I don’t agree with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. But they have a right to knock on my door

A polite knock on the door may be unwanted, but does that give the state the right to ban it? Following a landmark ruling regarding Jehovah’s Witnesses in Bulgaria, Lidia Rieder says it’s wrong to ban expressions of religious belief on the basis of mere “annoyance”

Earlier this month, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously ruled in favour of a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses who were banned from preaching door-to-door in Shumen, Bulgaria, in a move that stands to affect Christians across Europe.   

What may initially seem like a remote local issue carries significant implications for religious freedom in Europe, particularly as states show a growing willingness to censor Christian expression simply because others do not want to hear it. 

Why? Because Velev and Others v. Bulgaria asks the same question that European states have increasingly struggled to answer: when two fundamental rights collide, can banning the exercise of one effectively solve the problem?