Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy, and a member of the Commonwealth. As such, the British monarch – and head of the Church of England – is its head of state. In September 2022, the nation’s prime minister announced their intention to call a referendum on becoming a republic within three years.[ref]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/11/antigua-and-barbuda-republic-referendum-within-three-years-pm-queen-death[/ref]

According to the most recent census data (2011), 5.9% of the population identifies as non-religious. At least 82% of the population identify as belonging to a Christian denomination – the largest proportion of which is Anglican, accounting for 17.6% of the population. Other groups, including Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and Rastafarians account for 5.7% of the population.[ref]https://statistics.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Census-2011-Book-of-Statistical-Tables-I.pdf[/ref]

Constitution and government Education and children’s rights Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination
‘Blasphemy’ is outlawed or criticism of religion (including de facto ‘blasphemy’ laws) is restricted and punishable with a prison sentence
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
Official symbolic deference to religion
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
No formal discrimination in education
Constitution and government
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
Official symbolic deference to religion
Education and children’s rights
No formal discrimination in education
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
‘Blasphemy’ is outlawed or criticism of religion (including de facto ‘blasphemy’ laws) is restricted and punishable with a prison sentence
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: Kazakhstan

The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Andorra

No condition holds in this strand
Religious courts or tribunals rule directly on some family or ‘moral’ matters; it is legally an opt-in system, but the possibility of social coercion is very clear
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious

This condition is unusual in that it is applied in cases where there is some social discrimination, but it is not pervasive or nationwide. This condition is applied when there is sufficient background evidence to warrant the assertion that discrimination is not anomalous but widespread, and this condition may be applied for example even where if there is no legislative discrimination or where the non-religious may have legal recourse against such discrimination. However, societal discrimination (i.e. discrimination by peers, as opposed to state or legal discrimination) is not easily measured, and for this reason the Report does not currently have similar more severe boundary conditions to capture higher levels of social discrimination per se. In principle these may be introduced in future. However, we consider that countries with actual higher levels of social discrimination against the non-religious will generally already meet other higher level (more severe) boundary conditions under this thematic strand.

Countries: Botswana, Greece, Serbia, United States of America

The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination

Applied when the influence of religion on public life undermines others’ rights, such as SRHR, women’s rights, LGBTI+ rights.

May be applied when the influence is overt (i.e. when religious laws are applied to undermine others’ rights) or covert (i.e. where religious pressure groups exert influence to affect policy)

Countries: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Oman, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zambia

The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief

Applied when overriding acts of oppression by the State are extreme, to the extent that the question of freedom of thought and expression is almost redundant, because all human rights and freedoms are quashed by authorities.

Countries: North Korea

Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Expression of non-religious views is severely persecuted, or is rendered almost impossible by severe social stigma, or is highly likely to be met with hatred or violence
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment

Countries: Bulgaria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda

The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence

Countries: Bahrain, Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait

‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state

Countries: Iran

State legislation is partly derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general

This condition is applied where there are miscellaneous indicators that organs of the state offer various forms of support for a religion, or to religion in general over non-religious worldviews, suggesting a preference for those beliefs, or that the organs of that religion are privileged.

Countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the nonreligious
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety

This condition highlights countries where schools subject children to fundamentalist religious instruction with no real opportunity to question fundamentalist tenets, or where lessons routinely encourage hatred (for example religious or ethnic hatred). The wording “significant number of schools” is not given a rigid quantification (sometimes the worst-offending schools are unregistered, illegal, or otherwise uncounted); however the condition is not applied in cases where only a small number of schools meet the description and may be anomalous, as opposed to being indicative of a widespread problem.

Countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Anomalous discrimination by local or provincial authorities, or overseas territories
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
Government authorities push a socially conservative, religiously or ideologically inspired agenda, without regard to the rights of those with progressive views
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Legal or constitutional provisions exclude non-religious views from freedom of belief
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom

This condition may apply if specifically religious education, religious materials, or specific religious denominations are so tightly controlled that children are in fact over-protected from exposure to religion and are likely unable to explore or construct their own worldview in accordance with their evolving capacities. This condition helps us to classify states (perhaps with secular constitutions) which have criminalized specifically religious beliefs or practices. This condition is not applied if the restricted beliefs or practices are found to be outlawed due to their being of an extremist variety. While this condition does not directly reflect discrimination against non-religious persons or non-religious ideas, it does represent an overall threat to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; such restrictions could spill over to affect non-religious beliefs later; and they pose a risk of backlash against over-zealous secular authorities or even against non-religious individuals by association.

