Greek atheists seek removal of religious symbols from courtrooms

The European Court of Human Rights is considering a case brought by Greek atheists against their government regarding the public display of religious symbols and artwork. According to Christian Today, the dispute began when a pair of atheists demanded the removal of Christian symbols from the courtroom during a hearing related to religious issues.

They said the presence of such symbols was discriminatory, undermined the court’s objectivity and violated their right to a fair trial as well as their right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Their request was rejected by the Greek court and the case has now been referred to the European Court of Human Rights. The court’s decision could affect the display of religious symbols in the 46 countries that make up the Council of Europe.

Legal group ADF International intervened in the case, arguing that religious symbols are often also symbols of national heritage and do not threaten human rights. Adina Portaru, senior counsel for ADF International, said: «The display of religious symbols in public places does not in any way contravene human rights legislation. Public places should not be deprived of crosses, icons or other symbols of religious, cultural and historical significance in the name of pluralism.»

ADF also argued that attempts to remove religious symbols under the pretext of «state neutrality» could be seen as a hostile act towards Christianity and a disregard for the Christian heritage of European countries. ADF previously intervened in an Italian case challenging the display of crucifixes in schools. At that time, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that crucifixes do not constitute indoctrination and do not affect the rights of freedom of thought, conscience or religion of Italian schoolchildren.

Portaru expressed optimism that the court would make a similar ruling in the Greek case. «The European Convention on Human Rights robustly protects freedom of religion. Culturally rooted religious symbols or works of art, such as centuries-old Orthodox icons, do not impose faith on anyone and do not guide the court decision, » she said.

Recall, earlier we reported that in Greece there is a significant decline in the popularity of church marriages. According to official data, over the past 30 years, the share of weddings in the total number of registered unions has more than halved, falling from almost 90% to less than 40%. This trend reflects profound socio-cultural changes in the country and is taking place against the backdrop of public debates about family values.