Freedom of religion does not mean that absolutely everything must be tolerated under the guise of faith.

This was stated by German Evangelical Lutheran pastor Ralf Haska in an interview with Libertas Fidei.

Asked whether democratic societies are prepared to counter the political exploitation of religion without undermining religious freedom itself, the pastor emphasized that democratic societies are strong enough to meet this challenge.

“Freedom of religion does not mean that absolutely everything must be tolerated under the guise of faith. A person who professes their faith, prays, preaches, or publicly expresses their beliefs is exercising a fundamental right. But when religion is used to incite hostility between people, justify violence, or cloak political interests in religious legitimacy, we are dealing with an entirely different matter,” he said.

According to the pastor, the challenge lies in drawing this distinction correctly.

“Democratic societies must neither indiscriminately treat all religious voices with suspicion nor naively turn a blind eye to the misuse of religion for political purposes. Both approaches would be dangerous. What is needed, therefore, is vigilance, a balanced approach, and a firm commitment to defending both freedom and democracy,” Ralf Haska emphasized.