The Religious Liberty Commission established by US President Donald Trump has raised concerns about the UK.
While primarily focused on religious freedom in the US, a 224-page report warned about a case in the UK that relates to controversial abortion clinic buffer zone prosecutions.
“Even in other Western countries, governments have adopted many such policies [that threaten religious freedom]," the report said.
"In the United Kingdom, police recently arrested army veteran and physiotherapist Adam Smith-Connor for the crime of silently praying.”
Smith-Connor was found guilty of breaching abortion buffer zone laws in Bournemouth. A number of other individuals have been found guilty of breaching abortion buffer zones, including Isabel Vaughan-Spruce and retired pastor Clive Johnston, who delivered an open-air sermon within an abortion zone that made no mention of abortion.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Smith-Connor welcomed the interest shown in his case by the commission.
“I am grateful to the US religious liberty commission for highlighting the growing threat to freedom of thought, religion, and speech in the UK. I was investigated and convicted for nothing more than silently praying," he said.
"I hope my case serves as a warning that liberty cannot be taken for granted – it must be actively defended. No genuinely free and democratic society should criminalise peaceful, even silent, expressions of faith.”
Another case to have raised concerns in the US was that of Päivi Räsänen, a Christian politician who was recently convicted in Finland over a pamphlet on same-sex marriage she authored over 20 years ago. Räsänen was recently denied a travel authorisation to the UK.
The report was welcomed by Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, which is supporting Smith-Connor, Vaughan-Spruce and Räsänen.
“The cases of Päivi Räsänen and Adam Smith-Connor are stark warnings of what follows when societies abandon their commitment to free expression and religious liberty," he said.
"Päivi endured years of criminal proceedings for publicly expressing her Christian faith in a Bible verse tweet and a church pamphlet published decades ago.
“Adam was punished not for anything he said, but for the private thoughts and silent prayers in his own mind while standing outside an abortion facility, grieving his deceased son.
"As the Commission rightly recognises, this is not a series of isolated incidents, but a dangerous drift towards state control over speech, belief, and conscience itself.
The Commission’s clarion call to defend fundamental rights and freedoms must be heeded in the United Kingdom and across Europe. These liberties are foundational to Western civilisation, and we ignore their erosion at our peril.”
The intervention was also welcomed by campaigners for Christian freedom at the Christian Legal Centre. Andrea Williams, the group’s Chief Executive said, “For many years, the freedom to live and speak as a Christian has been eroded – often in the name of equality."
She added, “The first step to fixing this is to admit that we have a problem. I hope that President Trump’s remarks lead to a major course correction for the United Kingdom and the rest of the world.”
The commission's report also raises concerns about religious freedom in the US, finding that some arms of the state in the US are preventing “religious individuals and perspectives from contributing to public life” and so are diminishing “the quality of freedom for all citizens”.
As part of its investigations, the commission spoke to 100 witnesses who described cases that “compromised the religious liberty of students and teachers, parents and children, service members and chaplains, healthcare professionals and patients, employers and employees, and religious institutions and the communities they serve”.
