An evangelical church in Cologny, in the Swiss canton of Geneva, has decided to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Federal Court’s decision against public baptisms on Lake Geneva.

It has done so supported by the the Swiss Evangelical Alliance (SEA-RES) and its Geneva section, the Réseau évangélique de Genève (REG), as well as the Romande Federation of Evangelical Churches (FREE), to which it belongs.

The appeal to the European court was submitted this week to verify the compatibility of the Swiss court’s ruling with the international right to religious freedom.

A long process

In July 2022, the Geneva State Council did not allow the church of Cologny to celebrate baptisms in the Geneva lake, stating that the canton’s ‘laicité’ law says that “baptisms in public places are authorised only for churches with which the State Council has a relationship”.

Stéphane Klopfenstein, deputy director of the RES then regretted that “Geneva is trampling on its tradition of tolerance and damaging its reputation as a capital of human rights”.

The free evangelical church appealed to the Federal Court, which last February rejected the appeal.

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Evangelical Focus | “Swiss evangelicals bring baptisms ban at Lake Geneva to European Court of Human Rights” | August 15, 2024

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