Lawmakers and government officials yesterday debated a controversial draft of the Religion Law, which seeks to create a committee that will monitor religious groups.
According to the draft law, the committee will have the power to evaluate and register religious groups.
"No doctrine of any religion should be judged or evaluated by anyone," Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋), a vice minister at the Ministry of the Inter-ior said.
The Religion Law, which had its first committee review in the Legislative Yuan yesterday was proposed by New Party Lawmaker Hsieh Chi-ta (
Once the law is passed, approximately ten representatives from different religious groups appointed by the premier, will take two thirds of the seats in the committee, under the Ministry of the Interior.
The law gives the committee the power to accept or reject the registration of religious groups.
In addition, the committee would have the right to approve the founding of religious organizations with business interests.
Such a law could threaten established freedoms, said New Party Lawmaker Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆).
"It's easy to predict that in the event of any rejections by the committee, it will be accused of violating the Constitution, which protects religious freedoms," Lai said.
Chiu Hei-yuan (瞿海源), a researcher at the Academia Sinica and professor of sociology at National Taiwan University said the law undoubtedly violated the guarantee of religious freedom in the Constitution.
"Religion is all about individual perception. To legitimize religious groups according to the objective criteria of a committee is just ridiculous," Chiu said.
"No other government on earth has any regulation specifically titled the Religious Law," he added.
Chiu said he feared that "members of the committee may favor specific groups," and hinder the development of new and minor religious groups.
Chiu said it was also possible the committee could become a tool for corrupt groups that called themselves religious in order to take advantage of various benefits.
According to the draft, religious organizations with business interests that are approved by the committee, would get special privileges such as tax breaks.
The draft, in its current state, would also allow religious groups to step around restrictions outlined in the University Law. The draft Religion Law authorizes religious organizations to establish private religious universities.
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