A Swedish council has banned school and government employees from praying at work
A municipal council in Sweden passed a new guideline banning employees at its schools, offices and other local government buildings from praying during work hours.
The policy was passed in the Bromölla, a coastal municipality in southern Sweden, according to news reports.
The local council is controlled by politicians belonging to the conservative Sweden Democrats Party. The policy passed last week.
Chairman Eric Berntsson said – “In the regulation, we have cut out everything which could be interpreted as saying that you can take time off to pray during work time,” “Both we and the Moderates and the Christian Democrats thought that the regulations should be more precise.”
Berntsson argued that the rule is similar to policies that ban employees from taking cigarette breaks while on the clock. He added that the ban is universal and applies to adherents of all religions.
In addition to schools, the rule will also reportedly apply to nursing homes and council offices. The ban does not apply to employees’ official break periods.
The municipal council contends that the new policy actually protects religious freedom because religious freedom also includes the “right to avoid public religious expression.”
Laurence Wilkinson, a London-based attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom International, a Christian organization, told Premier that the law could be considered a form of “indirect discrimination.”