Article 18 – Freedom of religion
'We are all created in the image of God, with the same rights and responsibilities toward each other and our shared world. This makes each of us unique and simultaneously equal.'
Corrie Zeidler
Rabbi of the Liberal Jewish Community in Utrecht and a Jewish spiritual counselor in the justice department.
She converted to Judaism in 1979. She lived in Israel for many years.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
What does this right mean?
The core of freedom of religion is that states have to respect and enable the practical exercise of religions and other beliefs. On top of that, the freedom of thought and conscience means that people have the freedom to choose for themselves whether or not they want to adhere to any religion or other belief. So, a state may not require its inhabitants to be religious or to adhere to a specific religion.
Religious freedom doesn't mean you can force others to live by your own beliefs.
What is the history of this right?
In the establishment of the Universal Declaration, there was quite much discussion on how to word the right to freedom of religion. In it, the most important question was: what does freedom of religion mean exactly? Before the Universal Declaration, freedom of religion was mostly seen as a duty on the state to respect and enable the practical exercise of religions and other beliefs. With Article 18, this meaning was expanded: the freedom of religion was connected to the freedom of thought and conscience. By doing so, this right gives people the freedom to choose for themselves whether or not they want to adhere to a religion and if so, to which one.
The aspect of freedom of religion that generated the most discussion was the freedom to change religions. Eventually, this did make it into the definitive version of Article 18. But this is the reason why Saudi Arabia was one of the countries to abstain from voting, because Saudi Arabia stated one can never leave his religion.
Where and how is this right documented?
The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is documented worldwide in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). This article is a bit more expanded than Article 18 of the Universal Declaration, because it also documents when freedom of religion may be restricted. This article also states parents' right to ensure their children's religious and moral upbringing. But what is not explicitly mentioned in this article is the right to change religions, which was the subject of so much discussion during the establishment of the UDHR. Children have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, too. That is stated in Article 14 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
At a European level as well, the freedom of religion is documented: in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. What stands out is that here, the right to change religions actually is explicitly included. Besides this, Article 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union protects the freedom of religion.
The right to freedom of religion is also documented nationally, in Article 6 of the Constitution of the Netherlands.
How topical is this human right?
Freedom of religion can be in conflict with other rights or with the general interest. It those cases, it is tricky to decide which one receives priority: there is no ranking system for human rights. For instance, think along the lines of judges and court clerks, who are not allowed to show their beliefs by means of clothing in any way. This means some people cannot carry out certain professions, because they want or have to follow certain dress codes because of their religions. This conflicts with another constitutional right: the prohibition on discrimination. Everyone has the right to be treated equally and discrimination based on religion is prohibited (Article 2 of the UDHR). That is what makes these issues very complicated.
One example in which freedom of religion is actually an exception from a prohibition which does apply to the rest of society is the use of ritual slaughter. According to Dutch law, an animal has to be sedated before it may be slaughtered. An exception to this is ritual slaughter in accordance with Jewish or Islamic customs. This unsedated slaughter is not good for animal welfare according to many people. This could be a reason to no longer make this exception for religions. But then the issue becomes whether or not this would restrict freedom of religion too much.
A final example of a dilemma within freedom of religion is the partial prohibition on face-concealing clothing in certain locations in the Netherlands, such as educational institutions, healthcare facilities, public transport and government buildings. This prohibition was implemented because it is important in some situations to look each other in the eye, such as for security purposes. But this prohibition also has influence on the freedom of religion. Because the freedom of religion also means people have the right to express their religions publicly, such as by wearing a facial veil. By prohibiting this in certain places, people are affected in their freedom of religion.
All these examples show how tricky it is to weigh various rights and interests against each other.