Forum:
Topic:
Student Officer:
Position:
6th Committee
Assessing the legal status of state religion with respect to the followers
of different faiths
Sofie Zerck, Gymnasium Meiendorf, Hamburg
Deputy Chair of the 6th Committee of the General Assembly
Definition of key terms
State religion
The state religion is the official and often preferred religion in a state. Established religion,
state church, established church and official religion are other names for state religion. It is
officially endorsed by the state.
Secular state
A secular state purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting either
religion or irreligion. The secular state has the aim to treat all people equally regardless of
their religion. The state has no state religion.
Theocracy
A theocracy is a government operated under divine rules or the pretense of divine rules. In
practice, this term refers to a government operated by religious authorities who claim
unlimited power in the name of God or other supernatural forces.
A government is a theocracy when the lawmakers actually believe that they are conducted
by the will of god and write laws according to this belief. The true contemporary theocracies
are primarily found in the Islamic world e.g. in Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Religion
There is no official definition of religion. In general, religion comes from the Latin word
“religio” and means back bonding.
“The term religion refers to a variety of different cultural phenomena which include the
belief in a world of gods or spirituality. They influence human behavior, actions, thoughts
and feelings and also the values.”
Description of the issue
In general, the problem is that many states have a state religion but not all citizens belong to
this religion. The people who do not belong to this religion feel in some or in many respects
discriminated against and say that this is against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
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" (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18).
Everyday, many people face discrimination based on their religion or belief. On the other
hand, the states say having a state religion is in order. The state religion declares that the
majority of the state’s population belongs to the state religion. Also some states in the
Middle East have laws and rules according to their religion. It is an important topic for them
and they think it is their right to rule under the words of their god. The only state officially
admitting to being a theocracy is the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Forum:
Topic:
Student Officer:
Position:
6th Committee
Assessing the legal status of state religion with respect to the followers
of different faiths
Sofie Zerck, Gymnasium Meiendorf, Hamburg
Deputy Chair of the 6th Committee of the General Assembly
Here are some examples of countries with different state religions:
Iran
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, officially 98 percent of the population is Muslim. The other 2
percent are followers of other religions. There is no freedom of religion in the republic. By
law, not acting accordingly with the laws of Islam can be punished with the death penalty.
Qatar
According to the Criminal Code, individuals caught proselytizing (i.e. trying to convince other
people of their belief) on behalf of an organization, society, or foundation, for any religion
other than Islam, may be sentenced to a prison term of up to 10 years. Proselytizing on
behalf of an individual for any religion other than Islam can result in a sentence of up to 5
years. Individuals who possess written or recorded materials or items that support or
promote missionary activity can be imprisoned for up to two years.
England
In England the right to freedom of religion is provided in all three constituent legal systems
by devolved, national, European, and international laws and treaties. Four countries
constitute the United Kingdom resulting in an inconsistent religious character and there is no
state church for the whole Kingdom. The United Kingdom is a signatory of the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which provides a right to freedom of thought,
conscience, and religion in Article 9; and the policy of the British government is to support
religious freedom. England is one of the countries having a state religion but in a democratic
way. No laws according to religion exist and everybody can live out his/her religion, although
England has a state religion. England is one example for a country which has no problems
with other faiths.
Argentina
Article 2 of the Constitution of Argentina reads: "The Federal Government supports the
Roman Catholic Apostolic religion." Article 14 guarantees all the inhabitants of the Nation
the right "to profess freely their religion."
Russia
The Constitution provides freedom of religion and the government generally respects this
right in practice. However, in some cases the authorities imposed restrictions on certain
groups most often through the registration process. The Constitution also provides equality
of all religions before the law and the separation of church and state but the Government
did not always respect this provision. In 1997, the Law declared all religions equal before the
law, prohibited governmental interference in religion and established simple registration
procedures for religious groups. The country is by law a secular state without a state religion.
Forum:
Topic:
Student Officer:
Position:
6th Committee
Assessing the legal status of state religion with respect to the followers
of different faiths
Sofie Zerck, Gymnasium Meiendorf, Hamburg
Deputy Chair of the 6th Committee of the General Assembly
Discrimination of religion
Discrimination can be in the form of limiting access to public contribution, education, health
services and many other actions in daily life. In extreme cases, followers of different faiths
can be arrested or killed due to their religious affiliation or beliefs.
Two groups which are often discriminated against are Muslims and Jews. Discrimination
against Jewish and Muslim people range from restrictions on their freedom of religion and
freedom of expression over obstacles in access to employment, goods and services to violent
attacks, but not only Muslims and Jews are discriminated. Also Christians and other
persuasions are discriminated. In the Middle East, the most countries discriminate religions
except for their state religion. It does not matter which faith someone belongs to, in case of
discrimination the people were persecuted, suspended from e.g. their right to vote or were
not respected. Naturally, there are more things under which people suffer in these nations.
What has the UN done so far?
The United Nations have been concerned with this issue since its foundation.
Religious discrimination is forbidden in all cores in the international declaration of human
rights.
“States have the duty to refrain from discriminating against individuals or groups based on
their religion and belief [obligation to respect]; they are required to prevent such
discrimination, including from non-State actors [obligation to protect]; and must take steps
to ensure that, in practice, every person in their territory enjoys all human rights without
discrimination of any kind [obligation to fulfil].”
(http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/2009/discrimination_religious.shtml)
The member states are obligated to stick to the UN Charter and the Human Rights.
Forum:
Topic:
Student Officer:
Position:
6th Committee
Assessing the legal status of state religion with respect to the followers
of different faiths
Sofie Zerck, Gymnasium Meiendorf, Hamburg
Deputy Chair of the 6th Committee of the General Assembly
List of State religions
gffb
Muslim ( incl. Islam,
Sunni Islam, Shia Islam):