Countries: China, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guyana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe

It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
Legend
 
Severe Discrimination
Systemic Discrimination
Mostly Satisfactory
Free and Equal
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

Article 11 of the Constitution[ref]http://laws.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/cap-23.pdf[/ref] provides protection for freedom of conscience, defining the right to include “freedom of thought and of religion, freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others, and both in public and in private to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.”

The preamble of the Constitution states that, “the People of Antigua and Barbuda (a) proclaim that they are a sovereign nation founded upon principles that acknowledge the supremacy of God, the dignity and worth of the human person, the entitlement of all persons to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual.”

There are indications that religion influences policy-making, however the Constitution prohibits members of the clergy from running for elected office or appointment to the Senate.[ref]https://antiguaobserver.com/religion-still-impacting-policymaking-experts-say/[/ref] Local groups indicate that the prominent role of the Church in public life means that its support is important for individuals seeking election.[ref]https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-10/ippf_upr39_atg_e_main.pdf[/ref]

The government maintains a close relationship with the Antigua Christian Council, which excludes non-Christian groups as well as some smaller and newer groups which identify themselves as Christian.[ref]https://antiguanewsroom.com/amended-act-will-restrict-sale-of-alcohol-on-good-friday-christian-council/[/ref] Senior government officials openly exhort citizens to honor God, including through prayer.[ref]https://antiguabreakingnews.com/pringle-this-christian-nation-is-in-a-moral-crisis/[/ref]

In 2019, the Minister of Social Transformation, Human Resource Development, Youth & Gender Affairs reportedly emphasized the importance of close relations between the government and the Church in order to guide the nation.[ref]https://antiguanewsroom.com/meeting-of-the-minds-with-the-ecclesiastical-commission-and-mp-samantha-marshall/[/ref]

Since 2020, a representative Ecclesiastical Commission of Antigua and Barbuda – a body established by the government – has sat on the Steering Committee of the Economic Recovery Committee[ref]http://erc.gov.ag/index.php/about-the-erc/[/ref] – a committee established to address the economic fallout brought about by the COVID-19 crisis.[ref]http://erc.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Appendices.pdf[/ref] There do not appear to be representatives from any other religion or belief group on the committee. The Ecclesiastical Commission also convenes a national day of prayer on behalf of the government.[ref]www.facebook.com/105711601637762/photos/a.105715634970692/105715218304067[/ref]

On 1 January 2023, the Facebook page of the Office of the Prime Minister issued an invitation to the National Church Service of Thanksgiving, which has “been held on the first Sunday of January each year since 2015, and has become a part of the calendar of worshipful events for the Gaston Browne administration.”[ref]https://m.facebook.com/100064534908570/videos/you-are-all-invited-our-national-service-of-thanksgiving-takes-place-today-sunda/699154071947795/[/ref]

Religious privileges

Religious groups are required to incorporate in order to own property. They can register with the government to receive tax and duty-free concessions, especially for building and renovation. There do not appear to be similar concessions available to explicitly secular or non-religious groups.

Education and children’s rights

Article 11(2) of the Constitution protects anyone from being required to receive religious instruction or take part in religious ceremony or observance, except by their own consent.

Public schools are secular; religious education is not part of the curriculum.

Sex education

According to civil society actors, adolescents in Antigua and Barbuda have limited access to sexual and reproductive health education and services.[ref]https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-10/ippf_upr39_atg_e_main.pdf[/ref] Prevailing conservative Christian values in society are listed as one of the reasons that sex education is so limited.[ref]https://www.unicef.org/easterncaribbean/media/1326/file/ECA-A-and-B-SitAn-2017.pdf[/ref]

