Religious Freedom

My wife and I have recently returned from trip to Greece and Turkey.  All travelers know that any time you leave the familiar you can learn much.  Personal experiences with foreign customs, cultures, geography, governments and religion can teach a person much more than simply learning from books, photographs or videos, although these can have great value in introducing one to places, peoples, or concepts. 

  

Such was our recent experience in Greece and Turkey.

  

Although I have for years studied and taught religion courses, including the great world religions, and have traveled in non-Christian countries, I have not sensed the day-to-day impact (somewhat stifling) upon those who embrace faiths other than my own as much as I did in these two countries.  The two faiths represented were, of course, Christian Greek Orthodox in Greece, and non-Christian Islam in Turkey. 

In Greece, as was to be expected, was found a strong secular feeling.  Perhaps this was because of its ancient historical antecedents of Greek philosophy and government—the ruins of which we specifically went to see.   But perhaps it is also because of its EU status as a European country with the pan-European secularization and lessening influence of Christianity, especially Catholicism—whether Roman or Orthodox. 

I got the feeling that religion had been seriously marginalized in Greece—not nearly as badly as in San Francisco, but nevertheless marginalized.  Although a large majority of its citizens claim Greek Orthodox membership, and it has a government status as the state religion (the clergy’s salaries and pensions are paid for by the state and school children receive Greek Orthodox instruction) the religiosity of the people is not at all apparent.  Other faiths exist but are an extreme minority and exist in an inhospitable environment.  Proselytism by other churches is prohibited.  Greece seems to be, like its tumbled and jumbled blocks of marble and granite remnants of once stately buildings and temples, a country without, any longer (if it ever had one) a substantial moral or religious foundation.

  

Turkey, the sixth largest population-wise Islamic country in the world, has a population made up of 99% Sunni Muslims but a government which claims it has ‘no official religion nor promotes any.’  (Muslims make up 23.2% of the world’s population and are growing as Christianity which claim 31.5% is declining.)

We found the claim of religious neutrality to be hard to believe.  For example, the imams (muezzin) who blasted us from bed each morning between 5:15 a. m. and 5:45 a. m. for official prayer in a ‘non-official’ state are all government-appointed employees on the state payroll.  All mosques are also state-funded.  And most interesting is that this ‘secular’ national government has an office of ‘Religious Affairs Directorate.’  Hmmm.

On the positive side, whereas many of the larger Muslim governments (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Persian Gulf States) still forcibly suppress other religious beliefs, Turkey ostensibly does not.  In the other Muslim countries mentioned, conversion to Islam is a supported tenet, but conversion from Islam is considered the sin of apostasy and is often strongly punished and is threatened by death in Sharia law.  We did not proselytize. 

Now, here is the rub.  In neither country was real religious freedom available.  In both countries untold thousands of little businesses and vendors vied for our business, the foreign dollar—even aggressively.  Why not allow the same capitalistic atmosphere in the religious marketplace?  Why the lockdown on freedom of conscience?  In my faith we actively invite people to investigate our beliefs.  We ‘put it on the table’ and invite young and old to look, ask, read, listen, respond, convert.  We do not rely upon tradition, enforced lack of alternatives, threat, or historically forced compliance.  We are confident that truth can cut its own way—if people are exposed to truth.  That is our purpose.  And that is the difference.  

 

We enjoyed our trip and felt safe in both countries.  Of course we gave the Turkish-Syrian boarder a wide margin. We respected their customs and represented our country as all Americans should.   Outside of the huge cities of Athens and Istanbul (population 15 million) we found the two countries beautiful and geographically very similar to many places in the U.S.A. 

By contrast to the two countries visited and pertaining to religious freedom in our country, we appreciate the great wisdom of our founding fathers in providing for freedom of worship, speech, and assembly—also for the historic separation of Church and state (though not as it is now being interpreted).  The rich pluralistic landscape of religion in America has enriched our country and has given an evidence-based (not fear-based or intolerance-based) hope, at least in my faith, to millions of people. 

I’m glad to be home.