12 Reasons the Cross Is Not a Violation of Freedom - And the Illusion of a Value-Neutral State

Zenit ^ | NOV. 6, 2009

[GonzoII]

VIENNA, Austria, NOV. 6, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Real religious freedom is not freedom from religion, says a historian writing in response to this week's European court decision discouraging crucifixes in Italian schools.

Martin Kugler, an expert for the human rights network Christianophobia.eu in Vienna, offered 12 theses to unveil the mistaken thinking of the court, which decided in favor of an atheist mother who protested the crucifix in her children's school.

Kugler explained: "The right to religious freedom can only mean its exercise -- not the freedom from confrontation. The meaning of 'freedom of religion' has nothing to do with creating a society that is 'free from religion.'

"Forcibly removing the symbol of the cross is a violation on the same level as it would be to force atheists to mount this symbol.

"The blank white wall is also an ideological statement -- especially, if over the previous centuries, it had not been empty. A 'value-neutral' state is fiction, which is often used for propaganda purposes."

Kugler said that decisions like that of the European court actually attack religion, instead of fighting religious intolerance.

Furthermore, he affirmed, "one cannot fight political problems by fighting against religion."

"Anti-religious fundamentalism makes itself an accomplice of religious fundamentalism when it provokes through intolerance," the expert observed.

And, "the majority of the affected population would like to retain the cross. It is also a problem of democratic politics, giving priority to individual interests so blatantly."

Finally, along the lines of the argument proposed by the Italian government in defense of crucifixes in its classrooms, Kugler said that "the cross is the logo of Europe. It is a religious symbol, but still much more than that."

Snip...

.. talk of a "value-neutral state" is "simply naive and the result of an illusion. [...] rather a joke."

[GonzoII]

"The blank white wall is also an ideological statement -- especially, if over the previous centuries, it had not been empty."

Good insight!

[EverOnward]

bump

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

"The blank white wall is also an ideological statement -- especially, if over the previous centuries, it had not been empty."

Clearly.