Cultic Studies Journal
Psychological Manipulation and Society
Vol. 9, No. 1, 1992

3/8

The Council of Europe's Report  on Sects and New Religious Movements

5. The Legal Status of Sects in Council of Europe Member States

In general, there is no special legal status for sects; they are protected by (constitutional or statutory) provisions guaranteeing freedom of conscience and religion. The separation of church and state also guarantees state neutrality towards both religions and sects, in countries such as France.

In that country, most sects take the form of nonprofit-making associations (under the Act of 1 July 1901, which normally exempts them from any form of supervision). This means that they are not subject to taxation.

Switzerland does not normally accord them the status of public law corporations.

Iceland makes it a condition that associations must be registered before they can enjoy rights. There are at present 12 registered religious associations.

In the United Kingdom, religious associations may set up tax-exempt charitable trusts if they match one of the classifications defined by law. The public authorities support an organization called INFORM, which was set up to provide objective information on the true identity and nature of sects.

In Finland, sects or new religious movements are free to act once they have been registered as religious communities. Their articles of association are examined to ensure conformity with the law.

There is no special status in Belgium. Associations may exist in various legal forms: public interest bodies or nonprofit-making societies, for example.

The Spanish Parliament adopted a report on sects in February 1989, in which it made a number of recommendations to the government. Its recommendations are that the authorities should:

monitor compliance with law;

 

supervise application of the statutes of organizations applying for registration;

 

study and adopt any amendments needed to the legal system, especially as regards nonprofit bodies and charities, in order to facilitate supervision of their financial and fiscal affairs;

 

circulate information to magistrates, judges, and tax authorities on violations of individual liberties;

 

provide specialized information concerning the prevention and reporting of offenses committed by sects;

 

draw up and apply very strict criteria for granting subsidies, particularly to rehabilitation centers;

 

appoint guardians for minors, especially those abandoned by parents who have joined sects which may prevent them from fully exercising their parental authority and providing their children with the necessary care;

 

ratify international agreements on the abduction of minors and generally disseminate information on sects.

 

The other member states refer to freedom of religion or to freedom of conscience and worship.

6. Restrictions on the Activities of Sects in Council of Europe Member States, and Sanctions Applied

The delegations' answers to the questionnaire paint a fairly uniform picture: generally, there are no special restrictions on the activities of sects, which are protected by the principles of freedom of conscience and religion. Potential restrictions are thus the same as those which apply to that freedom.

Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein make compliance with public policy (ordre public) a condition. Public decency and/or morals must be respected in Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

Some countries impose other conditions:

Switzerland indicates that public policy (ordre public) covers security, tranquility, public health and morals, and good faith in business transactions; and that the restrictions needed to protect public policy apply to spoken and written propaganda, hawking or peddling and collections. Some forms of religious therapy are forbidden.

 

Conformity with the law is a condition in Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Presumably, this also applies even in countries which have not expressly said so.

 

In Cyprus, all religions whose teaching or rites are not secret may operate freely.

 

In Spain, the severest sanction is being declared unlawful; banning is provided for in Finland and Switzerland.

7. Case-Law on Sects

The delegations' replies indicate that there is very little case-law on sects.

Portugal points out, for example, that there can be no case-law on the activities of sects, in view of the declaration on the elimination of all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religious or other convictions.

 

It does, however, speak of proceedings at present under way concerning the refusal of certain Jehovah's Witnesses to perform military service or, in some cases, alternative community service.

 

Norway speaks of accusations brought against the Church of Scientology, whose recruiting and funding methods are criticized.

 

Spain speaks of several cases, such as unlawful proselytism, duress, threats, offenses against individual freedom and safety, fraud, tax evasion, currency fraud, and employment offenses.

 

The United Kingdom speaks above all of disputes concerning tax exemptions granted to charitable associations.

The courts in France have had to deal with complaints both from sects themselves and from individuals -- relatives of members or former members -- complaining of certain aspects of their activities.

 

Sects or their members base their complaints either on defamation or the exercise of freedom of religion.

Defamation is alleged when information on sects is published (see, for example, the judgment of 10 November 1982 of the Paris Regional Court, quoted in Les Petites Affiches of 27 April 1988). Some sects conceal their true activities or aims behind a cultural, philosophical, or other facade, and accordingly regard any information on their true activities as defamatory,

In the case referred to, the court, having compared the documents issued by the sect itself with the claims made in the article complained of, concluded that those claims were true.

This brings us to one of the elements that distinguish a sect from a religion. While a religion implies free, informed consent on the part of those who join it, people joining certain sects may be free when they join it, but are not informed, and, once they are informed, they are usually no longer free.

As the father of one victim bitterly remarked, sects usually succeed because they advance undercover.

Another ground for complaints by members of sects concerns the exercise of freedom of religion. Thus, the European Commission on Human Rights has had to deal with several cases concerning the practice of religion by sects or some of their members. (See, inter alia: Case 7805/77, 5 May 1979, Vol. XXII, p. 244; Case 2299/64, Vol. VIII, p. 324; Case 7705/76; Case 8282/78 of July 14 1980, D.R. 21, p. 109.) All these complaints were declared unfounded, since they concerned specific practices beyond the reach of law and were thus covered by paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This paragraph provides for restrictions on freedom of religion, provided that these restrictions are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health, or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

And here we come to the nub of the whole problem of sects, namely, the fact that they lie at the point where the balance between freedom (either individual or collective) and public order is upset.

The concept of public order is extremely hard to define, this being a highly subjective and variable notion, on which states enjoy considerable discretion.

This leads us to start thinking about sects as minorities. We must not forget that the main religions are legitimized in individual states by being mass religions (they were once state religions, and still are in some countries) and that the religious observances which they generate are imposed on the minority as a cultural phenomenon.

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