Book Presentation: “Religious Freedom & Democracy”

Reading this exceptional book in one breath, I realized how relevant and timeless it is at the same time. Personally, it helped me refresh and systematize my knowledge on a topic that currently occupies a central place in public discourse. Therefore, I would like to congratulate and thank the Citizens’ Movement Against Racism, as well as the esteemed presenters, Mr. Pano Bitsaxis, Savvas Agouridis, Philippos Iliou, Giannis Konidaris, Michalis Stathopoulos, and Nikos Zacharopoulos, who provided the public with serious arguments and persuasive responses to the resurgent religious right.

Today, unfortunately, in Greece and Europe, brazen ideologies have reemerged, indicating that human rights and democracy have not yet been fully attained. In our country, after a period of relative religious moderation and peace following the fall of the junta until the election of the new archbishop, we now observe a revival of religious intolerance and the official reintroduction of the triptych “Patria – Religion – Family,” which harkens back to the infamous era of “Greece of Greeks and Christians.”

Today, we witness daily the transformation of the pulpit and the beautiful gate into political balconies that preach division, hatred for the different, religious discrimination, intolerance, and a lack of respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights.

Για να στηρίξω αυτό τον ισχυρισμό μου και να καταδείξω πόσο επίκαιρο είναι το βιβλίο “Θρησκευτική Ελευθερία και Δημοκρατία” και ιδιαίτερα όσα ο κ. Αγουρίδης γράφει για τις “Ρίζες της Μεγάλης Ιδέας”, επιτρέψτε μου να σας θυμίσω κάποια από τα highligts του προκαθήμενου της Εκκλησίας της Ελλάδος. Στις 2/01/2001 σε κήρυγμα στον Άγιο Δημήτριο Θεσσαλονίκης και παρουσία υπουργών και βουλευτών, ο αρχιεπίσκοπος τόνισε ότι γίνεται “effort of de-Christianization in Europe by powerful forces that want to include Muslim states in the European Union while keeping Orthodox ones out,” and called for resistance from all Greeks. Just a few days earlier, in light of the European Council in Nice, he launched an attack against the European Union, describing the French Presidency as “complex-ridden.” I remind you that among other things, he said: ” Europe is gradually becoming de-Christianized. In Nice, not only were the topics discussed as reported by the media, but also the Charter of Human Rights. There was a significant battle to exclude any reference to Christianity, which was achieved through the initiative of the French presidency, driven by the enduring complex of the French Revolution against God and Christianity. “.

He certainly did not miss the opportunity to take issue with the Enlightenment, in the spirit of “do not meddle.” On September 25, 2000, at the Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Ilioupoli, he stated: ” The saying by the well-known philosopher Descartes, “I think, therefore I am,” gained great popularity. This verb was applied in Europe and led Europe to submit to the so-called intellectualism, meaning that human reason was placed above what exists in the world. From this, rationalism was born, and from rationalism arose disbelief in God, and this disbelief is what gave rise to wars and the countless victims. “.

The excellent article by G. Katiforis in “NEA” on December 30, 2000, provided a response to the Archbishop regarding the complex of 1789 and European Enlightenment.

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Thrace on March 23, 2000, the archbishop launched an attack against intellectuals.” Some would like us to forget the nation, our roots. They want us not to speak of our unforgotten homelands. It is a disgrace to have intellectuals who have sold out everything,” he continued shortly after with an attack against the European Union: “We are Europeans, but they will not force us to sell out everything in order to be recognized.“.

I would also like to remind you of a previous publication from “Iou of Sunday,” which presents a letter from the archbishop to the well-known Mr. Kapsalis of the newspaper “Stohos,” published on May 6, 1998. ” I would like to congratulate, once again, Mr. Kapsalis, publisher and editor of the well-known newspaper Stohos in Athens, who is known for his Hellenocentric and Greek-minded views, as well as his Christian-centered and Orthodox beliefs. Finally, we need such individuals who will place on equal footing… “our religious and national ideals.”.

