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Religious Liberty at the European Court of Human Rights

Germany hasn't quite recovered from that dark patch on their history half a century ago. Erring on the side of caution, they were impotent in the face of Gaddafi's violence and failed to muster the nerve to act on behalf of innocent people. Erring on the side of authoritarian socialism, they have begun jailing religious parents who object to having their children taught that sexual morality is synonymous with sexual pleasure as part of a state-mandated sex-ed program. The European Convention on Human Right confirms that "the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions," but the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that education "by its very nature calls for regulation by the State." A German family has now been granted political asylum in the U.S. due to persecution in Germany for homeschooling their children.

On the other hand, the European Court of Human Rights on Friday held that crucifixes may be displayed in schools, overturned its own 2009 precedent which held that crosses in Italian schoolrooms were a human rights violation. While the court commendably noted that the crucifix "symbolized the principles and values which formed the foundation of democracy and western civilization," it also, perhaps unintentionally, provided a sad commentary on modern Italy, noting that it found no evidence "that the display of such a symbol on classroom walls might have an influence on pupils."

UPDATE: I see that Robinson beat me to the latter of these stories by 7 minutes. You may have won this time, Robinson, but the war goes on. . . .

Categories > Religion

Discussions - 2 Comments

As I wrote the thought crossed my mind, "I'm probably going to post this and see Justin already on it before I finish." Seems I was quick to the draw this time!

Good point on the lack of influence it'd be likely to have on pupils, though. One of the most remarkable things I learned about Italy is how incredibly empty many of their great cathedrals are on Sundays; in some you'd be likely to find more tourists than natives.

Germany hasn't quite recovered from that dark patch on their history half a century ago.

Italy shares the same dark patch if I have the players in the Axis right. In fact the catholic church worked with Mussolini on the Lateran treaty.

But I would suggest there is a deep principle behind "the Statute of Limitations" A principle that Keynes understood, but the French did not.

God remmembers and will judge history, but the minds of even great men like socrates(are full of swiss cheese) and forgetfullness.

From forgetfullness and an inability to forsee at the time comes the english common law principle of property, its doctrine of laches.

You are estopped from bringing a German fascist claim. The dark patch on its history was originally forgiven by the Marshall Plan when on July 1947 they scrapped JCS 1067 which had decreed "take no steps looking toward the economic rehabilitation of Germany [or] designed to maintain or strengthen the German economy." And JCS 1067 was supplanted by JCS 1779, stating that "an orderly and prosperous Europe requires the economic contributions of a stable and productive Germany."

On the other hand claims against president Silvio Berlusconi for his role in becomming friendly with Gaddafi are recent history and are not barred by a theory of laches.

There is absolutely no duty on the part of the Germans to do anything in Lybia, on the other hand Silvio Berlusconi and the Italians may have such a duty.

You don't even come close to providing a standard and just seem to flop around.

What exactly seperation of church and state looks like, or the Lateran treaty, or the establishment clause in Europe I don't really know, but the language and justifications in the United States are similar if much more narrow if you hunt around in Renquist or O'Connor.

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