Is the law a threat to religious freedom?
It definitely is. The argument of MPs is that the law does not targets beliefs of any kind, but only groups who use coercion, emotional pressure and mind-management techniques to indoctrinate individuals and enslave them to their cause. However, coercion here does not designate physical coercion (already covered by the normal law) but mental coercion, and the terminology used to make “mental coercion” a crime is vague at best and can be used to describe everything from marketing techniques to catechism classes. As there is no definition of “cult” either, it means that at some point in the future any group or association that is out of favor or unpopular could be designated cult-like and the target of the anti-cult law, which would leave judges with a dangerous latitude to interpret what constitutes “serious prejudice” as basis of banning the movement. Leaving such terms as “cult,” “dependence” and “pressure” undefined, the law could criminalize, for example, evangelism by deeming it an
