Authorities now require churches in Geneva, Switzerland, to sign a “declaration of commitment” or risk restrictions on organizing public events, chaplaincy services and a clampdown on voluntary donations, sources said.
The requirement, part of implementation of the Secularism Act 2019 and its regulations, has made some evangelicals “nervous,” according to Lafree.info, a publication representing views of the French-speaking Federation of Evangelical Churches (FREE). With 4,500 members in 50 communities, FREE is a member of the Swiss Evangelical Network (SVN), the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches (IFFEC) and the Brethren Assemblies.
Stéphane Klopfenstein, deputy director of Réseau évangélique suisse (RES), which represents 250 evangelical churches in French-speaking Switzerland, said churches in Geneva needed to hold discussions about their ongoing relationship with the state authority.
“Some churches are ready to sign the chart [declaration], others not,” Klopfenstein told Christian Daily International. “The Geneva section of the Evangelical Alliance decided to meet shortly [representatives] of the state to discuss some controversial points of the chart, especially the one about no discrimination of persons, also about sexual orientation.”
The regulations in dispute are Article 4d, which requires religious organizations signing the declaration to commit to “rejecting any form of discrimination or denigration against a person – or a group of persons – on the basis of, inter alia, their beliefs, ethnic or national origins, sex, sexual orientation or identity, and gender identity or expression,” according to Lafree.info.
Also questioned was Article 4h, which states that religious organizations must “recognize the primacy of the Swiss legal order over any religious obligation that would be contrary to it, in particular with regard to family law.”
A meeting of the Geneva Evangelical Network in January, which discussed these issues, was “the first step,” Klopfenstein said.
The Rev. Philippe Henchoz, pastor of the Evangelical Church of Meyrin, spoke at the same meeting about the relationship between church and state.
“It is a question of putting the law of men before that of God,” Pastor Henchoz He told Lafree.info, but added that he didn’t think there were any religious obligations conflicting with the Swiss legal order anyway, saying, “Apart from the religious obligation to help the weakest, I don’t know of any.”
An example of restrictions imposed on non-signatories was the denial of permission for the Evangelical Church of Cologny (FREE) to hold a baptism in Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) in February 2024. At the time, the city authority stated the church had not signed a “declaration of commitment” in its relationship with the State, and a federal court supported this decision, even rejecting a later appeal by the church.
The Lafree.info article outlined how chaplains choosing to not sign declarations of commitment are similarly constrained. It cited the State denying these chaplains access to public care facilities, to people with disabilities and to prisons.
The Salvation Army has reportedly signed the declaration alongside some non-Christian religious organizations from other faiths.
