Law on Religion of 1959

Law on Religion of 1959
Popular Assembly
Date passed	3 April 1959
Date commenced	22 April 1959
Summary
Creates the framework for the functioning of religion in Gylias and the regulation of religious associations.
Status: Current legislation

The Law on Religion of 1959 is a Gylian federal law that defines the framework in which religious activities take place, and regulates the functioning of religious organisations. It bans manifestations of religious exclusivism and activities associated with universalist religions, and establishes the Bureau of Religious Affairs (BRA) to register and regulate religious associations.

Part of a series of laws marking the transition from the Free Territories to Gylias, the Law on Religion enshrines the religious policy of the Free Territories into Gylian law, which reflects Gylian historical attitudes towards religion. It has attracted criticism from adherents of monotheist and universalist religions who see the law as specifically discriminatory against them.

Background

The law was introduced in the Popular Assembly in 1959, during the transition from the Free Territories to Gylias. It largely served as a consolidation of existing legislation passed by communal assemblies, which specifically banned aspects of organised religion offensive to Gylian sensibilities.

Debates on the bill took place against a backdrop of broad anti-clerical sentiment, and after adherents of monotheistic religions had largely fled the Free Territories during the Liberation War. Consequently, debate proceeded quickly and the bill was approved by a large majority.

After the presidency was established in 1961, Reda Kazan signed all federal laws passed up to that point as a formality.

Text of the law

1. This law shall regulate the functioning of religion and attendant associations in Gylias.
2. For legal purposes, religion is defined as: a system of beliefs and/or practices, specific to an ethnicity and/or culture, which may involve belief in the supernatural and/or deities.
3. A Bureau of Religious Affairs is established to legally register religious associations.
4. Registration shall be denied for reasons of: centralisation, authoritarianism, universalism, violation of the Constitution and other laws.
5. Administrative or public organisations shall not pay or subsidise religious associations.
6. Formal affiliation or disaffiliation with a religion is invalid.
7. Proselytism and attempted conversion are illegal as violations of the right to freely develop and express one's identity.
8. Attempted induction or conversion of children is illegal as child abuse.

Effects

The Law on Religion affirms the secular nature of the Gylian polity, and establishes a principle of religious neutrality that favours ethnic religions. Most of the provisions of the law reflect Gylian historical experience and conflicts with universalist religions:

• Religion is pointedly defined as involving belief in "deities".
• Grounds for denial of legal recognition include "centralisation, authoritarianism, [and] universalism".
• Formal affiliation and disaffiliation with religions are not recognised, in keeping with the non-exclusive legal framework.
• Proselytism is banned. This provision allows residents initiating civil action and local governments to ban public preaching and similar activities.
• Possibly the most contentious phrasing of the law, religious indoctrination of children is defined as child abuse.

The BRA's guidelines specifically discourage organised religion and mandate decentralised and non-hierarchical organisation of religious associations as a precondition for registration. Associations may federate into a federal association. Associations for non-native religions are banned from coordinating too closely with their home countries so as to avoid centralisation.

Religious associations are banned from involvement in politics, and may not receive financial support from governments, communal assemblies, administrative agencies, or public organisations.

Criticism

The Law on Religion has been the target of particular criticism from monotheist-majority countries. It has been criticised as undermining freedom of religion and for discriminatory enforcement, being used mainly as a tool to suppress monotheist religions and promote polytheist ones.

The BRA rejects these criticisms and instead argues that it protects freedom of religion by preventing universalist religions from threatening religious pluralism.

The law has also played a role in the conflict between Syarans and Hellene Gylians, as the latter's traditional polytheism is recognised by the BRA while the former's Gaia-centred monotheism is not.