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Before studying how the 1981 U.N. Declaration can be used to write a community report, a person must understand the national constitution of their own country in matters relating to freedom of religion or belief and how it impacts the laws in their community. Existing constitutional systems, or legal frameworks if a country has no constitution, always include principles on religion or belief. These principles vary widely depending on the traditions, values and ways of life of a country. Constitutional scholars normally define these principles in three broad categories; (1) Theocracy, (2) State Church, (3) Separation of Church & State. What follows is a description of these categories with examples under each category. 1. Theocracy: The word derives from the Greek word theos, “God” or theocratic “the rule of God.” A theocracy is a government in which divine commandments are civil laws, and God is regarded as the sovereign power. Examples include Judaism in its early stages, Florence in the Middle Ages under Savonarola, Geneva under John Calvin, and the early Massachusetts Bay Colony in America under the Puritans. # Some States in the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a coalition of fifty five States where Islam is the majority religion, declare Shari’a Law as the basis of the country’s legal system.
2. State Church: A church is a Christian place of worship. It is used in various ways by different branches or denominations of Catholicism, Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy. A comparable and more inclusive term today would be “State Religion or Belief.” The term refers to countries where there is a declared religion as the official religion of the State, with certain rights and privileges. It is usually associated with a monarch as its head. In 1534 the English Parliament named the King head of the State Church of England.
3. Separation of Church & State. There are governments with constitutional principles explicitly proclaiming independence of the State in respect to religion. The U.N. approach is more inclusive, protecting all religious and non-religious beliefs. The U.N. position could be called Separation of Belief and State. Several nations, after decades of colonial rule, have adopted new constitutions with the more inclusive language of Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
4. United Nations Approach The U.N. approach to human rights and freedom of religion or belief, while not agnostic, may be described as an international legal application of this principle. The U.N. takes no position on the existence of God or the ultimate meaning of life. Freedom of conscience, to believe or not to believe, as one so chooses, is the inclusive all embracing principle guiding their approach to human rights. The U.N. is committed to the inherent dignity, equal and inalienable rights of all member of the human family, which includes protection for the rights of all religious and non-religious beliefs. T.H. Huxley, known as “Darwin’s Bulldog” for his fierce defense of Darwin’s Origin of Species, coined the term agnostic in 1859, in response to repeated questions as to whether he believed in God or not. In an article years later, he explained the term this way, “agnostics have no creed but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle, that is the axiom that every man and woman should be able to give a reason for the faith that is in them, it is the fundamental axiom of modern science--a mind always open to conviction.” Such reasoned faith may incorporate the revealed truth of a supernatural deity, just as easily as the reasoned faith of a materialist. The word secular, in the context of constitutional systems relating to religion or belief such as theocracy, state church, separation of church, mosque, synagogue, temple, assembly and state, must be inclusive and in principle agnostic in its approach, respectful but taking no position on the existence of God or the ultimate meaning of life. It is a process for protecting the rights of all religious and non-religious beliefs. This may simply be described as Separation of Belief & State, using Article 18 and the 1981 U.N. Declaration as rigorous guides to ensure all religious and non-religious metaphysical beliefs are protected from discrimination by the State and from each other. It gives recognition to the primacy of metaphysical beliefs as explaining the ultimate meaning of life, and respect for their influence on all other beliefs, political, economic, social and cultural as expressions of how to live accordingly.
The constitutional system of a country has a direct legal impact on a community, it must be clearly understood before starting to study Article 1: Legal Definition. 1. Constitutional Systems: If you are studying this training manual as a group, you may want to take Lesson 20: The State and Religion or Belief in Lifting the Spirit: Human Rights & Freedom of Religion or Belief. Refer to your Community Resources List to find out what your national constitution says about freedom of religion or belief. Write below the principle or article in your constitution relating to freedom of religion or belief. Describe in one sentence each the two types of constitutional systems different from your own. 2. United Nations Approach: Describe the differences between your national constitution and the U.N. approach described as Belief & State |
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