The EU has adopted new guidelines on religion and belief which protect the rights of atheists and the non-religious, including the right to criticise religious beliefs. The British Humanist Association (BHA) and the European Humanist Federation (EHF) have welcomed the new guidelines.
The new guidelines, adopted by the Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers of the EU, aim to help the EU to promote freedom of religion and belief in countries outside the EU, and to take action on violations of this right. They protect the non-religious as well as the religious. They also protect the right to change or abandon one’s belief, and the right to freedom of expression, including the right to criticise or mock religion or belief. The guidelines therefore commit to protect individuals, and individuals’ right to hold beliefs, but not the beliefs themselves. This implies that the EU will recommend the decriminalization of blasphemy offences in non-EU countries.
The guidelines also oppose religious justifications for restrictions on other fundamental rights, as well as opposing violence against women, children, members of religious minorities, and violence directed towards people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The guidelines also restrict conscientious objection to military service, and do not accept religious demands for conscientious objection in areas such as abortion and contraception.
However, it is regrettable that the EU has not recommended these guidelines for its own member states, as some EU countries still have blasphemy laws in place, and ‘religious insult’ is still an offence in a large number of EU member states. The BHA and EHF are calling on the EU to encourage its member states to abolish blasphemy laws.
Notes
For further comment or information contact Pavan Dhaliwal, Head of Public Affairs at pavan@humanists.uk or on 0773 843 5059.
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief