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UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO Religious Studies May 31, 1993 Mr. Antall Jozsef Dear Sir.. I write to you about the proposed Hungarian law modification no. 9473 and in particular about its implications for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), better known as the Hare Krishna movement, a movement I have observed as a scholar for nearly thirty years. I am an Associate Professor of Religion in the University of Toronto and an Adjunct Professor of Theology in St, Michael's College in Canada. My primary area of teaching and research is the Hindu religious tradition of India, out of which the Hare Krishna movement has come. The Hare Krishna movement is but the most recent and vigorous branch of a deeply rooted tradition of personal devotion to the divine under the name of Krishna. Many of its adherents are non-Indians because the evangelisation of the late Swami A.C. Bhaktivedanta was concentrated in the United States and later extended to Canada, Europe and elsewhere. There are also, however, many Hindus of Indian origin living abroad, a8 well as in India, who find the Hare Krishna temples to be their own preferred places of worship. And many more Hindus -- and other individuals --throughout the world use the devotional literature published by ISKCON for themselves and their children. Considering both the religious heritage they maintain and the constructive religious work they perform, there is no justification for the harassment and misrepresentation that the Hare Krishna movement (like many other relatively small and unfamiliar religious groups) has had to face in some parts of the world, It is distressing to learn that the Hare Krishna movement in Hungary i8 being subjected to what appears to be unfair criticism and pressures. 1 find it especially distressing that such a body as the Human Rights Committee of Parliament, if I am correctly informed, should call the International Society for Krishna Consciousness a -destructive cult". This surely is unwarranted, There is by now a large body of competent scholarly writing describing and analysing the Hare Krishna movement. This is available to anyone with the time and inclination to look into the matter. It is more than sufficient to counter what hostile propaganda has been written against them. Should your or your staff wish it, I could readily supply documentation and further references. Also I am concerned about the intent and implications of the proposed Hungarian law modification no. 9473. Any intervention of government into management, registration or exclusion of religious groups is a serious matter and should be entered into with sensitivity to the widely varying forms that genuine religious faith, practice and community can take. 1 came to appreciate this all the more clearly several years ago when I co-operated with Dr. Daniel G. Hill (special advisor to the Ontario Provincial Government) in his 'Study of Mind Development Groups, sects and Cults in Ontario'. The translation of the Bill 9437 supplied to me does not read as a document sensitive to the religious rights of individuals in a free society. In particular I am struck by the provision that to be considered a "church" a religious community must have -10,000 Hungarian citizens or have been present in Hungary for 100 years. How serious and restrictive are the implications of not being deemed a "church" in this sense? And how much uniformity of ecclesiastical organisation does the bill intend to impose on such groups as are deemed "churches"? Arbitrary decrees on what constitutes a "church" and how a church" must organise itself, and on the disabilities imposed on religious groups who do not qualify as "churches", could be costly in their tell on religious freedom. Individuals whose communities of faith are relatively small and new (at least in Hungary, if not so world-wide) would be the first to feel the effects of arbitrary governmental interventions and restrictions. But in the long term the integrity and freedom of religion even within the larger and older religious communities of Hungary could be adversely affected by governmental or political interference religious life. Accordingly, I urge you and your government to pause and reconsider what is really at stake in the proposed amendment and what appears to be the prejudicial stance of the Human Rights Committee vis-à-vis the Hare Krishna devotees. Hungary, after all, was a symbol of freedom when you and I were growing up. May it remain so as we grow older. Sincerely Yours Dr. Joseph T. O'Connell. |
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