It has taken centuries for a true recognition of the fact that religious freedom is a fundamental freedom and a basic human right. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written and adopted by acclamation by the United Nations in 1948, after the tragedy of World War II. Article 18 gives one of the best definitions of religious freedom we have ever had.
“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.”
The World Council of Churches, and then Vatican II, underlined the importance of that right. This was major progress. As Professor James E. Wood, Jr., writes: “In the history of Christianity, as among other religions of the world, tolerance has not come easily. Tolerance toward other religions was generally deplored because it was viewed as being rooted in religious apathy and indifference.”
Most religious liberty associations or organizations originated since that 1948 statement was written. The International Religious Liberty Association was chartered not in 1948 or in 1963, but in 1893. That was 114 years ago! The IRLA is the oldest association defending religious freedom for all.
The IRLA was a successor of the National Religious Liberty Association. Both associations were organized by Seventh-day Adventist leaders to oppose legislation that might restrict religious freedom. They were particularly concerned about Sunday laws. The association published a biweekly magazine, which in 1905 became Liberty magazine. In 1948 the IRLA opened its membership to anyone who wanted to defend and promote religious freedom. Protestants and Catholics, Baptists and Adventists, Jews and Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists are all associated with the IRLA, and seek to defend and promote religious freedom for all.
A European branch of the IRLA was organized in 1948 and has been a partner association for many years, publishing one of the most respected journals on religious freedom, Conscience et Liberte, in French and six other European languages.
If you read the list of members of the board of the IRLA or members of honor, you will find the names Mrs. Roselyn Carter, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, and other names you would recognize. Associated with the IRLA were Eleanor Roosevelt and Rene Casing, who both played an essential role in editing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Philosophy of the IRLA
The roots of the Human Rights Declaration go back to the philosophers of the enlightenment such as John Locke and Voltaire. They also go back to the Bible, to the teaching of Jesus; and to the Anabaptists and Baptists. That is why the Declaration of Principles of the IRLA states: “We believe that religious freedom is a God-given right.”
That is not what has usually been taught through the ages. The natural human trend has often been to separate religious freedom from its divine origin and invoke human intelligence instead. Religious freedom has sometimes been understood as freedom from religion and freedom from God. God and religion have sometimes been seen as a threat to freedom and to human rights.
From its beginning, the International Religious Liberty Association has understood religious freedom in a very broad sense. We are proud of our religious roots, but we are also grateful for the contribution of other traditions. We recognize the contribution of both religion and philosophy in the legislation that protects the right to choose according to the dictates of conscience. We also recognize that in most of the cultures and religions in the world, seeds of religious freedom can be found. It began with the struggle of tolerance for others’ religion. It was not religious freedom as defined by the Universal Declaration, but it was still a good step forward.
Professor Wood writes: “In the ancient teachings of Hinduism, for example, intolerance and the very denigration of the religious rights of other faiths are expressly condemned.”
In Islam, the Qurán declares that “There shall be no compulsion in religion.”
The IRLA Declaration of Principles states: “We believe in the natural and inalienable right of freedom of conscience to have or not to have a religion; to adopt the religion or belief of one’s choice; to change religious beliefs according to conscience; to manifest one’s religion individually or in community with others, in worship, observance, practice, promulgation, and teaching—subject only to respect for the equivalent rights of others.” This sounds like Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights!
We believe that as human beings we have been created with an autonomous conscience. The conscience is individual and makes us different from other creatures. We have to respect that difference.
Any kind of organization—religious or secular—which attempts to force our conscience, is doing wrong. As human beings we are not the property of any religion or belief system. We are creatures who are able to choose, and that right should be respected. It is not the mission of the state to force our conscience. The declaration further states: “We believe that legislation and other governmental acts which unite church and state are contrary to the best interest of both institutions and are potentially prejudicial to human rights.”
Does this mean that we don’t respect the government? Not at all. I quote the Declaration: “We believe that the government is divinely ordained to support and protect citizens in their enjoyment of natural rights, and to rule in civil affairs.”
A Profile of the IRLA
The IRLA has one of the best international networks among Non-Governmental Organizations. It has national associations in 70 countries—including Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Russia. The IRLA has 13 regional chapters correspondents in 200 countries.
The IRLA is the oldest association of religious freedom. During the past eight years the IRLA has organized two world congresses (in Rio de Janeiro and Manila); numerous international congresses; and international seminars and symposiums in more than 15 countries.
