Chile: Supreme Court upholds freedom of worship

In January 2021, the Ministry of Health approved Exempt Resolution No. 43, prohibiting public events and which in practice prevented people attending religious services in churches (BCN, 14 January 2021). Following an appeal on 29 March 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that church service attendance should be permitted where all necessary health measures are adhered to (Diario Constitucional, 29 March 2021). The court thereby guaranteed the collective dimension of the fundamental right to religious freedom. World Watch Research analyst Rossana Ramirez comments: "This is the second time that the Chilean judicial system has exposed the excesses of government lockdown measures which restrict the possibility of exercising fundamental rights, such as the right to freedom of worship, embodied in the right to religious freedom. Thus, although strict measures were justified when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height, the measures against church attendance no longer find legitimacy when other social activities of an economic nature are meanwhile allowed." Rossana Ramirez adds: "Similar excessive measures were imposed by the governments of other Latin American countries and indeed in several countries around the world. However, the fact that in Chile the judicial system has twice made a ruling to protect freedom of worship is a positive message that should be imitated elsewhere in the world."