration to the fact that in many countries
students gain knowledge, including in the field of freedom of religion or belief,
through the mass media outside educational establishments. To this end, action
should be considered on the following:
(a) Appropriate and constructive use
should be made of the entire range of equipment available, from traditional
means to the new educational technology, including Internet, as relevant to the
field of freedom of religion or belief;
(b) Cooperation between States and
the relevant international organizations and institutions concerned as well as
the media and non-governmental organizations to combat the propagation of
intolerant and discriminatory stereotypes of religions or beliefs in the media
and Internet sites;
(c) The inclusion of a component of
special mass media education in order to help the students to select and analyse the information conveyed by the mass media in the
field of freedom of religion or belief;
(d) Better appreciation of diversity
and the development of tolerance and the protection and non-discrimination of
migrants and refugees and their freedom of religion or belief;
12. Recommends that States as well
as concerned institutions and organizations should consider studying, taking
advantage of and disseminating best practices on education in relation to
freedom of religion or belief, which attach particular importance to tolerance
and non-discrimination;
13. Recommends that States should
consider promoting international cultural exchanges in the field of education,
notably by concluding and implementing agreements relating to the freedom of
religion or belief, non-discrimination and tolerance and respect for human
rights;
14. Encourages all parts of society,
both individually and collectively, to contribute to an education based on
human dignity and to respect freedom of religion or belief, tolerance and
non-discrimination;
15. Encourages States at the
appropriate level of government, non-governmental organizations and all members
of civil society to join their efforts with a view to taking advantage of the
media and other means for self and mutual teaching as well as cultural
institutions such as museums and libraries, to provide the individual with
relevant knowledge in the field of freedom of religion or belief;
16. Encourages States to promote
human dignity, and freedom of religion or belief, tolerance and non-discrimination,
and thus to combat, through appropriate measures, religious or belief, ethnic,
racial, national and cultural stereotypes;
17. Invites organizations and
specialized agencies of the United Nations to contribute, in accordance with
their mandate, to the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or
belief, tolerance and non-discrimination;
18. Encourages also States, at the
appropriate level of government, non-governmental organizations and other
members of civil society to take advantage of relevant social and cultural
activities of all kinds to promote the objectives of this document;
19. Invites all States, civil
society and the international community to promote the principles, objectives
and recommendations in the present document on school education in relation
with freedom of religion or belief, tolerance and non-discrimination.
This document was adopted without qualifying
statement or reservation. Though
the events of September 11, 2001 negatively impacted the implementation of the
Conference recommendations, a follow-up Conference hosted by the Oslo Coalition
on Freedom of Religion or Belief from December 7–9, 2002, suggested ways
of achieving the goals of the Madrid Conference, produced a strategy and a plan
of action, and established five sub-projects (including the 2004 Madrid
Implementation Conference, development of an Internet database, a volume on
pedagogical models, materials and methods, a volume on childrenÕs and studentsÕ
stories about tolerance, and a teacher training manual). The Madrid Conference was further
followed by a meeting held din Geneva by the International Association for
Religious Freedom on April 4, 2003, which discussed the need to respond to increasing
restrictions on freedom of religion or belief since the September 11, 2011
attacks.
Resources for Advocates
For
the Record 2001 - Religious Intolerance: Report of the Special Rapporteur (SR)
on religious intolerance.
Identifies incidents and government actions that are inconsistent with
provisions in the Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance
and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.
Report
to the OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Freedom of Religion
Published by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.
United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom
Presents the Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom
describing the status of religious freedom in each foreign country, government
policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious
denominations and individuals, and U.S. policies to promote religious freedom
around the world.
The
Rutherford Institute
Topic briefs regarding religious freedom and other civil liberties concerns.
Human
Rights Without Frontiers
Compilations of news stories by country regarding freedom of religion or
belief.
Institute for Jewish Policy Research
An online country-by-country examination of the manifestations of racism,
xenophobia and, especially, anti-Semitism, against a backdrop of the more
general social and political contexts in which such manifestations occur.
International
Coalition for Religious Freedom World Report
The International Coalition for Religious Freedom is a non-profit,
non-sectarian, educational organization dedicated to defending the religious
freedom of all people, regardless of creed, gender or ethnic origin. It
currently receives the bulk of its funding from institutions and individuals
related to the Unification Church community.
Religious
Freedom in the Majority of Islamic Cultures: 1998 Report
Report by a Catholic organization tracking religious intolerance in Muslim
nations.
United
States Policies in Support of Religious Freedom: Focus on Christians.
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Affairs, July 22,
1997.
