Expert Explains Intolerance Against Christian at OSCE Conference
"Across the OSCE region, Christians and members of other religions face restrictions on their religious freedom. Problems include discrimination against individuals in the workplace and public services, defamation campaigns against minority religious groups, improper denial of legal status, the disruption or prohibition of worship even in private homes, censorship of religious literature, and imprisonment of those who object to military service on religious grounds."
Ombretta Fumagalli Carulli, Professor of Canonic and Ecclesiastical Law at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore said at the OSCE Conference on Anti-semitism and other forms of Intolerance, Cordoba, June 8th and 9th, 2005 (excerpt):
"Across the OSCE region, Christians and members of other religions face restrictions on their religious freedom. Problems include discrimination against individuals in the workplace and public services, defamation campaigns against minority religious groups, improper denial of legal status, the disruption or prohibition of worship even in private homes, censorship of religious literature, and imprisonment of those who object to military service on religious grounds. These restrictions may be a direct result of State legislation and policies, or, in other cases, they may arise as a result of a lack of protective action from State authorities, often in the face of a dominant religious majority. (...)
It was repeatedly noted that in the OSCE participating States these problems nowadays concerned not only minority but also majority religions and could be detected both east and west of Vienna. Secularism and ethical relativism also at times generated discrimination and intolerance against Christians and members of other religions. Examples of best practices regarding relations between religious groups and public authorities were provided, and also examples of national laws on religious freedom in accordance with OSCE standards. It was noted that when religious groups expressed concerns regarding legislative measures or administrative decisions, this should not be considered as a manifestation of intolerance by those groups. (...)
Concern was expressed about some interference in the self-organization of Christian and other religious confessions that prevents them from acting in accordance with their own moral convictions (...) It was also recommended that training and educational programs that lack due respect for the identity and principles of Christianity and of other religions should be reformed.
Several delegations noted the occurrence in the media of stereotyping, episodes of intolerance and even of denigration and hate speech against Christians and members of other religions."
Read more:
Summary of the Conference: http://www.osce.org/odihr/16564