B u d a p e s t – Denton Lotz (Falls Church near Washington/USA), the former General- Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), has called on the 800.000 Baptists of Europe to strive for religious freedom. Speaking at Council sessions of the European Baptist Federation (EBF), meeting in Budapest from 26 to 29 September, he added that Baptists should struggle not only for their own rights, but also for the rights of Muslims living in Europe to build mosques and Hindus or Buddhists to build temples.

The sessions 150 delegates dealt above all with the topics of religious freedom and human rights. The fundamental Baptist principle on the clear separation of church and state remains an essential. Baptists therefore cannot accept any state church. Lotz added: “Whenever this principle is infringed upon, repression is the result.” This is particularly true for Muslim countries, but it also applies to countries having a Christian state religion: “In the eyes of the state, every religion must have equal rights.” This includes the right for everyone to change his/her religion. Lotz also spoke out against any form of pressure or violence in the expression of religion. It is unacceptable that a pupil in Russia, who refused to cross himself in religion class, was beaten up – as happened recently. Lotz is convinced that all of the most recent wars can be traced to religious roots. In this context he condemned all forms of religious fanaticism. There should be no tolerance whatever for Christian fanaticism within the Baptist movement.

Lotz also noted that the call for religious freedom is evident in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament book of Daniel one can read how God protected his people when the state restricted religious freedom and they were thrown into a fiery oven and to the lions. In the New Testament, the Jewish clergyman Gamaliel appealed for religious tolerance and calmness in dealing with the followers of Jesus Christ. He was against their persecution.

Lotz regretted that Christians are increasingly being persecuted for their faith. He mentioned the fate of the Baptist pastor Zaur Balayev in Azerbaijan. The 44-year-old has been jailed since May, the victim of unfounded accusations. Lotz called for prayers in his behalf, noting also that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” He also attributed the collapse of the former Soviet Union in part to the persecution of Christians. A regime which persecutes and harasses Christians cannot last long: “God will reign victorious in the end.”

Christer Dealander (Stockholm), head of the EBF-working group on religious liberty, reported on current infractions against religious freedom among EBF-member unions. Baptists in Albania and Serbia have been refused legal recognition as religious entities. In Bulgaria, Protestants must struggle with great effort to meet outside of their own church buildings. In Italy, the Catholics and in Moldova the Orthodox are clearly privileged relative to other religious groups. The Baptists are treated as a foreign sect in Macedonia, Christians are placed under massive pressure in Turkey and the government does not intervene. Dealander also criticised the tendency in many European countries to restrict the rights of Muslims because of the violent Islamic movement. This is unacceptable to Baptists.