Intended Regulation of Churches Is a Trojan Horse

The key words of Section 22 –“the practice of a profession may be regulated by law” constitute the Trojan Horse of intrusion into Section 15, freedom of religion and belief, which is why The Mercury’s editorial contention (October 7), favouring regulation of churches, is mistaken.

The intent of the Commission for the Protection and Promotion of Religious Rights is to “restore order” in churches. Given the ANC’s appetite for imposing ideology and state control, the words “restore order” should indicate how it intends to inveigle its way into an important pillar of freedom.

For autocrats, control of religion has always been an important means of ensuring political power. The Catholic Church exemplified that in Europe until its control was fractured by the Reformation in the 1500s. Banning religion was a priority of the Bolsheviks in imposing tyranny on Russia. The control of religion by the Communist Party in China (CCP) is a current example.

Xi Jinping’s wariness of the role of Christianity in overthrowing communism in Eastern Europe plays a key role in his subordination and persecution of Christianity. Accordingly, every year the CCP issues new rules tightening oversight on clergy and their congregations. The CCP’s ‘Sinicisation strategy’ seeks to align Christianity and other religions with its values. It requires recognized religions to be registered or face prohibition. Children under the age of 18 are prohibited from involvement in any formal religious affiliation.

Control of the sales of Bibles has always been restricted to the extent that such sales are now no longer available online. In some cities and schools, Christmas celebrations have been banned.

Since 2018, the CCP has promoted the retranslation and annotation of the Bible to find commonalities with socialism and to establish a “correct understanding” of Biblical texts. In May this year, the CCP mandated Protestant churches to devise ways to add CCP values to church worship music.

The existing SA Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms, whose Code of Conduct is endorsed by all religious denominations, is independently adequate in upholding section 15 of the Constitution. As such, one hopes that the custodians of the Charter will recognize and reject the ANC’s intended ideological intrusion, particularly in the light of the ANC’s close ties with the CCP.