We wish to make our voices heard and to express our concerns about the Hungarian Act CCVI of 2011 on the Right to Freedom of Conscience and Religion and on the Status of Churches, Religions and Religious Communities that restricts religious freedom.
The act stripped Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and hundreds of other religious communities of their church status and forced them to undergo a highly arbitrary procedure should they wish to register as a religion.
Deterioration of rights
Because of this legislation which we consider to be a violation of the Hungarian Constitution and of fundamental human rights, dozens of religious denominations are deprived of fundamental rights they had acquired under the previous legislation:
– they are not included in the category of religious communities which will go on enjoying the same rights as before and are exempt from re-registration;
– they have to apply for re-registration and to this end to collect the personal data and the signatures of 1,000 members instead of 100 previously;
– they cannot re-register through a court proceeding as before but have to submit their application to Parliament and need a 2/3 majority vote;
– they have to go through a preliminary screening of a state authority (Ministry of Public Administration and Justice) implying an evaluation of their beliefs;
– they have no legal redress in case of rejection but will have to apply for the status of “religious association” under the law governing civil associations (also under revision) and if they fail to do so, they will be liquidated and their assets nationalised;
– they will lose a number of tax exemption advantages while the registered communities will go on enjoying them.
Society suffers
The deregistration process will affect the support by religious groups to different communities and activities, including the care for homeless, the elderly, the poor, prisoners and minorities. It will affect among other things educational support, the provision of shelter and assistance to those disadvantaged in society because these religious communities will no longer have the proper legal framework from which to operate.
The Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship founded and led by Methodist Pastor Gabor Ivanyi, which provides food and shelter for some thousands of homeless people, lost its church status and is not entitled any more for state support of its charitable work.
Jai Bhim Buddhist Community, which contributes to social integration of young Roma adults and children, not only lost its religious recognition but was subjected to a police raid.
All of this is reminiscent of some long-forgotten time and has no place in today’s modern Europe.
On 19 March 2012 the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe published a 15-page opinion about the new Hungarian Religion Law in which it expressed serious reservations (see www.venice.coe.int/docs/2012/CDL-AD(2012)004-e.pdf).
It found that retroactively de-registering religious organisations offends international human rights standards. It also found that the parliamentary vote on registration offends due process, withholds necessary procedural guarantees, and offends the obligation of state neutrality and objectivity. Moreover, it found the national security criteria to be in violation of the European Charter of Human Rights and the standards of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
We call for this legislation to be repealed and for religious freedom to be protected in the interest of all citizens of Hungary.
Willy Fautre, Director of Human Rights Without Frontiers International
Joe Grieboski, Founder and president of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy
Peter Zoehrer, Secretary-general of Forum for Religious Freedom Europe
Rev. Dr. Wytske Dijkstra, Chair of External Relations Committee of International Association for Religious Freedom
Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism
Gibril Deen, President of Mahatma Gandhi Human Rights Organisation
Janós Nagy, President of the Confederation of Hungarian Small Churches
Janós Orsos, President of Hungarian Jai Bhim Buddhist Community
Jura Nanuk, Founder of the Central-European Religious Freedom Institute