According to a 2017 report commissioned by UNICEF,[ref]https://www.unicef.org/easterncaribbean/media/1326/file/ECA-A-and-B-SitAn-2017.pdf[/ref]“Most schools do not teach sex education, except for providing minimal information as part of health and family life education (HFLE), despite the evidence that the number of sexually active adolescents in the country is high.” The Health and Family Life Education curriculum has been widely criticized[ref]https://today.caricom.org/2022/03/11/regional-partners-agree-sexuality-education-in-the-caribbean-needs-to-be-better/[/ref] as failing to be truly comprehensive; the curriculum reportedly promotes abstinence.[ref]https://healtheducationresources.unesco.org/sites/default/files/resources/ssr_tlm_1_hfle.pdf[/ref] Reports[ref]https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/349210/WHO-SRH-21.26-eng.pdf; https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379607/PDF/379607eng.pdf.multi[/ref] indicate that the government has taken some steps to implement Comprehensive Sexuality Education despite resistance from conservative religious groups.

Family, community and society

Various other human rights concerns, often related to conservative religious or regressive attitudes, remain active concerns.[ref]https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/313615_ANTIGUA-AND-BARBUDA-2021-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf[/ref]

LGBTI+ rights

According to a Summary of Stakeholders’ submissions on Antigua and Barbuda published by the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review,[ref]https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/ag-index[/ref] “LGBTQ persons in Antigua had faced stigma and discrimination in their lives, forcing many to mask their sexual identity out of fear.”

In 2022 the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court ruled to overturn buggery as a criminal act under the Sexual Offences Act (1995).[ref]https://www.eccourts.org/orden-david-et-al-v-the-attorney-general-of-antigua-and-barbuda/; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-62068589; http://laws.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/a1995-9.pdf [/ref] However, research indicates that negative attitudes towards members of the LGBTI+ community are widespread, as a result of the long-standing existence of such legislation as well as conservative religious values.[ref]https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/featurestories/2022/july/20220712_communities-behind-antigua-barbuda-decriminalization-win[/ref]

Indeed, according to Outright International, “some politicians publicly espouse the belief that same-sex relations and gender nonconformity are immoral, and religious groups oppose progress towards LGBTIQ equality.”[ref]https://outrightinternational.org/our-work/americas/antigua-and-barbuda[/ref]

Sexual health and reproductive rights

Abortion is criminalized under Articles 56 and 57 of the Offences against the Person Act[ref]http://laws.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/cap-300.pdf[/ref] for any woman attempting to induce miscarriage, with a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. A person who assists or provides the means of inducing a miscarriage may face a penalty of up to two years in prison.

A narrow exception exists under the Infant Life Preservation Act of 1937,[ref]http://laws.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/cap-216.pdf[/ref] under which protections for preserving the life of the mother exist. The government is reported to be considering whether to legalize abortion in cases of rape, incest and severe fetal impairment.[ref]https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-10/ippf_upr39_atg_e_main.pdf[/ref]

According to the Antigua Planned Parenthood Association,[ref]https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021-10/ippf_upr39_atg_e_main.pdf[/ref]

“In practice, it is possible to have an abortion performed by a licensed medical practitioner in order to save a woman’s life, but it is costly, meaning that this is primarily only available to wealthy women whose lives are at risk. Additionally, due to the stigma around abortion, women and girls still seek out and have unsafe abortions, which can threaten their health and lives.”

According to a 2021 US State Department Report, “religious beliefs and cultural barriers” are reported to limit the usage of contraception in the country.[ref]https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/313615_ANTIGUA-AND-BARBUDA-2021-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf[/ref]

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

The Antigua and Barbuda government generally respects freedom of the press. However, defamation is a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in prison, and politicians frequently file libel suits against opposing party members.

Media outlets are concentrated among a small number of firms affiliated with either the current government or its predecessor. There are no restrictions on access to the internet.

Blasphemy law

The Small Charges Act[ref]http://laws.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/cap-405.pdf[/ref] criminalizes blasphemous language.

Article 9 (“Abuse and bad language”) of the Small Charges Act reads:

Any person who makes use of any abusive, blasphemous, indecent, insulting, profane or threatening language-

(a) in any public place; or

(b) in any place to the annoyance of the public; or

(c) tending to a breach of the peace;

shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month.

Though it remains on statute, as of 2023, the US International Religious Freedom Report maintains that the law is not enforced for blasphemy.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/antigua-and-barbuda/[/ref]