On March 30, 2023, Peruvian congressman Juan Bartolomé Burgos presented Bill No. 4610/2022-CR that grants workers, both in the public and private sectors, the right to request rest on Saturdays if they profess a religion that establishes said day as a day of rest or to be observed.

This news, shared on the digital platforms of the Adventist Church of Northern Peru (@adventistasupn) on April 19, 2023, generated an immediate response, reaching 77 thousand users, with more than 3,200 reactions and 1,117 shares. Most comments expressed hope and the need to pray for this law to be fulfilled, thus demonstrating the value that the Adventist community places on religious freedom.

The project, which fully supports the fundamental right to religious freedom, was approved by the Congressional Labor Commission on June 4, 2024, 16 months after its presentation. In addition, the legislative initiative seeks to reinforce Law No. 29635—Religious Freedom Law, published in 2010. Likewise, it maintains that it seeks to guarantee the exercise of religious freedom since many religious denominations, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church, consider Saturday a day of rest.

The law is now in the approval process. It will be debated and put to a vote in an upcoming Congress plenary session. For this reason, Edgardo Muguerza, the director of Religious Liberty and Public Affairs of the Adventist Church for northern Peru, asks the Adventist community to join in prayer, maintaining the hope that Bill No. 4610/2022 will be approved.

The original article was published on the South American Division Spanish website.