Affirmation from Swedish government: Religious freedom is priority

Right before the election in 2018, the previous Foreign Minister, Margot Wallström, also wrote an article that argued that religious freedom was a priority for the party. Now, Ann Linde seems to follow that trend.

A vote for the Social Democrats is a vote for prioritising religious freedom, Linde promises on Facebook. She adds that everyone should be able to manifest their faith without fear or threats and persecution. According to Linde, there is an ongoing trend in an increasing amount of discrimination issues, forced conversions and violence connected to people's religious identity. Furthermore, the minister points out that she has close contact with religious communities, including representatives of Christian organisations in several countries. She argues that Sweden actively stands up for religious freedom in the European Union. The post ends by promising that if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains in the hands of the Social Democrats after the elections on September 11, religious freedom will continue to be prioritised.

Linde's statement is a surprise for two religious freedom experts, Kristina Patring from the Swedish Mission Council and Jacob Rudenstrand from the Swedish Evangelical Alliance. Even though they are happy with the statement's content, they had not seen it coming.

In a joint debate article in Altinget they argued that the "Foreign Minister's silence regarding freedom of religion and belief in connection with both the democracy initiative and the foreign declarations has testified to something completely different than an obvious commitment to religious freedom violations." They then add that if the minister is serious about the issue, "it is simply up to the evidence going forward."

Dodging the question

Earlier, Linde was criticised for her lack of interest in religious freedom. In 2022 and 2021, she clashed with the Christian Democrat Lars Adaktusson when he attempted to raise the issue. In 2021, Adaktusson highlighted a report from Open Doors, an organisation that stands up for persecuted Christians. That is reported by Dagen.

However, Ann Linde did not respond to his questions and instead accused Adaktusson of opposing abortion and acting like Trump. In 2022, about the same thing happened. When Adaktusson raised the issue of religious freedom, Linde dodged the question by asking the Christian Democrat about his party's financial policy.