To write, issue and disseminate relevant publications in these areas;

This term was drafted in the 1960’s before the age of mass use of computers and the Internet. Minority religions and beliefs in the 1960’s may not have had the same access to print, radio and television as major beliefs. The Internet has equalized use by websites and e-mail, but funds for such access still remains a problem. The General Comment on Article 18; “views with concern any tendency to discriminate against any religion or belief for any reasons, including the fact that they are newly established, or represent religious minorities that may be the subject of hostility by a predominant religious community. News and entertainment is being controlled more and more by a few large corporations. If a predominant culture, religious or non-religious, has control of the mass media it can be a simultaneous problem in several countries. The word “relevant” in this freedom needs close examination. There may be instances when writing and dissemination of publications incites intolerance and zealotry. In such cases, Article 1, Paragraph 3 of the present Declaration must be considered.

Related Examples

• Vietnam : Freedom of the press, opinion and speech was guaranteed in their 1922 constitution. Vietnamese Catholic Bishops asked for the right to set up their own publishing house and run their own independent paper. However, the three hundred or so local newspapers are state-controlled. Directives on religion specify that religious publications must be printed on state run presses. Bibles are not allowed to be imported.

• Peru : In Peru just the opposite is the case. Television and radio carry a wide range of religious broadcasting. Printed religious material is imported from around the world. The Catholic and Protestant Christian churches each own two radio stations and transmit programs on other stations as well.

Learning Experiences

Collect a sample of the publications of each of the religions or beliefs in your community. Ask the editors or writers of these publications if they have any difficulty getting their material published and disseminated. Start to clip stories from the local newspapers or magazines on articles about religion or belief. Keep track of how many stories there are on the major religions or beliefs, and how many on minority beliefs. Summarize this research in the topic notes for this study topic.

TOPIC NOTES

Term 6.1.4: Write and Disseminate Publications

To write, issue and disseminate relevant publications in these areas;

Collect a sample of publications from each of the religions or beliefs in your community. Ask the editors of these publications if they have had difficulty in getting their material published due to government regulations. Summarize your research below.