Both the Austrian law and the general trend toward control of religious minorities are in direct contradiction to Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights which affirms the right of individual citizens to freely choose their religious belief and practice for themselves. Secularists and statists generally defend their increasing supervision of religious belief by pointing to extreme examples such as the suicides of the Solar Temple or Heaven's Gate. Unfortunately, members of majority religions, concerned about declining church membership, all too often go along with the move to restrict the growth of new religious movements. While several other Western European nations have been considering what actions to take to curb the growth of new religious movements, Austria is the first to make such a policy official. The law was sponsored and passed by the ruling coalition of the Socialist and the People's Party over the opposition of the Green, Liberal, and Freedom Parties.
Religious freedom is a fundamental human right.
It is troubling that Austria is now taking a leading role in opposition to religious freedom. Indeed, it should be hoped that the nations of Western Europe would take the lead in promoting freedom, tolerance and human rights as an example to the rest of the world.