Far from being a religious persecution. Did You Know There Is An Amish Population In Costa Rica?, the bill being processed in the Legislative Assembly to generate positive sound spaces seeks a healthy balance between freedom of worship, the rights of others and love for others. The plan, presented by the organization “Costa Rica Sin Ruido”, seeks to ensure that high noise decibels do not affect the quality of sleep and life of other people.
Benefits of Positive Noise Contexts
These are some of the benefits of positive sound spaces:
Stress reduction
Improved concentration
Promotion of emotional well-being
Encouraging creativity
Increased productivity
Promotes rest
Enhances social interactions
Improved learning
Increased sense of belonging
Contribution to physical health
To this end, it seeks to raise awareness and promote agreements with various sectors to regulate noise in a healthy way. It is a movement that advocates citizen welfare and improvement of environments for the benefit of all sectors.
“The bill does not seek to affect -but to balance- freedom of worship with the rights of other people (in this particular case, those who live in the surroundings of a religious temple). I would dare to say that some people would start attending a temple in their neighborhood if the temple was more respectful of the sound environment where it is located,” said Eduardo Sasso, of the citizen collective Costa Rica Sin Ruido.
In that sense, Sasso highlights that “the call of the church is to be a community of peace and reconciliation that radiates the goodness of God”. “Among so many things, this involves working for the welfare of the neediest people and those who suffer. By supporting this bill, churches can honor that call, collaborating with sound peace and thus watch over the many people who today are being affected by noise,” he added.
In Costa Rica we do not have acoustic peace. Children, elderly people, sick people and all kinds of people are suffering from noise. By promoting the Positive Soundscapes Bill, church members can watch over the health of the population, especially the most vulnerable population. “Here, of course, the words of Jesus resound: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called daughters and sons of God,’” Sasso added.
Receptive to collaboration
On this subject, Mauricio Valverde Díaz, Executive Director of the Evangelical Alliance of Costa Rica, emphasized that the project cannot be exclusive to the churches. Likewise, respect for religious freedomLast June 18, the Ministry of Health published the new regulation that entails adjustments in the maximum allowed decibels. We made this new regulation known to our affiliates in a timely manner for their compliance, and we did so because we understand that these adjustments seek to care for hearing health and provide peace and tranquility to the surrounding community where churches are located (…) Religious freedom is a human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. What we hope is that this new regulation, if approved, is made without undermining the free exercise of the use of sound in the different activities that require it; where the church is only one of those activities, not the only and exclusive one”, said Valverde.
The organization expects to be consulted during the debate of the bill. They also indicated that they constantly call on affiliated churches to be aware of the acoustic conditions of the places of worship and thus not affect the neighbors with high sound levels, thus demonstrating their love for them.
Meanwhile, Fabricio Alvarado, deputy of Nueva República and representative of the evangelical sector in Congress, asserted that this is a complex issue, as it combines important rights, such as the right to a healthy environment and the fundamental right to ensure the religious freedom of all inhabitants.
“It is essential that in this discussion both sets of rights are protected, in a careful rule that is reasonable and proportional, and in attention to the hierarchy of the protected rights: first the human rights and then the constitutional and ordinary rights,” said Alvarado.
The politician pointed out that both the Catholic and Evangelical churches (through the Evangelical Alliance and other religious federations) have worked decisively with the governments of the last two decades to create a “Regulation of sanitary permits for temples of worship”, which has established a series of regulatory parameters for congregations to adequately treat the sound of their temples and meeting rooms.
“We have walked with agreements that benefit all parties,” said Alvarado, who warned that care must be taken so that this new proposal does not focus solely on this issue.
