Targu Jiu

The situation regarding the freedom of religion in the world

 

Freedom is one of the most precious values wished by people. It is also one of the values mostly broken by them. Paradoxically, most of us would like the total freedom, but we often obstructed the others’ freedom. Religion can be a gate towards freedom.

The great French writer Andre Malraux stated that  ”the 21st century will be religious or it will not be at all”, and Samuel Huntington predicted a future “clash of civilizations”. The 21^st century spent almost a decade and many of the events tend to the two predictions.

The study of the situation concerning the freedom of religion in the world must start from international documents sign and accepted by the world’s states, documents in which the principle of respecting the freedom of religion and of conscience is stipulated. We remind here only the article 18 from “The Universal Declaration of the Human Rights”, the article 18 from “The International Pact regarding the civil and political rights” or the article 14 from “The Convention regarding the child’ rights”. 

What is the present situation of the religious freedom in the world? It is enough to read the newspapers, the reports of different organizations, governmental and non-governmental agencies, short histories of conflicts in the last decades and we will find, actions, legislative foresights which affect, most of them – seriously, the religious freedom. The report of the State Department in the U.S.A. in 2009 situated, from this point of view, 13 states which have special reasons of worry and other 11 have some deficiencies.

There some examples chosen at random. In the North Korea any religious activity almost completely strangled, the only cult allowed being of the leader’s. In the Saudi Arabia any cult is forbidden, except the Islamism. In Iran the Christians are considered “the second hand citizens” and the churches are under the state authority. In Egypt the copt people’s candidature is forbidden by law, they can’t study in a high-level universities, can’t join the army. In Indonesia the forced Islamic process made millions of victims. In Afghanistan, after the Thalibans, by the new Constitution, the authorities guaranteed the religious freedom but the Islamic law stipulates extreme punishments including the death for the ones who drop up the Muslim religion. The conflict in ex-Yugoslavia, the permanent conflicts in Palestine have religious problems as a ground.

A very serious phenomenon which has been spreading in the present period regards the development of the religious fundamentalism, a phenomenon that wishes the reforming of the society, the changing of the laws, morality, political structures. The manifestation of the fundamentalism doesn’t regard the freedom of faith, each citizen’s right of choosing his way. The effect means sufferings and death.

The religious factor is being more and more used as a “vehicle” for the political actions. Some political and religious leaders have changed the young people from free disciples of a faith into fanatics whose terrorist actions are against the people of a different religion. The attacks are the most serious form of manifestation concerning the refuse to accept the fact that people everywhere have the right to adopt and practise the religious freedom.

The dialogue among religions is a necessity today, and the first step in order to establish it is by forgetting the past, by ignoring  the polemic arguments, by giving up the force. The final Declaration of the Vatican’s Council II impelled and encouraged the Christians to have dialogues with members of other religions, to accept the religious freedom and diversity. It was the first step, but many decades passed and all the efforts haven’t found materialization for a complete manifestation.

Coming back to the first statements we may wonder whether the 21^st century will be religious or will it belong to the religious conflicts, and does the conflict among civilizations have as a starting point the religious controversies? But who’s wondering what will happen to every human being’s religious freedom?

 

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