Three Evangelical leaders have launched a legal challenge against a constitutional amendment in Switzerland that prohibits elected officials in the Canton of Geneva from displaying visible religious symbols, according to the Swiss Evangelical Alliance.
Geneva’s cantonal legislature, the Grand Council, approved the amendment by a narrow margin on Nov. 21, 2025. Voters later endorsed the measure in a June 14 referendum, with 51.4% supporting the ban.
The restriction applies to members of the Grand Council as well as elected representatives serving on municipal councils throughout the canton.
Michael Mutzner, director of the Christian Public Affairs Association and president of a local church, filed the lawsuit with Markus Hofer and Joseph Kabongo. Hofer serves as an accredited World Evangelical Alliance representative at the United Nations, while Kabongo is a theologian, retired pastor and member of the Evangelical Party.
Mutzner said regulations introduced in Geneva to restrict Muslim street prayers have also created difficulties for Christian congregations.
Some Evangelical churches are no longer permitted to conduct baptisms in Lake Geneva because permits are limited to state-recognized religious communities, forcing congregations to travel to the neighboring Canton of Vaud or across the border into France for baptism services.
Referring to 1 Timothy 2, which calls on Christians to pray for those in authority so that people may live peaceful lives, Mutzner encouraged Evangelicals to pray for political leaders, wisdom for the courts and a society committed to freedom, justice and mutual respect.
The Swiss Evangelical Alliance said it opposes the amendment because it restricts fundamental rights. Although the organization supports a secular government that protects neutrality and religious harmony, it argued that secularism should not be used to exclude expressions of faith from democratic institutions.
The alliance maintained that elected lawmakers differ from civil servants who directly represent the authority of the state. Parliamentarians reflect the diversity of the citizens who elect them, and requiring them to hide their religious identity places a serious burden on religious liberty, the group said.
According to the SEA, the measure also raises significant constitutional concerns under Switzerland’s Federal Constitution. The organization stressed that religious freedom belongs equally to believers and non-believers. It said citizens in a pluralistic democracy should be free to choose representatives who openly express their religious, philosophical or political convictions.
The alliance previously challenged a similar provision in Geneva’s 2019 Secularism Act, and a court later overturned it.
