Slightly unusual for this Catholic blog, I share with you a letter from the general synod of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. They write to the leaders of all political parties in parliament to urge them not to accept a proposed law that would prohibit ritual slaughter of animals, or any form of slaughter that does not involve sedation. This proposal, if made law, will severely curtail the freedom of religious expression in this country.
The discussion is lively on Twitter, but this is the first official response from a church community. Hopefully the Dutch bishops will follow suit. This proposal is one of the more serious potential infringements on religious freedom we have seen in recent times (matched only once in recent history, during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands…).
The letter makes some valid points why this should not become law. Go read the original or the English translation.
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April 13, 2011 at 20:43
Inge
It’s a difficult topic. When do you consider something to be religious freedom and when does it cross a border. For instance, and I know it’s an extreme example, say that there are people whose religion knows human sacrifice. Is prohibition of human sacrifice in our culture an infringement of that person’s freedom of religion?
Of course you can bring up less extreme examples, but at one point, moving up towards less extreme examples, you will find a grey area where one’s freedom of religion is hurting other people (or animal welfare).
I do believe ritual slaughters takes animal welfare into account and that the proposal isn’t based on actual data, but instead on what guides most people currently: subjective feelings.
It doesn’t make the discussion less valuable, though.
April 13, 2011 at 21:04
incaelo
The discussion should be encouraged, certainly. But it can get difficult, indeed. But I think this is a pretty clear-cut situation. Religious freedo is curtailed for no proper reason at all. And that is something we should address.
April 15, 2011 at 11:19
Inge
One person’s ritual slaughter is another person’s torture of animals… If most people in this country see it as animal torture, then they think animal welfare must prevail over religious freedom, in the same way human dignity does over human sacrifices, that’s why I took that as an example.
It’s the downside of living in a ‘democracy’. Can be very painful if you have a minority point of view.
July 13, 2011 at 16:21
Dutch approve ban on kosher and halal animal slaughter « Liverpool BNP Merseyside
[...] are due to be severely curtailed. This is according to a supposedly ‘Catholic’ blog site. http://incaelo.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/religious-freedom-soon-to-be-severely-curtailed/ It seems that recently a letter was sent from said synod to the leaders of all political parties in [...]
November 21, 2011 at 06:51
terrain à vendre en Thailande
I don’t disagree with this writing!
December 4, 2011 at 18:30
гигабары для форумов
That’s some academic article!!!
December 31, 2011 at 14:22
Looking behind « In Caelo et in Terra
[...] Lemmens and Hudsyn, the first EF Mass in Groningen’s cathedral, further attempts at repressing religious freedom in the Netherlands, the bishops of Belgium uniting in shock to further improprieties from Roger [...]