Side by side with the promotion of religious liberty, the IRLA includes one of the best groups of experts. They meet every year and have published documents on Proselytism and Religious Freedom; Religious Teachings in Public Schools; Religious Freedom and Security; and Religious Symbols in the Public Sphere.
In 2003 the IRLA was recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council and given the status of United Nations Non-Governmental Organization Category II. We are represented in New York and in Geneva, and we take part in the Human Rights Commission meetings every year.
Along with Ambassador Robert Seiple, the former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, the IRLA initiated the Washington Coalition for International Religious Freedom, which meets twice a year.
The IRLA has published a journal, Fides et Liberates, since 1999, and this journal provides excellent articles on religious liberty. A Web site gives information to those who want to know more about our activities. Recently we started a TV program called Global Faith and Freedom.
Promoting religious freedom is one of the main aspects of the IRLA’s mission. Our team is invited every year to give lectures at universities and churches, to write articles, and to give interviews on radio and television. We are invited to attend international meetings and symposiums. Another aspect of our activity is to visit countries and to meet political and religious authorities. In the past few years I visited some sensitive countries, such as China, Vietnam, Laos, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Cuba, and the dangerous island of Ambon in East Indonesia. In February of 2005, I visited Cambodia, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. One of the IRLA Vice Presidents has visited China many times.
An Ongoing Vision
Religion plays a major role in the world today. Religious extremism and fanaticism are threatening freedom and peace. We believe that religious freedom is a factor of peace and security. It is the best answer to religious intolerance. We want to encourage people of different faiths and beliefs to respect one another and to work together for the good of all. That is the best response to the increasing wave of intolerance.
Some may think that the IRLA is just a drop of water in the ocean. Maybe, but we want to be that drop. We want to show that we can have religious or philosophical convictions and, in spite of that, respect those with other convictions and protect the rights of those who hold those convictions. This is epitomized by the words of Jesus and echoed in the Jewish tradition of the Golden Rule. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12, N.I.V.
Our goal is to be present in 100 countries in 2007: to have regular radio and TV programs, to expand the current Web site, to organize international congresses on each continent, and to set up a team of experts not only in Europe and in the United States, but also in Euro-Asia, Latin America, Asia, and, of course, Africa.
We are in the process of planning international and regional congresses in Argentina, Canada, Brazil, Russia, Kazakhstan, Japan, Ghana (the second All-African Congress), the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, and the United States. In 2007, the Fifth IRLA World Congress will be held in Cape Town, South Africa.
We do not have billions of dollars given to us by governments, but we have an outstanding group of experts and volunteers. With the resources we have and with our own convictions, we have already made a difference in many places. We do not have the power of the popular media to publicize what we are doing on a large scale, but when we consider what has been accomplished in a few years with a few people, we can thank God and our supporters and our team.
This is just the beginning of a great movement that will become a strong voice in our world in favor of the right of everyone to choose, and in promotion of respect for the diversity of choice, for protecting the rights of minorities, and for upholding human dignity. What difference will it make in a world of violence and injustice? It is up to you to decide. For us, we have already made our choice. That is why we believe in the gift of God, in the gift of religious freedom for all.
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*Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
1 Professor Henry J. Steiner of Harvard Law School stated: “No other document has so caught the historical moment, achieved the same moral and rhetorical force, or exerted so much influence on the [human rights] movement as a whole.”—“Securing Human Rights,” Harvard Magazine (October 1998), quoted in James E. Wood Jr., “Religious Human Rights and a Democratic State,” JCS, Vol 46, No 4, August 2004, pp. 741-742.
2 “Statement on Religious Liberty,” in The New Delhi Report: The Third Assembly of the World Council of Churches, 1961 (New York: Associated Press, 1962), 159, in James Wood, footnote 85, p. 759.
3 De Libertate Religiosa: A Declaration of Religious Freedom; see The Documents of Vatican II in James E. Wood, footnote 86, p. 760.
4 Op cit, p. 750.
5 In Our Mission, a brochure published by the IRLA, 2003: “There is a Christian tradition of religious freedom with Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Lactantius, Marsilius of Padua…”
6 Religious persecution would have been impossible if the state had remained neutral on religious issues.
7 Op cit, p. 751.
8 Qurán 2:256.
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