| dc.description.abstract | On October 10, 2010 the island of Curaçao is born as an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The framers of the constitution of this new country, on the one hand, included a phrase about faith in God in the preamble of the country's constitution. On the other hand, article one (1) of the same constitution claims to treat all citizens as equals and that discrimination on account of religion, among other things, are not permitted. Curaçao has been enjoying a good reputation as far as religious tolerance is concerned. Yet, there seem to be some struggles with the concept of separation between church and state that seem to lead to some direct and/or indirect threats to religious freedom in Curaçao. For that reason, this paper will take a closer look at secularism as a political principle in a way that might facilitate policy makers in Curaçao to guarantee religious liberty for her citizens. The analysis of secularism as a normative political concept, in this paper, has led to the concept of religious emancipation and a proposal of two actions: Proper legislation, and the establishment of religious liberty institutions, to guarantee the enjoyment of the long cherished values of tolerance, mutual respect, freedom, and social acceptance in Curaçao for the years to come. | |
