E/CN.4/1987/35 page 12 restrictions apply to all religious practices; for example, in one country, the periods during which religious activities and ceremonies may be performed are established by decree; in several others, the State has at its disposal a series of institutional mechanisms enabling it to intervene in purely ecclesiastical questions. In others, on the other hand, one or several religions or particular sects are affected. For example, a sect or religion can be specifically forbidden by decree. In one country, declarations or memoranda from the highest State authorities proclaim the unlawful or punishable nature of a certain religion; in another, the decrees adopted by various ministries deny in practice any legal status or legal protection to the members of a religion that is not recognized officially. Another example is that of a country where the followers of a sect whose religious beliefs prohibit them from participating in any political activity are required, during checks carried out by the Government, to produce membership cards of the party in power. Lastly, governmental intransigence frequently brings about the arrest and imprisonment of the followers of a particular belief and sometimes persecution and brutality committed by government officials against them. 36. Religious intolerance as governmental policy can take more insidious and less direct forms, which are no less harmful, however. Very often the media controlled or approved by the Government seeks, through hostile articles, to denounce, denigrate or ridicule religious values or to slander the spiritual leaders of a religious community. In one country, a press campaign orchestrated by the Government has been systematically conducted in order to discredit the religious authorities in the eyes of public opinion. In another, certain authors have been criticized in the pro-Government press for having advocated spiritual values in their writing. Sometimes, the authorities endeavour to promote an ideology or a particular religious movement to the detriment of the others, by extolling it in the Government-controlled press. For example, in one country, the study of the science of religion has been included in the school curriculum, in what has been viewed by the religious authorities as an attempt to make the rational prevail over the spiritual; in another the textbooks urge students to shun certain religious beliefs in favour of the general principles comprising the regime's official ideology. In one particular country, the State has encouraged the establishment of a church parallel to that already existing, granting it a relatively privileged status while retaining strict control over it. In another country, incitement by the Government to religious intolerance towards a given religion takes the form of sworn statements denouncing the followers of that religion which citizens have to sign in order to obtain a passport or administrative employment. 37. Lastly, the Government can, through its attitude, encourage or incite certain elements to manifest religious intolerance. For example, in one country, youth organizations have undertaken the systematic destruction of religious buildings such as churches and mosques with the active encouragement of the Government. In another country, there have been reports of incidents, such as forced conversion to the official religion and attacks against holy temples, in which governmental officials are said to have taken part. In several countries, the members of outlawed communities suffer persecution and brutality on the part of their fellow citizens, without intervention on the part of the State. For example, in one country where the followers of a prohibited sect are subjected to serious persecution, no conviction has ever been handed down by a court for an offence perpetrated against a member of