RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND TOLERANCE
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The Creed of the Church of Scientology
says: “We of the Church believe:” ...
“That all men have inalienable rights to
their own religious practices and their
performance”.
No society can survive long where
religious freedom is suppressed and
religious intolerance is permitted to
thrive. Throughout their history, churches
of Scientology have worked to identify and
isolate the causes of religious
intolerance, and to develop effective ways
to bring about a society where individuals
may freely worship according to their
conscience. These are firmly held beliefs
as expressed in the Creed of the Church of
Scientology.
Churches of Scientology have organized
many multi-faith conferences in the United
States and Europe to encourage religions
to work together in the cause of religious
freedom and tolerance. In Russia, they
have helped to organize a series of
high-level round tables on the subject,
some in liaison with the Federal
Ombudsman’s Office and the Russian Academy
of State Sciences.
In the wake of September 11, the Church
of Scientology in England hosted an
international conference titled “Filling
the Moral Vacuum” at its premises at Saint
Hill, East Grinstead.
The Association of British Muslims and
the Queens Federation of Churches, a
coalition of 700 churches in New York,
co-sponsored the May 2002 conference with
the Church of Scientology’s European Human
Rights Office. The 75 participants
included religious leaders, human rights
activists and scholars from England,
Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Nigeria, Czech
Republic, Uzbekistan, Russia, Belgium,
France, Poland, United States, Latvia,
Croatia, Canada, Spain, Zambia, Bulgaria,
Armenia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
Rev. Marcus Braybrooke, President of
the World Congress of Faiths, gave the
opening address, stating that “society
needs to be based on spiritual and ethical
values, but in our modern world these
cannot be based on the teachings of one
religion, but on the moral values which
the religions share.”
His Excellency Professor Ian Hall,
Ambassador-at-Large to the World
Association of Non-Governmental
Associations, described the conference as
“singular not only because of its huge
diversity, but also because it was
extremely positive. We weren’t too
concerned with the minutiae of interfaith
organizations. We also focused on the need
to transcend the difficulties of racial
division, of spiritual ineptitude and of
nihilism. We transcended these negative
attributes with the utmost vigor and
flair.”
During discussion periods, delegates
focused on the need for religious leaders
to unite to bring an end to violence.
The participants also received a tour
of beautiful Saint Hill Manor, home of L.
Ron Hubbard in the early 1960s.
The agenda included a visit to East
Grinstead, and an opportunity for a group
photograph outside a local landmark.
A gospel choir, Buddhist and Hindu
dancers, a Sri Lankan choir and
Scientologist musicians performed at a
concert opened by the mayor of East
Grinstead.
The conference ended with a four-hour
multifaith service led by a Scientology
minister and with prayers, songs and
readings from Muslim, Christian, (Church
of England, Catholic, Evangelical and
Pentecostal), Jewish, Scientology, Hindu,
Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh
faiths. It is believed to be the most
diverse multifaith service ever held in
England.
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