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I believe that many of my friends and readers could sign this declaration. It would be great if a Luxembourg society could publish a comparable Luxembourg declaration and collect signatories or members.
* We recognize the unlimited right to freedom of conscience, religion
and belief, and that freedom to practice one's religion should be
limited only by the need to respect the rights of others.
* We submit that public policy should be informed by evidence and
reason, not by dogma.
* We assert the need for a society based on democracy, human rights
and the rule of law. History has shown that the most successful
societies are the most secular.
* We assert that the only equitable system of government in a
democratic society is based on secularism: state neutrality in matters
of religion or belief, favouring none and discriminating against none.
* We assert that private conduct, which respects the rights of others
should not be the subject of legal sanction or government concern.
* We affirm the right of believers and non-believers alike to
participate in public life and their right to equality of treatment in
the democratic process.
* We affirm the right to freedom of expression for all, subject to
limitations only as prescribed in international law – laws which all
governments should respect and enforce. We reject all blasphemy laws
and restrictions on the right to criticize religion or nonreligious
life stances.
* We assert the principle of one law for all, with no special
treatment for minority communities, and no jurisdiction for religious
courts for the settlement of civil matters or family disputes.
* We reject all discrimination in employment (other than for religious
leaders) and the provision of social services on the grounds of race,
religion or belief, gender, class, caste or sexual orientation.
* We reject any special consideration for religion in politics and
public life, and oppose charitable, tax-free status and state grants
for the promotion of any religion as inimical to the interests of
non-believers and those of other faiths. We oppose state funding for
faith schools.
* We support the right to secular education, and assert the need for
education in critical thinking and the distinction between faith and
reason as a guide to knowledge, and in the diversity of religious
beliefs. We support the spirit of free inquiry and the teaching of
science free from religious interference, and are opposed to
indoctrination, religious or otherwise.
Adopted by the conference, Copenhagen, 20 June 2010.