From the book “Religious Freedom and Democracy,” I would like to highlight some very characteristic excerpts. Mr. Bitsaxis With many examples, he analyzes the phenomenon of religious discrimination in Greece, which he describes as peculiar. ” There are countries with liberal legislation on issues of religious freedom, while the social fabric is eroded by intense religious intolerance. In Greece, the opposite occurs. There is no background of religious intolerance; however, there are indeed many and significant discriminations.

In other passages: “The prohibition of proselytism served as the legal ground upon which the suppression of the free expression of religious beliefs was based. The persecutions and condemnations numbered in the thousands. “and mentions many specific cases.”.

“The functioning of temples or houses of worship of doctrines and religions different from the prevailing Christian Orthodox faith in Greece was either prohibited or severely obstructed. A multitude of criminal prosecutions were launched for the illegal establishment of temples and houses of worship, aimed at ensuring the worship monopoly of the Christian Orthodox Church through criminal repression.” “.

“With openly illegal actions publicly confessed by the Greek Prime Minister in 1993, following revelations by the newspaper “Eleftherotypia,” the National Intelligence Service and the police agencies of the country established and operated a network for the secret surveillance of the private lives of heterodox and non-Christian citizens within Greek territory. Discrimination against educators who advocate for a different doctrine or religion was abandoned as a practice with a recent law. Discrimination against religious officials of other religions or doctrines was brought to the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of Georgiadis, Kouloumbas, and Tsirli. The decisions issued constitute a real blow, a dark page, for Greece. Unfortunately, this issue, despite the decisions issued, has not been fully resolved. Discrimination against students who adhere to a different doctrine or religion has come to the forefront of the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of Valsamis and Eustratiou. Although the appeals of the aforementioned students were not fully successful, the waves of expulsions that characterized the past, particularly regarding the refusal to participate in national celebrations and parades, have fortunately not defined the practices of school authorities in recent years”. And further on:

“The situation has changed for the better. However, pockets of discrimination, centers of intolerance, and distorted reflections of past practices continue to survive. The battle for achieving full equality for citizens, regardless of their religion, has not yet been won”.

Presenting the roots of the Great Idea, Professor Savvas Agouridis explains in a wonderful way the relationship between the Great Idea and national fantasies, obsessions, fanaticisms, and the xenophobia of our times. He notably states:: “The Great Idea has been associated not only with a fanciful eschatology but also with the psychology of a chosen people. The Great Idea tragically faded in 1922 with the catastrophe of Asia Minor. However, it seems that whenever the national and social subconscious of the Greeks feels threatened, sudden forces emerge from this subconscious that present themselves as defensive. This is because our logic as a national group does not function adequately in a defensive manner.

The Megali Idea begins with Byzantium. There is significant literature on the topic: how the Roman Monarchy of Augustus, the Kingdom of Christ and the Saints, which is prophesied in the book of Daniel in chapters 2 and 7, became identified with the Byzantine Empire after Constantine. This perception can be found in a multitude of authors as a politico-religious ideology, in which a truly religious eschatology—an image of the ultimate form of history—and a historical creation like the Byzantine Empire became intertwined.

With the liberation of the Greek State, the idea of restoring the Byzantine Empire was further strengthened, whether due to the Eastern Question, Greek irredentism, or the traditional religious-political ideology.

The “ethnarchic role of the Church” is also wonderfully analyzed, and in response to a related question, he emphasizes: “I know from my history, as a scholarly professor, but also from my life within the Church, that both the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches are completely foreign to human rights.”.

Mr. Filippos Iliouί, in his work “Dogmatism and Authority in the Paths of Modern Greek Thought,” analyzes the relationships among the Churches as they were shaped within the context of Modern Hellenism, “hindering the free development of autonomous thought and independent critical reflection“. He refers to the sought-after revival of the so-called ethnarchic role of the Church, “where each metropolitan of Thessaloniki or Florina, each archbishop, determines what the state’s foreign policy should be, answering only to their own conscience or ideologies, but to no social group that could evaluate, approve, or reject their positions and policies. And we can observe that, in recent years, particularly in light of the Macedonian issue and the Greek-Turkish relations, they have become increasingly more racist and more ethnically focused, out of sync with what common sense and civil societies are capable of understanding and acting upon.“. And below:

“Through a discourse that is not simply dogmatic but also repressive, to the extent that the Church, in addition to its spiritual functions, continually strengthens and expands its secular dimension of power, it seeks to manipulate its flock and to subjugate, by all available means, those who attempt to present a different understanding of reality.”.

