From a draft letter ($) being circulated by a U.S. Congressman:
Dear Secretary Kerry and Ambassador Froman,
We are writing to express our serious concern regarding the growing assault on religious freedom in the European Union and many of its member states.
Eight out of twenty-eight EU member states prohibit homeschooling. This prohibition infringes upon the traditional interests of parents regarding the religious upbringing of their children. Recently a Christian family from Germany had to seek asylum in the United States to avoid persecution for homeschooling their children.
Other EU member states are engaging in other assaults on religious freedom as well. France has banned the wearing of religious clothing in public schools, Sweden and Denmark have banned religious methods of meat production, and bills have been introduced in several other EU member states proposing to ban circumcision and religious methods of meat production.
Protecting religious liberty throughout the world is fundamental to US interests. The EU is currently seeking a trade agreement with the US known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). If the EU wants to proceed further in pursuing a trade agreement with the US, they must address these serious issues. In light of the EU’s coercive attempts to impose European social trends onto less powerful states, this action is all the more necessary.