Amnesty International
USA Interfaith Network
Amnesty USAÕs interfaith network supports activists of all faiths who are on
the front line of the struggle for human rights.
International
Religious Liberty Association
This group, founded by Seventh Day Adventists, is dedicated to defending and
safeguarding the civil right of all people to worship, to adopt a religion or
belief of their choice, and to manifest their religious convictions in
observance, promulgation, and teaching, subject only to the respect for the
equivalent rights of others.
International
Association for Religious Freedom
IARF is an active NGO at the UN committed to support for Article 18.
Keston
Institute
Monitors freedom of religion and researches religious affairs in communist and
post-communist countries.
Cairo
Institute for Human Rights Studies
This site currently is under construction in large but resources related to
Arab world will continue to appear and contact information for the Cairo
Institute is available.
Resources
for clergy
Parliament of the World's Religions
Talking
Points for Use in Local Worship Services
Published by the Human Rights Resource Center, the talking points are meant to
help to preachers, teachers, religious leaders, prayer leaders, and any one who
may want to engage their faith community in a discussion about the values of
human rights and religion.
The World Council of Churches
In a 1948 conference in Amsterdam this group published a Declaration on
Religious Liberty.
Resources for Teachers
Council for Secular Humanism
The Council for Secular Humanism cultivates rational inquiry, ethical values,
and human development through the advancement of secular humanism. To carry out
its mission the Council for Secular Humanism sponsors publications, programs,
and organizes meetings and other group activities.
International Humanist and Ethical Union
The IHEU is an international NGO in special consultative status with the U.N.
(New York, Geneva, Vienna) and the Council of Europe (Strasbourg), and seeks to
represent the human-centered views of its 100 member organizations in 37
countries.. It is one of 40 NGOs given authority by
the Council of Europe to lodge complaints against States violating the European
Social Charter. Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms
that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning to their
own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic
based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free
inquiry.
ABC, teaching human
rights: Practical activities for primary and secondary schools
Published by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Chapter 3
contains a discussion about freedom of religion and belief as well as suggested
activities.
AntiDefamation LeagueÕs A World of
Difference
A curriculum focused on combating anti-Semitism, bigotry and extremism.
CyberSchoolBus, Interactive
Declaration, Article 18
This UN hosted site provides an explanation of each Universal Declaration
article with definitions, plain language and activities to help students
understand and interpret the language of this critical UN document.
Human
Rights Education Handbook
In this handbook, published by the Human Rights Resource Center, activities 12,
19, and 21 are designed to facilitate discussion about general human rights
issues, but can easily be adapted to focus on freedom of religion or belief.
Raising
Children with Roots, Rights and Responsibilities
Published by the Human Rights Resource Center. Sessions 3 and 11 relate to
freedom of religion and belief. This curriculum is best suited for children ages three to six, their parents and educators.
Teaching Tolerance
Sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center, this website provides online
curricula and activities related to hate-crimes, racial intolerance, and
discrimination.
UNICEF Voices
of Youth: The Teacher's Place
Information and discussion about general human rights education.
UNHCHR Database on Human Rights
Education
Provides information on organizations, materials and programs for human rights
education. The database is a contribution to the UN Decade for Human Rights
Education (1995-2004) and aims to facilitate sharing of the many resources
available in the area of human rights education and training.
Academic Resources
Journal of Law and
Religion, Hamline University Law School
An international, interdisciplinary forum committed to studying law in its
social context, including moral and religious views of law and life.
MOST Clearinghouse on Religious Rights
Through interdisciplinary, comparative, and culturally sensitive research,
UNESCOÕs MOST Programme aims at furnishing
information useful for the peaceful and democratic management of societies
characterized by ethnic, religious and linguistic pluralism.
Religious
Freedom Page - Nation Profiles
Developed at the University of Virginia, this site examines the status of
religious freedom around the world. A common format makes possible a quick
overview of the materials available for any given country.
Religion and Law Research Consortium
A collaboration of international academic centers related to law and religion,
provides a search engine for judicial decisions, statutes, and academic
analyses and treatises.
SociŽtŽ,
Droit et Religion en Europe
(SDRE) - l'UniversitŽ Robert Schuman
The Religion Case Reporter
Reports judicial opinions addressing the free exercise of religion, state
establishment of religion, and the clergy and religious institutions; provides
comprehensive and easily accessed information concerning any topic affected by
religious practice or status.
