BONUS - RUSTENBURG - The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) is again pushing for mechanisms to vet, license and regulate religious organisations and leaders.
The proposal by the CRL threatens freedom of religion, including the spiritual autonomy of faith communities, and violates the Constitution.
South Africa’s Constitution guarantees every person Freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion (Section 15), Freedom of association (Section 18) and Freedom of religious communities to govern themselves (Section 31).
Faith is a divine calling, not a profession — it cannot be licensed or regulated by the state. The state has no say concerning the validity of religious belief and as such, DearSouthAfrica.co.za, a not-for-profit platform that enables the public to have their say to co-shape all government policies, amendments and proposals, has called for comment.
DearSouthAfrica says the CRL has no constitutional authority to regulate doctrine, ordination, worship or religious associations. "State regulation is an existential threat to any meaningful right to religious freedom, including the rights of religious communities. It risks religious leaders becoming subject to or tools of state control," DearSouthAfrica commented. "South Africa’s diverse religious communities already support voluntary accountability through charters, codes of conduct, fraternals, and self-governing associations."
DearSouthAfrica launched in 2018 and have run many successful campaigns through their network of over 1 million individuals. They do not run petitions, but a legally recognised public participation processes which allow citizens to co-form policy at all levels of governance.
DearSouthAfrica.co.za is recognised and counted as an individual submission by government and produces a publicly available report at the end of each project. These reports form the foundation of legal cases, should the necessity to challenge the decision arise.
Participation in decision-making processes is free and presents an opportunity for citizens, civil society organisations and other interested parties to influence the development of policies and laws which affect them. Previously, Parliament rejected the CRL’s proposal for legislation to implement a “Peer Review Committee” system of state regulation of religion and there is no valid or legal reason to revisit this matter.
* The CRL Rights Commission's request to regulate religion has already received comment from more than 18 000 participants on the DearSouthAfrica platform. If you would like to add your voice to the masses, visit https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/regulation-of-religion/
