• Law -> Human Rights and Civil Liberties

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Are there any countries with particularly progressive policies around religious freedom?

Raven Slinn

Yeah, I think there are definitely some countries that are more progressive than others when it comes to religious freedom. One that comes to mind for me is Canada. They have a really strong commitment to protecting people's religious rights, and they've even gone so far as to include it in their Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In Canada, people have the right to practice and express their religion as long as it doesn't interfere with other people's rights or safety. This means that things like wearing religious clothing or symbols (like hijabs or yarmulkes) are protected, and employers can't discriminate against someone based on their religion.

Another country that I think is pretty progressive is Sweden. They have a policy of neutrality when it comes to religion, which means that the government doesn't promote or favor any particular religion. This is pretty unique, since many countries have an official state religion.

Sweden also has really strong laws protecting freedom of conscience and religion. They have a system of "registered religious communities" that gives certain legal protections to religions that are recognized by the government. This includes things like the right to receive state funding and the right to perform marriages.

Of course, even in countries like Canada and Sweden, there are still issues and controversies around religious freedom. For example, some people have criticized Canada's laws around hate speech, saying that they can be used to limit free expression of religion. And in Sweden, there have been debates around issues like the wearing of religious clothing in public spaces, with some people arguing that it goes against the country's neutrality policy.

Overall, though, I think both Canada and Sweden are pretty good examples of countries that have made significant strides towards religious freedom. They're not perfect, but they're definitely doing better than some other places around the world.