Other Religion, Belief, and Human Rights Links
Center for Study on New Religions
Christian Solidarity Worldwide
International Christian Concern
L'Aumisme
Religion Universelle de l'Unite
des Visages de DIEU
Orthodox Christian Mission Center
Osservatorio
delle Libertˆ ed Istituzioni
Religiose
The Bah‡'’ International Community and the United Nations
The Religious Society of Friends
Thirdway
Cafe: Mennonite Media
Bibliography and Additional Resources
Bibiography
Amnesty International. Greece, 5,000 Years of Prison:
Conscientious Objectors in Greece (Amnesty International Publications 1993).
O Andrysek. Non-Believers: A New Aspect
of Religious Intolerance?, 2 Conscience & Liberty
15 No.2 (1990).
Elizabeth Odio Benito, Study of the
Current Dimensions of the Problems of Intolerance and Discrimination on Grounds
of Religion or Belief, E/CN.4/Sub.2/87/26 (United Nations 1987).
Cole Durham, Freedom of Religion or Belief: Laws Affecting The
Structuring of Religious Communities, (paper prepared for the 1999 Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe Review Conference, Vienna, 1999).
J. Abraham Frowein, Freedom of Religion
in the Practice of the European Commission and Court of Human Rights (ZAORV 249
1986).
Glen Johnson & Symonides Janusz, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNESCO
Publishing 1998).
N. Koshy, Religious Freedom In A
Changing World (World Council of Churches 1992).
Arcot Krishnaswami, Study of Discrimination in the Matter of
Religious Rights and Practices, E/CN.4/Sub.2/200/Rev.1 (United Nations 1960).
Nate Lerner, Group Rights and Discrimination in International Law
(Martinus Nijhoff 1991).
Tore Lindholm & Kari Vogt, Islamic
Law Reform and Human Rights Challenges and Rejoinders (Nordic Publications
1993).
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights & International Service
for Human Rights, The UN Commission on Human Rights, Its Sub-Commission, and
Related Procedures: An Orientation Manual (Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights
1993).
Donna J. Sullivan, Gender Equality and Religious Freedom: Toward a
Framework for Conflict Resolution, 24 N.Y.U. J . Int'l L. & Pol. 795 (1992).
Leonard Swidler & Paul Mojzes, Attitudes of Religions and Ideologies Toward the
Outsider (Edwin Mellen Press 1990).
Bahiyyah
G. Tahzib, Freedom of Religion or Belief: Ensuring
Effective International Legal Protection (Kluwer Law International 1996).
Theo van Boven, Advances and Obstacles
in Building Understanding and Respect Between People of Diverse Religions or
Beliefs, 13 Human Rights Quarterly (1991).
J.A Walkate, The Right of Everyone to
Change His Religion or Belief: Some Observations, Netherlands Int'l L. Rev.,
146 (1983).
John Witte Jr. & Johan D. van der Vyver,
Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective (Martinus
Nijhoff 1996).
Additional resources (not available electronically)
CONGO Committees on Freedom of Religion or Belief
In 1991 and 1992 two committees comprised of non-governmental organizations
were formed at the United Nations in New York and Geneva to support Article 18
and the 1981 UN Declaration. They function as part of the Conference of
Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO), have consultative status with the UN
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and are composed of representatives of
human rights and religious groups. Their purpose is to coordinate activities of
NGOÕs in the areas of promotion and protection of the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion or belief.
The
Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief
In 1998, representatives of UN governmental and non-governmental organizations
and of many religions or beliefs met in Oslo, Norway to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Oslo
Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief adopted a declaration that led to
the formation of The Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief, an
international coalition dedicated to achieving substantial progress and
practical support for implementation of Article 18 and the 1981 UN Declaration.
A handbook on these purposes has been published in cooperation with the
Norwegian Institute of Human Rights.
European Court of Human Rights
Article 9 of the 1950 European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms contains key provisions on freedom of religion or belief,
and uses language closely paralleling that of the 1948 Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Political and
Civil Rights (Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). The European Court of
Human Rights, established in 1998 under the European Union, obtains Human
Rights Documentation on cases relating to freedom of religion or belief in the
European region.
Office for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE)
The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw,
Poland oversees OSCE programs on human rights and freedom of religion or
belief. In 2000, under the auspices of ODIHR, an Advisory Panel of Experts on
Freedom of Religion or Belief was organized. Several ODIHR projects for 2002,
including advisory panel activities, focus on the role of religion and laws on
religion in Central and Eastern Europe and CIS countries. They are clearly
committed to inclusive principles of freedom of religion or belief, but struggle
at times to include non-religious beliefs in their programs.
