The hour of recognition has finally come. Buddhism will soon be recognized as a non-denominational philosophical conception in Belgium. The draft bill, carried by the Minister of Justice in charge of Religious Affairs, Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD), is on the agenda of the Council of Ministers this Friday and should be approved. This is the end of a long journey for the Belgian Buddhist Union (UBB), which had submitted a first request in 2006, seventeen years earlier. It was expected to be completed during the previous legislature. A draft bill had also been drafted at the time, but the precipitous fall of the government had made its conclusion impossible.
But this time, it seems to be the right one. The decision was included in the government agreement concluded by Vivaldi. Agreement on the text is a first step. It will then have to be submitted to the Council of State, discussed in the consultation committee before being validated by Parliament, “ideally before the parliamentary holidays”, hopes Carlo Luyckx, president of the UBB, a umbrella grouping 35 affiliated organisations.
Buddhism would thus become the eighth recognized philosophical conception in Belgium, alongside Catholic, Jewish, Anglican, Protestant-Evangelical, Islamic, Orthodox and secularism. “It was very important for us to be treated on an equal footing than other beliefs and official religions recognized in Belgium”, says Carlo Luyckx. Once the text has been adopted, the UBB will be the official interlocutor of the Belgian authorities in the management of the organisation.
Courses in schools?
This recognition will allow Buddhism to have the same treatment as other recognized religions and philosophical conceptions. This involves the payment by the Federal State of about twenty advisers and the financing, by the provinces and the Brussels Region, of local establishments. Let us also mention the possibility of having counsel in prisons, in the army or in airports, the broadcasting of a licensed program on public channels, or even the setting up of a Buddhism course in schools.
This last point could also come up against some problems, as underlined by political scientist and researcher at Crisp Caroline Sägesser, specialist in questions related to the organization of cults and beliefs in Belgium. “The timing is indeed special. The introduction of these courses would come precisely at a time when the Wallonia-Brussels Federation is considering removing so-called philosophical courses from school timetables. Moreover, the exact terms of the Constitution in terms of education refer to ‘recognized religions’ or ‘non-confessional morality’. It would then be necessary to specify how the courses of Buddhism could be registered there”, points out the researcher.
Buddhism should not be recognized as a cult strictly speaking, but as a non-denominational philosophical conception, according to the second paragraph of article 181 of the Constitution. A provision that had initially been thought out during the recognition of organized secularism. In Belgium, it is estimated that Buddhism has 150,000 followers.
Fuzzy criteria
Buddhists are not the only ones awaiting official recognition. The Hindu Forum of Belgium also made a request several years ago. Starting this year, this organization will receive federal funding in order to structure itself. Should this be seen as a first step towards future recognition? Since 2008, Buddhism has received a subsidy from the federal state (up to approximately 200,000 euros per year) in order to organize itself with a view to its recognition. Organized secularism had also been able to count on such funding before being recognized in 2002.
But the criteria authorizing recognition are unclear. “It is also rather curious to see the Buddhism dossier come to fruition when the system for managing cults and beliefs is at the end of its tether in Belgium. He had also been pinned down by the European Court of Human Rights in April 2022, when it had been seized by congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses”, recalls Caroline Sägesser again.