To worship or assemble in connection with a religion or belief, and to establish and maintain places for these purposes;

To worship is a religious term meaning to have reverence, awe, respect and adoration for a deity or deities in a community with others. Religions have a right to establish and worship in places called churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and assembly. To assemble can be in connection with either a religious or a non-religious event. It means to bring together into a group. An assembly is a group of people gathered together for a common purpose, which can be to worship, or in the case of a humanist or atheist group to meet for ideological purposes. In some countries the right to worship in public is reserved only for religions recognized by the state. Minority religions, in some countries, must register their places of worship and often have permits denied or negated by unreasonable regulations. Licenses for the opening of a place of worship may be arbitrarily denied, or may be for a legitimate purpose such as zoning regulations in a residential neighborhood. Extremely difficult situations can arise when two or more religions claim the same land as the place they wish to worship, or if sacred land is confiscated for secular purposes.

Related Examples

• India : In India , the Ayodhya Babar mosque was destroyed by Hindu fundamentalists who claimed it was built on the sacred site of a shrine to Ram, a Hindu deity. This is an on-going dispute between India ’s Muslims and Hindu’s that has resulted in violence.
  
• United States : Native American ceremonies and spiritual rites are often based on special geographic features such as burial sites, areas where sacred plants or other natural materials are available, and structures, carvings or paintings of religious significance. Many sacred lands and sites have been confiscated by the Federal and State governments for recreational, historic or economic uses.

Learning Experiences

The learn suggestion for this right is to research ways in which a religion or belief may be denied the right to worship, assemble, establish or maintain a place in your community. Refer to your Community Resources list and call the local government office in charge of building permits or registration, including places of worship and assembly, to see what rules there are for such purposes. Interview or call places of worship on your resource list to see if there are any cases that may be cited as alleged examples of intolerance and discrimination to the right to worship, assemble, establish or maintain a facility.

TOPIC NOTES

Term 6.1.1: Worship, Assemble, Establish, Maintain

To worship or assemble in connection with a religion or belief and to establish and maintain places for these purposes;

Refer to your Community Resources list and call selected places of worship or assembly to ask if there are any instances where they have experienced intolerance and discrimination on their right to worship. Research the local government offices that issues building permits to see if any religion or belief has been denied a permit and why. Summarize your research below.