Authorities are currently requesting churches in Geneva, Switzerland to sign risk limits regarding the “Declaration of Commitment” or organizing public events, pastoral services and deadlines for voluntary donations, sources said.
Some of the implementation of the Secularism Act of 2019 and some of its regulations made some evangelicals “neurishing,” according to Lafree.info, a publication representing the views of the French-speaking Evangelical Church Federation (free). With 4,500 members in 50 communities, Free is a member of the Swiss Evangelical Network (SVN), the International Church of Free Evangelical (IFFEC), and the Brethren’s Meeting.
Stephen Klopfenstein, deputy director of Resau Evangelik Switzerland (res), representing 250 French-speaking evangelical churches in Switzerland, said that churches in Geneva need to discuss their continued relationship with state authorities.
“Some churches are ready to sign the charts (declarations), while others aren’t,” Klopffenstein told Christian Daily International. “The Geneva section of the Evangelical Alliance has decided to meet soon in the state to discuss some of the controversial points of the charts, particularly sexual orientation, especially discrimination among people.”
The regulation of conflict is Article 4D, requiring religious groups to sign a declaration that they will commit “discrimination or person or group of people) based on their beliefs, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexual orientation or identity, gender identity or expression.”
He was also asked, “the superiority of Swiss legal order must be recognized, particularly in relation to family law, the superiority of Swiss legal order over religious obligations that violate it.”
The Geneva Evangelical Network meeting in January, which discussed these issues, was a “first step,” Klopffenstein said.
Rev. Philip Henchos, pastor of the Evangelical Church in Meilin, spoke at the same meeting about the relationship between the church and the state.
“It’s a matter of putting the law of man before God’s law,” Pastor Henchos told Lafree.info, but added that he didn’t think there was any religious obligation that was in conflict with the Swiss legal order anyway.
An example of restrictions imposed on nonunity was the denial of permission for the evangelical Kologny Church (free) to be baptized in February 2024 in Lacleman (Lake Geneva). At the time, city officials said the church had not signed a “Declaration of Commitment.”
The Lafree.info article outlined similar restrictions on pastors who choose not to sign a declaration of commitment. The state cited these pastors denying access to public care facilities, people with disabilities and prisons.
The Salvation Army reportedly signed the declaration along with several non-Christian religious groups from other faiths.
