World attention was attracted to the town of Ploërmel in Brittany last week when France’s top administrative court, the Conseil d’Etat, ruled that a large cross over the nearly 25-foot statue of Pope John Paul in prayer be removed, for contravening a 1905 law banning any “religious sign or emblem” in a public space.
Poland Prime Minister Beata Szydło countered, offering to have the statue moved to Poland to rescue it from “the dictates of political correctness,” saying that religious censorship is undermining the values of Europe.
Enshrined in the 1905 law based on the principle of “laicite,” or secularism, is the tight restriction of the display of religious symbols in public.
In Ploërmel, the former mayor of the predominantly Catholic town who had the statue installed accused the pro-secular camp of trying to make Christians “feel permanently guilty.”
The current mayor, Patrick Le Diffon, who wanted the work of art in his town, decided to nullify the issue by selling the land where the statue now stands to a private investor.
From its beginnings, the Church of Scientology has recognized that freedom of religion is a fundamental human right. In a world where conflicts are often traceable to intolerance of others’ religious beliefs and practices, the Church has, for more than fifty years, made the preservation of religious liberty an overriding concern.
From persecution of religious minorities to issues revolving around religious worship, beliefs, rites, expression, association, dress, symbols, education, registration and workplace discrimination, religious freedom issues have achieved a prominent place in global headlines.
The Church publishes this blog to help create a better understanding of the freedom of religion and belief and provide news on religious freedom and issues affecting this freedom around the world.
