To train, appoint, elect or designate by succession appropriate leaders called for by the requirements and standards of any religion or belief;

To understand how this freedom is manifested in a community calls for answers to the following questions; while requirements and standards of a religion or belief are private and the business of that belief, it would be helpful to have a general idea of how they exercise this right. Are there any rules or requirements by the State that my limit this freedom? Are there any economic considerations causing hardships in training the leaders? Missionaries and other religious leaders usually must register with a State if they are coming from another country to serve, train or teach their members. Authoritarian States have a history of interfering with the appointment of religious leaders that are not sympathetic with the ideology of the State. They recognize religious leaders who are sympathetic to the State with certain freedoms not available to religions or beliefs that are considered to be hostile.

Related Examples

• Vietnam : In Ho Chi Minh City , in September 2003, according to the International Buddhist Information Bureau I Paris, two Buddhist monks were allegedly interrogated, threatened and tortured by Communist Party officials and security agents for maintaining contacts with the outlawed United Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). Both monks told the police no one could prevent them from exercising their religious activities to teach in support of the banned UBCV.

Learning Experiences

Ask religious leaders in your community what requirements and standards they have for training and appointing leaders and whether or not the State or local laws place any limitations on training, selecting or appointing them.

TOPIC NOTES

Term 6.1.7: Train, Elect and Appoint Leaders

To train, appoint, elect or designate by succession appropriate leaders called for by the requirements and standards of any religion or belief;

What requirements do religions or beliefs have in your community for training and appointing appropriate leaders? Do national or local laws place any restrictions or limitations on such a right? Summarize below.