Meeting with Political Parties

FOR SA is involved in a process to meet key members from various political parties to inform them on the challenges to freedom of religion in South Africa.

FOR SA recognizes that in many cases it is Parliament that initiates or amends laws that have the potential to erode our rights to enjoy freedom of religion. While in some cases this may be deliberate, in others it is possible that the drafters of legislation do not fully appreciate the potentially adverse consequences to freedom of religion that some laws may entail, particularly when used by activists who oppose Christian values.

Part of our strategy is to meet with political parties and their leadership to inform and advise them concerning the current threats to freedom of religion. To this end, FOR SA meets with the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) on a regular basis and this month we met with the caucus of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and the Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance (DA), to engage on these issues and to open dialogue. We also have requests in the pipeline to meet with the African National Congress (ANC) and others. We believe that it is more strategic to do what we can, to influence policy than to deal with the consequences once laws have been passed.