New Report Provides Recommendations to Address Tensions Between Religious Freedom and Equality Around the World

NEW YORK - September 21, 2015 - The International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO), of which the American Civil Liberties Union is a member, today released a report that addresses tensions between freedom of religion and equality rights and proposes resolutions to those tensions in three areas: LGBT rights, reproductive rights, and religious appearance.  

The report, "Drawing the Line: Tackling Tensions Between Religious Freedom and Equality," is the first of its kind and will be released this evening at an interdisciplinary international conference at Cardozo Law School called, "The Conscience Wars: Rethinking the Balance between Religion, Identity, and Equality.

"In many of our countries, our laws are changing to afford more people – LGBT people, women and minority groups – dignity and equality, " said American Civil Liberties Union Deputy Legal Director Louise Melling. "That change is sometimes met with objections rooted in faith. This report looks at how these tensions play out in courtrooms around the world and makes recommendations for how we can move forward together from a rights-based perspective. "

The report draws on the expertise of INCLO's members across five continents in analyzing cases where religion and equality claims have competed in the courts. It is guided by a simple and fundamental principle:  Religious freedom means the right to our beliefs. That right is fundamental and must be vigorously defended. However, religious freedom does not give us the right to impose our views on others, including by discriminating against or otherwise harming them.

With this principle in mind, INCLO offers a number of recommendations, including:

• Government officials, such as clerks charged with issuing marriage licenses, should not be afforded an exemption from laws advancing equality. Civil servants must neutrally enforce and apply the laws.  The government should not put its imprimatur on discrimination.
   
• Expressions of faith manifested in appearance should not be prohibited
   
• Claims of religious freedom must be assessed based not on the content of the belief or competing religious interpretations, but on the sincerity of the belief.  Faith and religious observance are deeply personal matters
   
• Institutions that open their doors to the public to provide services – whether for lodging, catering, or health care – should not be able to claim a religious exemption to rules furthering equality or public health.

The report was produced by the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO), which comprises 11 domestic human rights organizations: the American Civil Liberties Union, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (Argentina), the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Human Rights Law Network (India), the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, the Legal Resources Centre (South Africa), and Liberty (United Kingdom). Each organization is multi-issue, multi-constituency, domestic in focus, and independent of government. They advocate on behalf of all persons in their respective countries through a mix of litigation, legislative campaigning, public education, and grass-roots advocacy.

The full report can be found at: https://www.aclu.org/report/drawing-line