In Curacao, Church takes steps to establish religious liberty foundation
February 9, 2015 | Willemstad, Curacao | IAD Staff
Various leaders promoters of religious liberty were honored during the first festival of religious freedom organized in Williamsted by the Curacao Religious Liberty Foundation–an organization initiated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, on Jan. 17, 2015. Images by Hedilina Valeriano-Sedney
The Curacao Religious Liberty Foundation (CRLF), initiated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, recently hosted a religious freedom festival on the island.
The CRLF, an organization started by the Seventh-day Adventist Church to promote religious freedom among the various religious groups in Curacao and Bonaire, is very much like a chapter of the International Religious Liberty Association, said Pastor Shurman Kook, public affairs and religious liberty director for the church in Curacao and Bonaire. “The only difference is the legal form of the entity,” he said.
The festival, held last month at the church’s Dr. Israel Leito Center for Integral Development in Willemstad, brought several religious and ethnic groups together to make unique presentations, manifesting the rich religious and cultural diversity on the island of roughly 150,000 people.
“The constitution of Curacao provides for ample religious freedom and we are very happy for that,” said Pastor Kook who also serves as president of the church in Curacao and Bonaire. “Curacao is a free country. People here are free to establish their own church, to preach, teach both in public and private, and because of that sometimes it is very easy for us to take religious freedom for granted.”
Although people can change their religious affiliation without government restrictions, it has not always been without social hostility, explained Kook. “That is why it is important to foster awareness of this fundamental human right of religious freedom,” said Kook.
International Religious Liberty Association Secretary-General Dr. John Graz addressed the audience. Graz stressed the importance of cherishing, promoting and defending religious liberty and human dignity.
Treasurer of Curacao’s Council of Churches Locksley Brodie applauded the foundation and stated that “working together with the Council of Churches is inevitable for the fostering of harmonious living in Curacao.”
Secretary-General of the International Religious Liberty Association Dr. John Graz (right) speaks during the historic religious liberty festival while Pastor Shurman Kook, president of the church in Curacao and Bonaire, translates.
Marcolino Franco, president of the Parliament of Curacao, pointed out that religious freedom is articulated both in the constitution of Curacao drafted in 2010 and 1955, but “this does not mean that this right to freedom of religion is always respected in the society.”
Curacao has known a long history of religious freedom and has served as a safe haven for both Christians and Jews who have suffered religious persecution from different parts of the world, explained Kook. “One of the reasons for the establishment of the foundation is that “we should not take our relative freedom for granted especially when we consider current international events.”
Prior to the festival, the CRLF organized its first religious liberty dinner where government officials and leading religious leaders met to learn of the Curacao Religious Liberty Foundation and talk about the importance of religious freedom for the island.
Both events were covered by the media.
According to Kook, the foundation plans to stay visible by speaking up on issues related to religious liberty with the media, organizing religious liberty marches and ensuring that a dinner and festival of religious liberty becomes an annual activity.
The Curacao Religious Liberty Foundation was founded by people representing the Liberal Jewish Community, the Islam Community, a member of a Protestant church, a former Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles who is a Catholic, and by Seventh-day Adventists.
For more about the Curacao Religious Liberty Foundation, visit their Facebook Page HERE