The National Secular Society (United Kingdom) and The Fédération Nationale de la Libre Pensée (France)demand Secularism in Europe!A Europe free from religious domination!
sunday april 3rd, 2005 - 12.00In 2003,
the Federation Française de la Libre Pensée and the National Secular Society of the UK suggested that all European secular organisations should jointly organise a mass demonstration in Paris on 6th December2003, the focus of which would be: a defence of secularism in Europe and a rejection of Article 51 of the proposed European Constitution.
By 6th December 2003, 32 organisations from 14 countries had answered the call. With IHEU presiding, hundreds of secularists, free-thinkers, humanists and rationalists came together in the defence of secularism in Europe and to promote secularism in new areas.Now we must move to respond to what has happened since then.
On 18th June, the Intergovernmental Conference adopted the proposed Constitution, which incorporates Article 51 (now Article 52), the intention of which is to guarantee excessive religious privileges and to confirm the power of the churches in EU institutions, in spite of the Union’s commitment to freedom of conscience.
It is expected that it will take a maximum of two years to ratify the proposed Constitution in all the member countries. In all countries of the Union, therefore, those who have the interests of secularism at heart are called upon to oppose this institutionalisation of church power, the object of which is to legitimise, perpetuate and evenincrease the anti-democratic privileges of churches and faith groups throughout the EU.
If such a provision were to be adopted, no people, no nation, no State in Europe could ever successfully challenge state religions, church-state agreements, blasphemy laws and the church taxes that already exist in agreat many member countries or are proposed in future.
Furthermore, Article 52 obliges privileged consultation with religious and other philosophical groups throughoutthe Union “in an open and transparent dialogue”.
This is objectionable because it is undemocratic andwill also lead to an entrenchment of religious power and influence.The question that now confronts us is not the desirability of a European constitution per se, but whether theconstitution currently proposed encourages religious power-seeking and is therefore anti-secular.
The answer is clear: the constitution grants undue religious influence and is therefore a threat to the secular structure ofsociety. Article 52 in particular constitutes a grave danger for freedom of conscience. The only way to avoid these dangers is to reject this constitution, which is no longer at the prototype stage but will become legally enforceable if it is not rejected.
