Does The Constitution Restrict Religious Freedom?
Mass L. Usuf
A beautiful piece of legislation is seen in Article 10. It is a provision granting absolute freedom of the contents mentioned therein. This freedom is absolute because it does not fall within the purview of the restrictions placed on the exercise of fundamental rights vide. Article 15. It is an entrenched Article.
“Every person is entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.” (Article 10).
“Religion” in Article 10 will clearly include Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. The status of Buddhism as far as religion is concerned will depend on how it is interpreted. As discussed earlier (Part I and II), it has to be clarified if it is going to be the original dhamma or the commonly used buddhagama (religion). The latter interpretation will be a deviation from the dhamma itself. It can be argued that Buddhists can be accommodated under ‘freedom of thought and conscience’.
The implication of this Article with that of others will be examined below. It must be appreciated that this is only an analytical exercise, the essence of which should not be vainly misinterpreted or distorted.
Manifesting Belief
Article 14 (1)(e) states, “Every citizen is entitled to the freedom, either by himself or in association with others, and either in public or in private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice or teaching.”
In addition to ‘religion’ the word ‘belief’ is mentioned here as part of the freedom to manifest. A comparative study on beliefs reveal an interesting diversity. In Christianity belief is a fundamental concept. Belief in Jesus Christ (Peace be on him) is a must for salvation. In the Book of Acts, it is stated,
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (16:31).
In the Islamic creed, the notion of salvation based on belief alone is nonexistent. Belief extends to believing in the Oneness of Allah, the angels, the revealed books, the prophets and the Day of Judgment (resurrection). After this belief, one has to work towards doing righteous deeds in order to achieve felicity. Therefore, belief and doing good deeds go together. (See Chapter 103, Al Asr of the Quran).
The dhamma on the other hand is not a belief system. For example, the dhamma does not say believe in Buddha and one will be saved or attain nirvana. It is strictly based on reasoning or understanding. I believe, the wider connotation of Right View (samma dhitti) explains it all in greater details. To make an observation in passing, if the Buddhists truly understand and practice samma dhitti, Sri Lanka will be a better place to live in. Such is the value of some of the teachings of the Buddha.
As it is, Article 14 (1)(e) may not be applicable to the Buddhists in so far as ‘belief’ is concerned. He will not be able to manifest his belief in the form of worship, observance, practice or teaching simply because there is no belief system. Note there is no mention of ‘thought and conscience’ in here.
