New Law Signed by Obama to protect Religious Harassment

On 16^th December 2016, the U.S President Barak Obama has signed historical legislation and it will extend protections against religious harassment to people with non-religious beliefs, including to those who don’t have connection with any religion. This specific legislation passed with handsome support from both parties in the U.S Congress. The H.R. 1150 modifies the IRFA (Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act 1998), as it established a watchdog commission to observe and report on crimes of religious freedom in the world. The modified law includes the provision by defining “Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion”. Point to be noted that the Freedom of thought, conscience & religion means to protect spiritual and non-spiritual beliefs.

The Religion News Service reported that this legislative bill also defines the specific targets of non-religious, atheists and humanists due to their beliefs and as a form of religious harassment, a change acclaimed by believers and non-believers. The president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Russell Moore said that the approval of this legislation is a vital step toward securing freedom principles for millions of most oppressed people. The executive director of the American Humanist Association, Roy Speckhardt said that it is a significant step in full acceptance and inclusion for non-religious people. The American Humanist Association has spent more than 4 years for lobbying the change. The bill was named by Frank R. Wolf (former GOP Congressman from Virginia), well known for human rights by introducing the original law in the year 1997.