Ethics · Society · Theology · Mission · Sociology of Religions
A professorship dedicated to the topic of “religious freedom and research on persecution of Christians” is a novelty in German speaking areas. At the inauguration special emphasis was placed on the universality of the human right to freedom of religion or belief and its positive implications.
On April 7th, the “Stephanus-Prize for Persecuted Christians” was awarded in Bonn to Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the former bishop of Hongkong, for his courage and his persistence in decades of strong engagement for the rights of freedom, notably of religious freedom.
The Institute of Human Rights along with the Institute of Religion and Beliefs co-organized a scientific seminar titled “Limits of Religious Freedom Rights” on March 6th, 2018 with the participation of lecturers and researchers from these two institutes, a large number of master’s students majored in Laws of Human Rights and Religious studies.
An “Observatory on FoRB in the CPLP”, the Observatory on Freedom of Religion or Belief in the Comunidade de Países de Língua Portuguesa, is currently in the process of being implemented by the International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF).
Whoever was thinking, that the claims of converts from Islam to Christianity of being threatened, whether it be by relatives and by fellow countrymen, or by their home countries are overstated or ostensible, has now once more received evidence, that this is a matter of bitter reality.