April 27, 2012 – Punta Cana, Dominican Republic…Libna Stevens/IRLA
Senator Charles Schultz of Colombia spoke to the IRLA Congress delegation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on Apr. 26, 2012. Schultz reported to the more than 800 attendees on the strides made toward religious liberty among faith groups in Colombia during the past two decades.
“The model of secular state is the best one for the protection of human and civil rights,” stated Schultz as he reported on the history of secularism and its benefits in the 32 states or provinces in Colombia.
“There is a great need to unite further in defending religious liberty, as well as using legal instruments and procedural guarantees for human rights,” he challenged. “We must remember that without rights there is no freedom, because the human being is a slave to his emotions and passions.”
Until 1991, Roman Catholicism was the official religion of Colombia, and Senator Schultz was one of the prime movers behind that year’s historic constitutional reform, which required equal treatment for all religions under the law.
