By Michael Swain, FOR SA Executive Director
The CRL Rights Commission (CRL) continues to lobby extensively for the implementation of the recommendations contained in its 2017 Report on the Commercialisation of Religion and the Abuse of People’s Belief Systems (the Report), which effectively amount to State regulation of religion. These recommendations were rejected by the multi-party Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) following three days of hearings in June and October 2018. They were rejected a second time by an overwhelming majority of the senior religious leaders who attended the Religious Leaders’ Summit (RLS) at Rhema church in February 2019.
While there is unanimous agreement that it is impossible for the perpetrator of an illegal act to hide behind “freedom of religion”, the overwhelming majority of faith community declared the Report’s recommendations to be unnecessary (all the problems identified are already covered by existing laws, with the problem being a lack of law enforcement), unconstitutional (they breach both the constitutional rights to freedom of religion, and freedom of association) and unworkable (they require a vast, new national bureaucracy to enforce).
CRL’s position as at 23 October 2019
However, at ameeting of the Soweto Ministers Fraternal on 23 October 2019, Mr Edward Mafadza(CEO of the CRL) doubled down on the CRL’s commitment to regulate the religiouscommunity. He criticised religiousleaders for missing the opportunity provided by the RLS in February, which wasco-organised by the CRL and sponsored by Rhema. The CRL – who set the agendafor this meeting – expected that this would conclude with a declaration tosupport their recommendations, and which they intended to subsequently adopt atthe CRL’s National Consultative Conference (NCC). Instead – and despite the fact that the CRLwere sent a full report-back on the RLS and the resolutions and action stepswhich were mandated – Mr Mafadza claimed that delegates at the NCC only had theCRL’s Report to consider. Although therewere only a handful of representatives from the religious community present atthe NCC, this meeting voted that the CRL must continue to pursue theimplementation of their recommendations and take the matter back to Parliament.(With regard to the CRL NCC, see this previous press release.)
Mr Mafadzafurther stated that the CRL were within their rights to lobby and push throughthe recommendations contained in their Report to legislation, with Rwanda(where over 7,000 “illegal churches” have already been shut down) beingmentioned as a possible model. He saidthat the CRL’s view was that the 2018 hearings into the Report before COGTAwere “overboard”, and that there was inadequate representation of the views ofthe religious community - despite the fact that senior leaders representingover 15 million people from various faith groups, denominations, religiousorganisations, academics and legal experts, made submissions.
Mr Mafadzaconcluded by warning the Soweto Ministers Fraternal there is a real possibilitythat Parliament will proceed to draw up legislation before the religious sectorhas finished its own deliberations, and that the Steering Committee of the RLSmust move with speed or the CRL’s proposals will be enacted. While acknowledging that there are manyfraternals and networks already in existence, he criticised their lack ofauthority to bring a leader to order when he/she does something wrong andwarned that other religious leaders would respect their government and assistthe State to intervene in the religious sector.
These remarksconfirmed other concerns which emerged following a meeting in August 2019between various members of the above-mentioned Steering Committee and attendedby FOR SA’s Legal Counsel, Advocate Nadene Badenhorst. At this meeting, newly appointed CRL ChairProf David Mosoma made an analogy regarding the right to freedom of religiongranted by section 15 of the Constitution, which he likened to driving acar. He said that any person can drive acar if they have been properly licensed to do so and they can freely continueto do so unless/until they commit an offence which warrants their license beingrevoked. Clearly, there is confusionand a lack of understanding at the head of the CRL between a privilege (drivinga car) and the fundamental and foundational human rights which undergirdfreedom of religion.
Religious community to act swiftly
In light ofthese recent statements – as well as what appears to be synchronised raids bypolice, supported by various State departments, on churches in Soweto and EastLondon – it is evident that the religious community would be well advised tofast-track their deliberations to produce alternative solutions to the issuesraised by the CRL’s Report.
The RLS SteeringCommittee has been mandated to organise a further Religious Leaders’ Summit. Although an aspirational date for the nextSummit was originally given as October 2019, a meeting of the SteeringCommittee last month agreed that this should be postponed until the first halfof 2020 to allow for further necessary consultation to take place locally and provincially. This delay is intended to give the faithcommunity the broadest opportunity to consider the issues and to formulatealternative solutions to the recommendations.
In addition to the process being put in motion by the Steering Committee, there are many initiatives taking place across South Africa to develop solutions which will allow the religious community to remain truly self-regulatory. These “alternative solutions” include a draft of the Code of Conduct, which was recommended as part of COGTA’s recommendations when they rejected the CRL’s proposals. The South African Council for the Protection and Promotion of Religious Rights and Freedoms (SACRRF), who authored the widely supported South African Charter for Religious Rights and Freedoms, was mandated to develop this Code – as the “responsibility” side of the Charter - by over 70 senior religious leaders from across the faith community and it is currently in its third draft (click here to download).
To assist in this process, FOR SA has compiled a pro-forma document (click here to download) which contains proposals to address all the issues of concern identified in the CRL’s Report and which can be implemented without the requirement of further legislation. We encourage the religious community of South Africa to urgently examine these alternatives and to take the necessary steps to formalise their own submissions. In order to ensure that your voice is heard, it is vitally important that the solutions you and/or the religious structures you represent develop and/or endorse, are formally communicated to:
COGTA Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Secretary
Attn: Shereen Cassiem
Email: scassiem@parliament.gov.za
COGTA Ministry
PA To Minister: Ms Mandisa Mbele
Email: MandisaMB@cogta.gov.za
Registry Clerk, Office of the Minister: Ms Ingrid Serithe
Email: ingrids@cogta.gov.za
Summit Secretariat Contact Details
Attn: Pastor Giet Khosa
Email: gietk@rhema.co.za
Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA)
Email: info@forsa.org.za
[author] [author_info]Michael was raised in England, graduating from the University of Bristol with an honours degree in Law before immigrating to South Africa in 1983. He has been a successful businessman as well as having spent over 30 years in ministry in South Africa, Europe and the USA. He serves as the Executive Director of Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA).[/author_info] [/author]
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FOR SA currently has a support base of religious leaders and individuals representing +/- 6 million people across a broad spectrum of churches, organisations, denominations and faith groups in South Africa.
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