Freedom
of Religion and Belief: A World Report
In 1997 the University of Essex produced a World Report on Freedom of Religion
or Belief (Routledge, London). The report, edited by
Kevin Boyle and Juliet Sheen, is a study on freedom of religion and secular
thought in over fifty countries of the world, and consists of short entries on
each country. Entries are divided by region and introduced by a regional
overview; themes include the relationships between belief groups and the state,
freedom of manifest belief in law and practice, religion and schools, religious
minorities, new religious movements, the impact of beliefs on the status of
women, and conscientious objection to military service. The countries included
in the report reflect a world geographical distribution and diversity of
religious traditions.
Freedom
of Religion or Belief: Laws Affecting the Structuring of Religious Communities
This is one of a series of papers prepared under the auspices of the Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the OSCE for the benefit of
participants at the 1999 OSCE Review Conference. It summarizes international
standards protecting freedom of religion or belief, regional decisions by the
European Court of Human Rights on freedom of religion or belief, and relevant
OSCE provisions relating to freedom of association and entity status of
religious organizations. Much of the second section of the paper relates to
Principle 16 of the Vienna Concluding Document, which recognizes the right to
certain manifestations of religion or belief as recognized in Article 6 of the
1981 UN Declaration.
Religious Human
Rights in Global Perspective
This series, published in 1996, includes one volume on legal perspectives and a
second on religious perspectives. It consists of chapters by fifty authors on
the religious human rights of most of the majority and minority religions of
the world, and includes case studies. It is edited by John
Witte Jr. and Johan Van der Vyver of Emory University,
with a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Religion and Human Rights: Toward and Understanding of Tolerance
and Reconciliation
This small pamphlet contains two lectures by David Chidester
of the University of Cape Town, South Africa and David Little of Harvard
Divinity School, Boston, MA, USA. It examines the principle of tolerance in
international human rights instruments used to promote freedom of religion or
belief, and looks at tools of reconciliation used to cope with the division, conflict
and suffering in South Africa.
Religion and Human Rights: Basic Documents from Around the World
The Center for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University in
New York has assembled basic documents on the human rights paradigm of freedom
of religion or belief, and the religious paradigm of religious liberty. These
documents include:
1. United
States of America: Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786)
Adopted by the Virginia Legislature, and still the law of the state of
Virginia; based on Thomas JeffersonÕs religious freedom bill. The Supreme Court
of the United States has looked to this and other historical documents to
determine cases based on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,
A Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
2. World
Council of Churches: Declaration on Religious Liberty (1948)
Adopted in Amsterdam at the First Assembly of the World Council of Churches, a
few months prior to adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It
affirms that religious freedom is everywhere secured, and that Christians may
not enjoy privileges that are denied to people of other religions or beliefs.
3. Declaration
on Religious Freedom: Dignitatis Humanae
(1965)
A declaration on religious freedom for the Catholic Church, adopted by the
Second Vatican Council:. The first paragraph claims
that the one true religion subsists in the Catholic and Apostolic Church. The
title of Òhuman dignity,Ó however, is extended to all members of the human
family and to freedom of conscience without coercion. The title is close to the
phrasing of the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights –
ÒWhereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable
rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice
and peace in the world.Ó
4. Spain:
Religious Liberty Law (1980)
Enacted by the Parliament of Spain. Declares that no faith shall be the
official State religion, and that rights deriving from freedom of worship and
religion shall not be to the detriment of the rights of others. Grants
religions legal status, and creates, in the Ministry of Justice, an Advisory
Committee on Freedom of Worship.
5. PeopleÕs Republic of China: Document 19 (1982)
Issued by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Defines the
position of the Party regarding religion, discusses religion as a historical
phenomenon, and states that Communists are atheists and must propagate atheism.
6. The
Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (1990)
Adopted by the Foreign Ministers of the 55 state
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), formed in 1972. Membership is
restricted to states in which Islam is the official state religion or Muslims
form the majority population. There are 25 articles to the Cairo Declaration on
Human Rights in Islam on topics such as freedom of movement, work, education,
burial, usury, property, environment, equality before the law, and freedom of
expression. Article 24 declares that ÒAll the rights and freedoms stipulated in
this Declaration are subject to Islamic ShariÕa,Ó and
article 25 states that ÒThe Islamic ShariÕa is the
only source of reference for the explanation or clarification of any of the
articles of this Declaration.Ó
7. Israel:
Fundamental Agreement Between the Holy See and the State of Israel (1993)
Signed by the State of Israel and the Holy See. This agreement established full
diplomatic relations between the State of Israel and the Holy See, including an
exchange of Ambassadors. The Holy See, recalling its Declaration on Religious
Freedom (Dignitatis Humanae),
affirms its commitment to uphold the right to freedom of religion and
conscience, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.