Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is an island in the Lesser Antilles Island arc. The territory of the island consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the two-thirds of the Grenadines, which are a chain of smaller islands. SVG is a member of the Commonwealth. Its ceremonial head of State is monarch of the United Kingdom, who is also head of the Church of England.

According to the most recent census (2012), 82.3% of the population identify as Christian, a large proportion of which belong to the Pentecostal denomination. The census indicates a shift away from more established forms of Christian denominations such as Anglican, Methodist and Roman Catholic. The non-religious mark the second highest religion or belief group accounting for 7.5% of the population. Smaller proportions of the population identify as Rastafarian (1.1%), Hindu (0.1%) and Muslim (0.1%). The census showed a decline in the non-religious population compared to the 2001 census, and an increase in the Christian population.[ref]https://stats.gov.vc/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2012-Housing-and-Population-Census-Report-final-draft-4.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
Official symbolic deference to religion
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
No religious tribunals of concern, secular groups operate freely, individuals are not persecuted by the state
Constitution and government
Official symbolic deference to religion
Education and children’s rights
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination
No religious tribunals of concern, secular groups operate freely, individuals are not persecuted by the state
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
Mostly Satisfactory
Free and Equal
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

The constitution and other laws protect the rights to freedom of conscience, religion or belief, expression, assembly and association. Article 9 of the Constitution enshrines the right to freedom of conscience, including freedom of thought and religion or belief.

There is no state religion, but the preamble states that people of SVG “have affirmed that the Nation is founded on the belief in the supremacy of God and the freedom and dignity of man.”[ref]https://www.oas.org/juridico/PDFs/mesicic4_svg_const.pdf[/ref]

Under Article 26 of the Constitution, religious ministers may not hold government office.

Education and children’s rights

Article 9 of the Constitution forbids any person from being forced to receive instruction or participate in any religious ceremony or observance relating to a religion that is not their own. The article also gives religious institutions the right to establish educational institutions at their own expense.

According to the SVG Education Bill 2005,[ref]https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/ressources/saint_vincent_and_the_grenadines_education_act_2005-1.pdf[/ref] “religious education must be a part of the curriculum of every public or assisted private school at the primary, all- age secondary level.” But it is not a condition of admission that the student participates in religious education or attends or abstains from attending any place of religious instruction.

According to the US State Department’s 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom:[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines/[/ref]

“Students in public schools receive nondenominational religious instruction based on Christianity. Christian prayers are recited at school assemblies, although attendance and participation are not mandatory. Students wishing to opt out of Christian prayer or religious education classes are excused from participation.”

Family, community and society

In March 2020, the government decriminalized the use and possession of up to 56 grams of marijuana, and the Medical Cannabis Authority reported it granted some licenses to “traditional cultivators,” including members of the Rastafarian community. The Rastafarian community report increasing tolerance to their way of life and greater societal acceptance. However, they continue to face barriers to employment.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines/[/ref]

LGBTI+ rights

While the Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, place of origin, political opinion, color or creed, no specific legislation addresses discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or social status. A 2021 United Nations report indicates that members of the LGBTI+ community “faced stigma and discrimination, including challenges in accessing basic health-care and social services and greater difficulties in finding jobs.”[ref]A/HRC/WG.6/39/VCT/2 available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/vc-index[/ref]

Consensual same-sex relationships remain criminalized under the 1988 Criminal Code and are punishable by up to 10 years in prison, although the laws are reportedly rarely enforced in practice.[ref]https://www.equaldex.com/region/saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines; https://www.humandignitytrust.org/country-profile/saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines/[/ref]

In 2019, two gay men filed a challenge against the criminalisation of private, consensual same-sex sexual activity under sections 146 and 148 of the Criminal Code.[ref]https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/two-gay-men-exiled-from-st-vincent-challenge-old-british-colonial-laws-criminalising-homosexuality-a4220366.html[/ref] A coalition of 10 Christian churches was permitted by the High Court to be party to the case.[ref]https://www.iwnsvg.com/2019/11/20/judge-allows-churches-to-join-svgs-buggery-case/[/ref] The coalition reportedly organized a rally in which a lawyer representing the group is reported to have stated that the legal challenge represented “a challenge against God himself because in the essence of this challenge, we are called upon to call a wrong right and to call what is wrong permissible and allowable in the guise of human rights […] the essence of it, I believe it is a challenge against morality.”[ref]https://www.humandignitytrust.org/country-profile/saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines/[/ref]

Since the filing of the challenge, local LGBTI+ groups have reported increased harassment.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines/[/ref]

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

The constitution guarantees the freedoms of expression and communication, which are usually upheld in practice.[ref]https://freedomhouse.org/country/st-vincent-and-grenadines/freedom-world/2022[/ref] Criminal and civil defamation laws remain on the statute books and are used. The 2016 Cybercrime Act[ref]http://assembly.gov.vc/assembly/images/ActsBillsPolicies/SVG_Cybercrime_Act_2016.pdf[/ref] broadened the definition and scope of defamation to include online publications; violation of its often vaguely worded provisions can carry a fine of as much as EC$500,000 ($185,000) and up to seven years’ imprisonment.

Blasphemy laws

There are several articles in the Criminal Code which do, or in some cases might, constitute anti-blasphemy provisions.[ref]http://www.oas.org/juridico/english/mesicic3_svg_criminal.pdf[/ref]

The clearest such provision is article 289 which inter alia criminalizes “blasphemous” or “profane” speech “in any public place” and is punishable with a three-month prison term:

“289. Any person who uses any abusive, blasphemous, indecent, insulting, profane or threatening language—
(a) in any public place;
(b) in any place to the annoyance of the public; or
(c) in any circumstances likely to cause a breach of the peace,
is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for three months.”

Article 279 considers publications that may be privileged with respect to defamation (i.e. exempt from the charge of defamation, for example because the defendant successfully pleaded that their claim was true, or was an expression of opinion ‘in good faith’). However, 279 (a) precludes “blasphemous” matter from such considerations, saying: “if the court prohibits the publication of anything said, done or shown before it, on the grounds that it is seditious, immoral or blasphemous, the publication thereof shall not be privileged.”

Three consecutive articles under the heading “Offences relating to religion” further criminalize various acts on the basis of hurting religious feelings or offending specifically religious persons, with no equivalent redress for non-religious persons.

Article 117 criminalizes destructive acts intended to “insult” religion, with a prison term up to five years. Article 117 is limited to a physical act which “destroys, damages or defiles” places of worship or objects, therefore a ‘blasphemous’ expression alone should not fall under this article; however it is limited in its application only to specifically religious places, objects and persons who feel ‘insulted’, with physical offenses against the places or property associated with non-religious worldviews not receiving similar treatment.

Article 118 (1) criminalizes “Any person who causes disturbance to any assembly lawfully engaged in the performance of religious worship or ceremony […] liable to imprisonment for two years.” Article 118 (2) increases the punishment to five years if the person was asked to stop and refused. The very broad term “disturbance” and the restriction of the article to specifically religious places and ceremonies indicates that, for example, an otherwise legitimate protest against a religious practice or leader might fall foul of this article.

Article 119 is even broader, in that it restricts essentially any form of expression where it is found that the accused had “intended” to upset “religious feeling,” and is again punishable in principle with a prison term:

“Any person who with the intention of wounding the religious feeling of any other person, writes any word, or utters any word or makes any gesture or sound in the sight or hearing of any other person, or places any object in the sight of any other person, is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for two years.”

According to a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, these laws have not been enforced, though they remain on statute.[ref]https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/Blasphemy%20Laws%20Report.pdf[/ref]