Eighty-five policymakers, legal experts, and representatives of various faith traditions from around Europe joined together 7-8 February 2023 in Lisbon for an international conference on religion and freedom of expression. The event was organised by the International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty (AIDLR) and hosted by the charitable Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
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Policymakers, legal experts, and representatives of various faith traditions from around Europe gather in Lisbon.Photo by permission of International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty (AIDLR). All rights reserved.“If dialogue is possible, and it must be possible, this exercise of tolerance will inevitably have to take place within religion,” said Prof. Dr. Catarina Sarmento e Castro, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Portugal, during her opening remarks of the conference. “In other words, if Hans Küng is right and there will be no peace between nations if there is no peace between religions, there will be no peace between religions if there is no dialogue between religions. Then, everything must be done to promote this dialogue,” she asserted.
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Prof. Dr. Catarina Sarmento e Castro, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Portugal, spoke during the opening session of the conference.Photo by permission of International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty (AIDLR). All rights reserved.Conference sessions focused on religion and freedom of expression with regards to human dignity, organisations, and contemporary society.
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Group photo of participants at the AIDLR international conference in Lisbon.Photo by permission of International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty (AIDLR). All rights reserved.“It is inconceivable to consider freedom of expression as the right to insult other human beings, or groups,” said Dr. Ganoune Diop, General Secretary of the International Religious Liberty Association and Director of the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department at the Seventh-day Adventist Church. “The moral dimension of respect of other peoples’ dignity should be inseparable from freedom of expression,” he added during a session on Tuesday afternoon.
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Dr. Ganoune Diop, General Secretary of the International Religious Liberty Association and Director of the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, addresses the conference.Photo by permission of International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty (AIDLR). All rights reserved.Among the participants were several members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Francesco Di Lillo addressed “Freedom of religion or belief: Unity in diversity” during his presentation in Wednesday morning. “Freedom of Religion or Belief is not a privilege for some religious groups at the fringes, or even just those who belong to an organized and well-established religion. It is a precious human right for all of us. Freedom of religion or belief is an individual right,” he remarked. Di Lillo leads the European Union & International Affairs Office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brussels and serves on the board of the European Platform on Religious Intolerance and Discrimination.
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Francesco Di Lillo, leads the European Union & International Affairs Office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brussels and serves on the board of the European Platform on Religious Intolerance and Discrimination, delivers his presentation.Photo by permission of International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty (AIDLR). All rights reserved.Joaquim Jorge Oliveira Moreira, who represents The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Interreligious Dialogue Working Group in Portugal, offered remarks during the same session. “Political scientist Samuel Huntington said that of all the elements that define civilizations, ‘the most important usually is religion.’ So, it’s no surprise that religious difference lies at the root of many conflicts in the world. But the solution is to let differences flourish, not to stifle them,” said the former Area Seventy of the Church.
“Studies show that protecting the varieties of religious experience correlates strongly with greater civil and political liberties, greater press and economic freedoms, fewer armed conflicts, better health outcomes, higher levels of income, better education for women and higher overall human development. In short, religious pluralism frees up room to live life,” Moreira explained.
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Joaquim Jorge Oliveira Moreira, who represents The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Interreligious Dialogue Working Group in Portugal, during his remarks.Photo by permission of International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty (AIDLR). All rights reserved.Dr. Ralf Grünke, Assistant Communication Director of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Europe Central Area and published political science scholar, was also among the invited participants.
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Paulo Macedo, Secretary General of AIDLR (left), and Dr. Ralf Grünke, Assistant Communication Director of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Europe Central Area, in attendance at the conference.Photo by permission of International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty (AIDLR). All rights reserved.AIDLR is an international non-governmental organisation founded in 1946 by Seventh-day Adventist Dr. Jean Nussbaum. The association is nonpartisan and nondenominational. Headquarters are located in Bern, an official office is maintained in Brussels.