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
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
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






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
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

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Bangladesh
Djibouti
Iraq
Pakistan
Afghanistan
Algeria
Brunei
Comoros
Egypt
Jordan
Libya
Maldives
Malaysia
Mauritania
Morocco
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Somalia
Tunisia
United Arab
Emirates





Iran (theocracy)
Oman
Kuwait
Yemen
Bahrain
Catholic:
 Argentina
 Costa Rica
 Lichtenstein
 Malta
 Monaco
 Vatican City
 Holy See
 Andorra
 Dominican Republic
 El Salvador
 Panama
 Paraguay
 Peru
 Poland
 Spain
East Orthodox:
 Greece
 Georgia
Protestant:
 England
 Denmark
 Iceland
 Norway
 Finland
 Sweden
 Tuvalu
 Scotland
 France
Buddhist:
 Cambodia
 Sri Lanka
 Thailand
 Bhutan
Jewish:
 Israel
Forum:
Topic:
Student Officer:
Position:
6th Committee
Assessing the legal status of state religion with respect to the followers
of different faiths
Sofie Zerck, Gymnasium Meiendorf, Hamburg
Deputy Chair of the 6th Committee of the General Assembly
Roman Catholicism
Protestantism (incl. Anglicanism)
Eastern Orthodoxy
Islam
Sunni Islam
Shia Islam
Buddhism
No state religion
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion#mediaviewer/File:Map_of_state_religions.svg)
This map shows the countries with state religion. Although there are many countries without
state religion, there are also around 60 countries with a state religion. They are mostly
located in the Middle East and North Africa. However, there is one country in Latin America
and one in North America with a state religion, some in Asia and Europe.
Forum:
Topic:
Student Officer:
Position:
6th Committee
Assessing the legal status of state religion with respect to the followers
of different faiths
Sofie Zerck, Gymnasium Meiendorf, Hamburg
Deputy Chair of the 6th Committee of the General Assembly
(http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F5
%2F54%2FReligion_in_the_world.PNG&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FReligions_by_c
ountry&h=612&w=1368&tbnid=D1HhnYZwj6LmHM%3A&zoom=1&docid=EzsVfjjwA6GhM&ei=tXuEVMDgAsO7PbW3gIAF&tbm=isch&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=275&page=1&start=0&ndsp=38
&ved=0CD4QrQMwCg)
In this world map, you can see the different countries with their most presenting religion(s).
As you can see, in North and South America, Europe, Australia and the South of Africa the
catholic and the protestant Christianity are presenting. The Islam is presenting in North
Africa and the Middle East. The Buddhism is presenting in Asia. The other religions are less
presenting and only in some part of the world.
Forum:
Topic:
Student Officer:
Position:
6th Committee
Assessing the legal status of state religion with respect to the followers
of different faiths
Sofie Zerck, Gymnasium Meiendorf, Hamburg
Deputy Chair of the 6th Committee of the General Assembly
Things you should know about your country
 What is your country’s position on the whole issue?
 Does your country have a state religion? If yes, which one? What does your country
do with followers of other faiths?
 Which religion most common in your country? Does your country discriminate
against other religions in any way?
 Think about what your country can do to improve the situation in the interest of your
country’s position.
 What is your country willing to change on a national and international level?
 What could future developments of the issue look like?
 Which countries might be your allies, which countries will you have to convince of
your principles and ideas?
Helpful links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_by_country
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomReligion/Pages/Standards.aspx
http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia
%2Fcommons%2F5%2F54%2FReligion_in_the_world.PNG&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wi
kipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FReligions_by_country&h=612&w=1368&tbnid=D1HhnYZwj6LmHM%
3A&zoom=1&docid=EzsVfjjwA6GhM&ei=tXuEVMDgAsO7PbW3gIAF&tbm=isch&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=1078&page=1
&start=0&ndsp=38&ved=0CD4QrQMwCg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Religion_in_the_world.PNG
http://www.religiousfreedom.com/
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
http://www.hrw.org/
http://www.ohchr.org
Forum:
Topic:
Student Officer:
Position:
6th Committee
Assessing the legal status of state religion with respect to the followers
of different faiths
Sofie Zerck, Gymnasium Meiendorf, Hamburg
Deputy Chair of the 6th Committee of the General Assembly
Sources:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_state
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomReligion/Pages/Standards.aspx
http://books.google.de/books?id=Jy8EAwAAQBAJ&pg=PR11&lpg=PR5&ots=lUpt3EJArd&foc
us=viewport&dq=Assessing+the+legal+status+of+state+religion+with+respect+to+the+follo
wers+of+different+faiths&lr=&hl=de&output=html_text
http://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staatsreligion
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_discrimination
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion
http://civilliberty.about.com/od/religiousliberty/g/Theocracy-Definition.htm
http://www.religion-ethik.de/religion/definition-was-ist-religion.html
http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/
http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/2009/discrimination_religious.shtml
http://www.amnesty.ch/de/themen/rassismus-diskriminierung/europa/religion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_by_country
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/tckarJF0Oqg/UYPl5MkOfII/AAAAAAAAks8/DJTs6Me3COE/s1600/religious-freedom2.jpg
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([email protected])
I am looking for a great conference!