Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA) has questioned why the Cultural, Religious And Linguistic (CRL) Rights Commission is moving forward with its process to develop a self-regulatory framework for the Christian sector while legal challenges are pending.
At a media conference on Wednesday, the commission announced the next phase of its section 22 process, including nationwide consultations within the Christian sector, the establishment of a Section 22 Committee for African Traditional Religion, and continued efforts to expand similar processes to other faith communities.
“While the CRL describes this as a consultative and voluntary self-regulatory process, the announced timeline and structure indicate that it is continuing with a legally contested process that remains constitutionally questionable and substantively unchanged,” FOR SA said in a statement.
It said despite assurances to the contrary, the CRL’s own documentation showed that there had been no deviation from the stated objective of developing a legislative framework that, irrespective of intent, would fundamentally affect the right to religious freedom.
FOR SA executive director Michael Swain said nothing had changed in principle.
“The only change is that the process keeps advancing, even accelerating, despite the serious legal and constitutional concerns that remain before the courts.”
Swain said the question whether the process was lawful was currently before the courts in litigation brought by the South African Church Defenders and the Muslim Lawyers Association.
“The issue, ultimately, is not whether the CRL can proceed. The issue is whether what it is doing is lawful. If it is not, the process and anything flowing from it are liable to be set aside. The CRL should press pause while the courts consider this matter,” Swain said.
FOR SA said despite assurances that the final Draft Self-Regulatory Framework for the Christian Sector was merely a starting point for consultation, the document itself indicated a predetermined trajectory.
Section 2.3 provided for the development of a legislative framework, including the establishment of a national Christian Sector Practice Council, the registration of religious institutions and leaders and the implementation of a code of conduct.
FOR SA said this was not an open-ended consultation, but one framed around specified regulatory deliverables.
While the commission continued to describe the proposal as voluntary self-regulation, the elements contemplated in the proposal, including registration, oversight structures and compliance mechanisms were characteristic of regulatory systems.
“Once linked to legislation, these will effectively amount to state regulation of religious institutions and practitioners, regardless of how they are described.”
FOR SA said South Africa already has a comprehensive legal framework addressing abuse, fraud, exploitation and harm to vulnerable persons.
“South Africa does not need new powers to regulate religion. It needs the political will to enforce the laws we already have, and the discipline to respect the constitutional limits on state authority,” Swain said.
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