In the archbishop’s current attacks on the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, Mr. Iliou already provided the answer about four years ago. ” The great enemy is the Pope. We see impressive manifestations both in erudite literature and in daily practices of a generalized anti-Catholic spirit. However, from the mid-18^th century, a new enemy is noted, one that is more dangerous and insidious: atheism, polytheism, materialists, pantheists, Spinozists, Rousseau, and Voltaire. The “atheist” West, according to ecclesiastical theory, comes to undermine the Orthodox East, to erode the foundations of spiritual traditions, and, most importantly, the foundations of social hierarchies.”.

Mr. Giannis Konidaris addresses the ever-relevant issue of the institutional reform of State-Church relations and notably states: “I believe that the institutional framework of State relations is ripe for reform. A reform that will simultaneously aim to expand the autonomy and realize the self-governance of the Church, as well as to accelerate and complete the secularization of the State.”.

Regarding the ban on women’s ordination, I personally hold a different view from that expressed by Mr. Konidaris. I believe it constitutes a blatant discrimination against women and violates the constitutionally guaranteed equality of the sexes.

Moreover, at another point in his presentation Mr. Konidaris He states: “The Church of Greece operates and functions within the framework of a structured State. Therefore, in its case, the same restrictions and “barriers” that apply to any other religious community operating in Greece will also apply. This means that its internal laws cannot contradict the Constitution and the laws of the state, nor can they violate public order, good morals, or the general laws of the state. “.

The Minister of Justice, Mr. Michalis Stathopoulos, wonderfully analyzes the issue of the secularization of the State, that is, the autonomy of the State in relation to religious doctrines: ” Many today say that civil marriage has failed, as the vast majority follow the religious form of marriage. This is, of course, a mistake, as even if only one person prefers to have a civil marriage, that alone justifies the introduction of civil marriage. It is a matter of individual rights, where the principle of majority does not apply. Regarding individual rights, everyone is entitled to protection from the State.”.

“Religious practice, both in its worship and metaphysical aspects, is one of the most personal matters for each individual. I would categorize it within what is called private life, the private sphere of each person. Whether someone prays or does not pray, alone or with others, is a personal matter; public authorities have no reason to intervene in this space. For this reason, it is considered a significant achievement of modern times that the State, in accordance with the principle of popular sovereignty, is secular, does not adhere to any religion, and is religiously neutral.”

Mr. Stathopoulos’s views have been known for years. The most important aspect is that as a Minister with executive power, he is promoting the institutionalization of these positions. I also note his interesting opinion that religious education in schools should be replaced by Religious Studies, where all religions would be taught, and that the Theological School at universities should become a School of Religious Studies.

Mr. Nikos Zacharopoulos discusses religious education and the demand for religious freedom and the application of democratic principles. He refers to the respect of Ancient Greece for the unknown god, as well as for Alexander the Great. “Alexander the Great, by establishing temples and honoring the priesthood of the peoples he conquered, allowed his subjects to freely practice their religion and traditions”.

In another section, he writes something that is entirely relevant:The reaction of the ecclesiastical space to every new development in social and political life, as well as to certain achievements of science, has been a common phenomenon. Even today, for example, the Enlightenment as a whole remains a subject of controversy from the ecclesiastical perspective, just as it did in the past.

Finally, I would like to emphasize and conclude with what Mr. Zacharopoulos quotes from Neil of the Summerhill School. “We can teach children religion only after we have emasculated and crushed their spirit“.

This book deserves to be not just read, but studied in its entirety.