Religion and state
On March 7, the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) Irrigation Agency appointed Jenn Lann Temple (大甲鎮瀾宮) in Taichung’s Dajia District (大甲) to hold a ceremony to pray to the sea goddess Matsu (媽祖) for rain.
The government’s intent is good, as it wants to relieve a nationwide water shortage, but to appoint a single temple to hold a religious ceremony to pray for rain clearly contravenes the basic principle of the separation of religion and state, which must be adhered to in a democratic, modern society.
The Council of Grand Justices’ Constitutional Interpretation No. 490 states: “People shall have the freedom to believe in any religion and to participate in any religious activities. The state shall neither forbid nor endorse any particular religion and shall never extend any privileges or disadvantages to people on the basis of their particular religious beliefs.”
Furthermore, Constitutional Interpretation No. 573 states: “The constitutional guarantee of the people’s freedom of religious belief is intended to preserve self-development and self-realization of the human spirits of the people, as well as to make social and cultural diversity a tangible reality.
“Therefore, the state shall discreetly abide by the principles of neutrality and tolerance by not encouraging or forbidding any specific religion, nor giving favorable or unfavorable treatment to any people having specific beliefs.”
According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, as of January 2017, there were 22 major religious beliefs in Taiwan, and Jenn Lann Temple’s religious belief in Matsu is one of them.
Given the above, it is impossible not to question the agency’s decision, because appointing Jenn Lann Temple to pray for rain might be seen as the government’s endorsement of the “power and status” of the deity at the temple.
Surely that appointment was an instance of favorable treatment of a temple with a specific belief, and surely it was also a violation of the key points in the constitutional interpretations.
There are many other religious beliefs in Taiwan in addition to Matsu.
However, the amount of rainfall is crucial to the livelihood of all Taiwanese. As the government represents all Taiwanese, this raises the question of why it would turn to one specific religion and ignore the potential magical powers of other religions.
The agency’s action has been criticized for “seeking guidance from heaven, not the public.” More seriously, it might be a contravention of the fundamental constitutional principle of the separation of religion and state.
Huang Wei-ping
Kaohsiung
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