SECTS AND CULTS: A
CHALLENGE TO DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
by Danièle Mulller-Tulli,
Vice president of
FECRIS, president of ASDFI[1],
Background
Through
Parliamentary Assembly Recommendations 1178 (1992) on sects and new
religious movements and 1412 (1999) on illegal activities of sects and the
reply by the Committee of Ministers (2001), the Council of Europe has put
forward ideas and lines of action for tackling a problem it regards as serious
and worrying in a manner compatible with our societies’ democratic principles.
Recommendation 1412
clearly stresses the need to preserve freedom of conscience and religion,
advocates state neutrality and equal protection before the law and calls upon
state authorities to refrain from taking measures based on value judgments
concerning beliefs.
In
Recommendation 1178, the Parliamentary Assembly recommended that the
Committee of Ministers take measures to inform and educate young people and the
general public and requested that corporate status be granted to all sects and
new religious movements which had been registered
In paragraph 5
of Recommendation 1412, the Assembly concludes that it is unnecessary to
define what constitutes sects or to decide whether they are religions or
not. However, it notes that “there is some concern about groups that are
thought of as sects, whatever religious, esoteric or spiritual description they
adopt, and this needs to be taken into account.”
The Assembly adds
that it is essential to ensure that the activities of these groups are in
keeping with the principles of our democratic societies and, in particular,
with the provisions of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human
Rights concerning freedom of thought, religion and conscience, as well as being
legal.
To have reliable
information on the relevant groups, the Parliamentary Assembly recommends the
establishment of independent, national or regional information centres on new
religious movements. For its part, the Committee of Ministers attaches
great importance to providing the public with information and mentions the
possibility of the Council of Europe having a role in setting up an information
exchange network.
The Parliamentary
Assembly places particular emphasis on educating children and teenagers,
referring to non-enrolment at school, which is common practice in some new
religious movements, as a risk factor for the well-being of the children
concerned and of society, and states that the teaching of history and of the
main currents of philosophy, thought and religion is particularly important for
the development of these future citizens.
In
Recommendation 1412, the Parliamentary Assembly also underlines that it
attaches great importance to protecting those most vulnerable, and particularly
the children in religious groups, in case of ill-treatment, rape, neglect or
brainwashing. It therefore calls on member states, particularly in
central and eastern Europe, to encourage the setting-up of NGOs for the victims,
or the families of victims, of religious, esoteric or spiritual groups.
The Assembly also
recommends understanding, tolerance and dialogue with religious, philosophical
and esoteric groups and encourages states to take firm steps against any action
which is discriminatory towards minority groups.
The Committee of
Ministers says it is in full agreement with the recommendations.
The two
recommendations above provide the framework for the issues covered during the
study day by clearly indicating:
1. The
pitfalls to avoid:
· Defining
sects. Defining sects would restrict the problem to dogmas, beliefs and
doctrines, leaving out that of excesses. Definitions would also differ depending
on whether the analysis approach was sociological, philosophical or
anthropological.
· Conducting
the debate on the level of religion.
2. The
level from which to tackle the issues:
· Politically
· Legally
· In
relation to human rights
Current situation
It is worth noting
that Recommendation 1178 is 15 years old and Recommendation 1412 is
eight years old.
So what is the
position today?
Have the two
recommendations been followed and in what way?
Are the provisions
adopted by the various states adequate and are citizens properly informed and
protected?
Have central and
east European countries received the promised assistance?
Have support
centres been opened for victims and their families?
These are questions
which Europeans may ask in relation to their rights and the protection of human
rights.
In the case of the
first question, only six countries in
Only
In this connection,
it is important to go over the articles of the convention which refer to the
above values:
Art. 9 – Freedom of
thought, conscience and religion
It should be noted
here that this article is divided into two paragraphs:
Paragraph 1
sets out the right, in this case the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion, while paragraph 2 sets out the limitations on the right.
Everyone therefore
has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion insofar as, in a
democratic society, public safety, the protection of public order, health or
morals and the rights and freedoms of others are guaranteed.
Art. 10 – Freedom
of expression
Paragraph 1:
Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right includes
freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas
without interference by public authority.
Paragraph 2: The
exercise of these freedoms carries with it duties and responsibilities and is
subject to certain conditions necessary in the interests of national security,
territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or
crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the
reputation or rights of others, and for maintaining the authority and
impartiality of the judiciary.
Art. 11 – Freedom
of assembly and association
Paragraph 1:
Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of
association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions.
Paragraph 2:
These rights must not undermine national security or public safety, public
order, the prevention of crime, the protection of health or morals or the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
The question is
whether these values vital to democracy are respected both by sects and new
religious, philosophical and esoteric movements and also by states. While
claiming your rights is easy, recognising their limits is probably the crux of
the matter.
What is the
position regarding the goals of certain private groups that claim to be
“religious” specifically for the purpose of enjoying the above rights, which
set up multimillionaire, multinational companies or far-right political
parties?
And what is to be
said of groups whose commercial activities are far removed from spirituality or
religion and whose wealth is largely based on arms production, whereas
elsewhere they campaign for peace in the world under the cover of NGOs with
consultative status with the UN, the humanitarian sector being a very popular
one for obtaining charitable or equivalent status.
Selected bibliography
Abgrall, Jean-Marie, Les Charlatans de la Santé,
Document Payot, Paris, 1998
Abgrall, Jean-Marie, La mécanique des sectes,
Payot et Rivages, Paris 1998
Ariès Paul, Les sectes à l’assaut de la santé, Golias,
Villeurbanne, 2000
Aouchiche Samir, L’Enfant sacrifié à Satan,
Filipacchi, Levallois Perret, 1997
Boyer Jean-François, L’Empire Moon, La Découverte, March 1996
Edelstam Anne, Mon voyage avec la Vierge de l’Apocalypse,
Publibook Paris, 2001
Fouchereau Bruno, Les Sectes, Cheval de Troie des
Etats Unis en Europe, Le Monde Diplomatique, May 2001
Guillet Nicolas, Les difficultés de la lutte contre les dérives sectaires,
l’Harmattan, March 2007
Hassan Steven, Combating Cult Mind Control
Introvigne Massimo, Melton
Gordon, Pour en finir avec les sectes, joint work, Cesnur & Di Giovanni Milan 1996
Lardeur Thomas, Les sectes dans l’entreprise,
Editions d’Organisation, Paris 1999
Miller Russel, Bare-faced Messiah,
Penguin Books, 1987 / le Gourou démasqué, Plon, Paris
1993
Plume Christian Pasquini Xavier, Encyclopédie des sectes dans le monde,
Henri Veyrier, 1984
Ritchie Jean, The secret world of cults,
HarperCollins, 1991
Stucki J-P, Munsch C,
Sectes, des paradis totalitaires? Desmaret,