Religious (And Atheist) Rights

At the World Atheist Conference held in Copenhagen on June 18th through the 20th of this year, a declaration of rights was adopted. It has been labeled the Copenhagen Declaration and it's a pretty good statement of the rights of both religious and non-religious people as it should be all over the world. Atheist Ireland took this very good document and made it even better with some minor changes. As they said, their version "is written more concisely, clarifies some ambiguous phrases, and catagorises the points into groups."

I like this a lot and would like to see it adopted by all nations. If that happened, I don't think there's any doubt that the world would be a better place to live in for everyone -- both the religious and non-religious. I have posted it below for your perusal and, hopefully, your approval.

DECLARATION ON RELIGION IN PUBLIC LIFE

Personal Freedoms

* Freedom of conscience, religion and belief are unlimited. Freedom to practice religion should be limited only by the need to respect the rights of others.

* All people should be free to participate equally in public life, and should be treated equally before the law and in the democratic process.

* Freedom of expression should be limited only as prescribed in international law. All blasphemy laws should be repealed.

Secular Democracy

* Society should be based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Public policy should be formed by applying reason to evidence.

* Government should be secular. The state should be strictly neutral in matters of religion, favoring none and discriminating against none.

* Religions should have no special financial consideration in public life, such as tax-free status for religious activities, or grants to promote religion or run faith schools.

Secular Education

* State education should be secular. Children should be taught about the diversity of religious beliefs in an objective manner, with no faith formation in school hours.

* Children should be educated in critical thinking and the distinction between faith and reason as a guide to knowledge. Science should be taught free from religious interference.

One Law For All

* There should be one law for all, democratically decided and evenly enforced, with no jurisdiction for religious courts to settle civil matters or family disputes.

* The law should not criminalize private conduct that respects the rights of others because the doctrine of any religion deems such conduct to be immoral.

* Employers or social service providers with religious beliefs should not be allowed to discriminate on any grounds not essential to the job in question.