The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe this week passed a resolution calling on its 47 member states to accommodate religious beliefs in the public sphere. The resolution asks member states to guarantee freedom of thought in relation to health care, education and the civil service ‘provided that the rights of others to be free from discrimination are respected and that the access to lawful services is guaranteed’. The resolution was passed on Wednesday by 148 votes to three. It also called on States to ‘ensure the right to well-defined conscientious objection in relation to morally sensitive matters’. The Christian Legal Centre, welcomed the outcome. The advocacy group recently asked the European Court of Human Rights to grant a hearing at the Grand Chamber on the cases of two British Christians who lost their discrimination claims earlier this year.
Praise: God for the resolution by the Council of Europe and pray for its outworking. (Jam.2:12)