Freedom of Religion Means All Religion

The European Court of Human Rights recently ruled that Churches of Scientology should be allowed to file as religious organizations in response to the City of Moscow, Russia denying one such application. This is not merely a victory for Scientology but for religious minorities in general which commonly have difficulty gaining public acceptance. After all, religious freedom isn't just for the popular faiths.

The issue of how to define religion continues to usually equivalent to accusing it of fraud, and governments want to protect the public from fraud. On the other hand, if government is to remain neutral, what criteria can it use to separate real religions from fakes? Many conservative Christians consider all non-Christian faiths to be fake. Other people consider religions to not be real if they are not old enough or large enough or if they just seem "goofy," although no responsible government could use that as an objective standard either.