Three evangelical leaders have filed a lawsuit challenging a recent constitutional amendment in Switzerland that bans lawmakers in the Canton of Geneva from wearing visible religious symbols, the Swiss Evangelical Alliance announced on Monday (July 20).
Geneva’s cantonal parliament, the Grand Council, narrowly passed the constitutional amendment last year, before Geneva citizens officially approved the religious symbol ban with a 51.4% majority in a public referendum on June 14.
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The new restriction applies to members of Geneva’s cantonal parliament, known as the Grand Council, as well as municipal councils.
‘Slippery slope’
Michael Mutzner, director of the Christian Public Affairs Association and a local church president, filed the lawsuit alongside Markus Hofer and Joseph Kabongo. Hofer represents the World Evangelical Alliance at the United Nations as an accredited representative, while Kabongo is a theologian and retired pastor with the Evangelical Party.
Mutzner argued that Christians must defend religious freedom for all faith communities, not just their own.
“Religious freedom is either for all, or, ultimately, for no one,” Mutzner said. “When the rights of one religious community are restricted, the freedoms of all communities become more fragile. It’s a slippery slope. For Christians, this is a matter of loving our neighbor and wanting for others the same freedom we want for ourselves.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Chris Eyte and originally published by Christian Daily International.
