by ALEX
JOHNSON
When
President Barack Obama signed an update to U.S. law protecting religious
freedom late last week, one provision drew special attention: U.S. law now
recognizes non-believers as, in essence, a religious group.
Obama's
signing of amendments to the International Religious Freedom Act on Friday
wasn't widely noticed — except among the community of atheists, agnostics and
others who categorize themselves as "humanists."
For the
first time, the law — which was originally passed in 1998 — specifies that
"the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is understood to protect
theistic and non-theistic beliefs and the right not to profess or practice any
religion."
Among other
things, the main amendments to the law promoting religious liberty around the
world:
Allow the
United States to target "entities of particular concern" (that is,
groups that aren't sovereign countries, like ISIS and Boko Haram).
Set up a way
to track religious prisoners overseas.
Require that
all foreign service officers undergo training in religious liberty.
IMAGES: The
Obamas outside church
President
Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters, Malia and Sasha,
walk back to the White House after attending St. John's Episcopal Church in
Washington in October 2009. AP
The addition
of protections for non-theistic or even non-existent beliefs wasn't even
mentioned in many news reports. But for Roy Speckhardt, executive director of
the nonprofit American Humanist Association, the change is a historic cause for
celebration.
"That
non-theists are now recognized as a protected class is a significant step
toward full acceptance and inclusion for non-religious individuals, who are
still far too often stigmatized and persecuted around the world,"
Speckhardt said.
"Legislators
are finally recognizing the human dignity of humanists and granting the
non-theistic community the same protections and respect that have been given to
religious communities," he said.
In its 2016
annual report (PDF), the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a
federal panel that was created under the original 1998 law, highlights numerous
instances of persecution of atheists and other non-believers.
The report
plays no favorites, singling out important U.S. allies like Saudi Arabia, where
the poet Ashraf Fayadh was sentenced to death last year for
"apostasy" — specifically, for spreading atheism. The sentence was
reduced in February 2016 to eight years in prison and 800 lashes.
Regulations
enacted in 2014 by the Saudi Interior Ministry, in fact, classify "calling
for atheist thought in any form" as terrorism.
The report
also harshly criticizes Egypt, which convicted Mustafa Abdel-Nabi, an online
activist, to prison in absentia in February for "blasphemy" after he
published posts about atheism on his Facebook page. A year earlier, another
Facebook user, Sherif Gaber, was sentenced to prison for discussing his atheist
views online.
"Religious
freedom for all people, theists and non-theists, is an American value we must
protect," said Matthew Bulger, legislative director of the American
Humanist Association.
But it's not
just humanist groups that are applauding the revision.
"Protecting
non-theistic beliefs and requiring increased religious freedom training for our
foreign service officers emphasizes our shared value of religious liberty for
all people across the globe," said J. Brent Walker, executive director of
the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Freedom, a coalition of more than a
dozen Baptist denominations.
"We are
pleased that religious liberty still finds broad bipartisan support,"
Walker, an ordained minister, said in a statement to The Baptist Standard, a
publication devoted to the Baptist faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment