The law provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice.
There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report, and government policy continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion.The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious freedom.
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has an area of 37.57 square miles, and its population is approximately 28,100.
The Government does not provide statistics on the size of religious groups, and there are no recent census data providing information on religious membership; however, it is estimated that more than 95 percent of the population is Catholic. Other religious faiths present include small numbers of Jehovah's Witnesses, Baha'is, Muslims, Jews, and members of the Waldesian Church.
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
The law provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice. The Government at all levels strives to protect this right in full and does not tolerate its abuse, either by governmental or private actors.
Although Roman Catholicism is dominant, it is not the state religion, and the law prohibits discrimination based on religion. The Catholic Church receives direct benefits from the State through income tax revenues; taxpayers may request that 0.3 percent of their income tax payments be allocated to the Catholic Church or to "other" charities, including two religions (the Waldesian Church and Jehovah's Witnesses).
In 1993, some parliamentarians objected to the traditional 1909 oath of loyalty sworn on the "Holy Gospels." Following this objection, Parliament changed the law in 1993 to permit a choice between the traditional oath and one in which the reference to the Gospels was replaced by "on my honor." In 1999, a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling implicitly endorsed the revised 1993 legal formulation. The ECHR also noted that the traditional oath still is mandatory for other offices, such as the Captain Regent or a member of the Government; however, by the end of the period of this report, no elected Captain Regent or government member has challenged the validity of the 1909 oath.
There are no private religious schools; the school system is public and is financed by the State. Public schools provide Catholic religious instruction; however, students may choose without penalty not to participate.
Epiphany, Saint Agatha, Easter, Corpus Domini, All Saints' Day, Commemoration of the Dead, Immaculate Conception, and Christmas are national holidays.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
Government policy and practice contributed to the generally free practice of religion.
There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees.
Forced Religious Conversion
There were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the United States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens to be returned to the United States.
Abuses by Terrorist Organizations
There were no reported abuses targeted at specific religions by terrorist organizations during the period covered by this report.
Section III. Societal Attitudes
Amicable relations exist between the religious communities, and government and religious officials encourage mutual respect for differences.
The country's role protecting religious minorities during World War II, including 100,000 total refugees, about 1,000 percent of the country's regular population then, is a public source of pride for citizens and government officials.
Roman Catholicism is not a state religion but it is dominant in society, as most citizens were born and raised under Catholic principles that form part of their culture. These principles still permeate state institutions symbolically; for example, crucifixes sometimes hang on courtroom or government office walls. The country's dominant Roman Catholic heritage may inform individual choices on lifestyle issues such as marriage or divorce, although there is no government suasion involved.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its policy to promote human rights and has always found the Government fully open to such discussions.
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