A rat that will give you R6 million? 10 things you need to know about churches in SA

The Commission for Promotions and Protection of the Rights of Religious‚ Cultural and Linguistic Communities (CRL) on Tuesday released its preliminary report on the commercialisation of religion and abuse of people’s belief systems.

The CRL declined to release details of its findings on each of the churches it visited and opted instead to provide general remarks on what it believed needed to be done.

Here are the top 10 findings made by the CRL:

1: Some churches have ridiculous promises such as that a rat will give people R6-million;

2: About 70% of the churches are flouting the laws which govern public benefit organisations;

3: Some churches do not have proper governance systems to manage finances and other resources;

4: There is commercialisation of religion in some churches;

5: There should be some basic skills that are required to those leading churches in the country;

6: Pastors need to be licensed to practice their trade;

7: A peer review mechanism should be established to regulate conduct among churches;

8: Churches should vet Sunday school teachers and person handling vulnerable groups;

9: Discussions should be held with Home Affairs to look into people who overstay their welcome to form churches in South Africa; and

10: There should be a minimum sentence for religious leaders found to be in the wrong and who are told to stop plying their trade but who disobey the authorities.

The religious and traditional healers’ community welcomed the proposed regulation and commended the commission for undertaking the study.

The commission also looked at the role of traditional healers in commercialising healing to “unbelievable levels”. Churches and traditional healers will receive a full report by Friday and have three weeks to study and make inputs.