Religious bodies on the warpath

Whacked by the impact of consecutive government-imposed Covid-19 restrictions, South African religious organisations are not taking President Cyril Ramaphosa’s relaxation of Level 3 restrictions lying down.

Since government’s indefinite ban on faith-based gatherings was introduced as part of a response to the resurgence of the global pandemic, Ramaphosa’s administration has had to deal with a flurry of court papers in opposition to what some religious formations have seen as the muzzling of the right to religious expression.

Among them is a court application by the Freedom of Religion South Africa (Forsa) and the SA Christian Forum.

According to Forsa executive director Michael Swain, his organisation’s court application has been supported by “multiple churches and religious organisations, representing over 11 million people, who believe that this ban amounts to unfair discrimination against the religious sector and is a gross violation of their constitutional right to religious freedom”.

While welcoming Ramaphosa’s easing of lockdown restrictions, Swain said Forsa, which has lodged papers with the High Court in Johannesburg, would not abandon the court challenge against government.

The organisation asked for the religious sector to be treated like casinos, health clubs, cinemas and restaurants – also pushing for religious workers to be recognised as essential workers, providing an essential service.

“We certainly have an intention to continue – obviously without court urgency – after the president’s announcement.

“The underlying reasons for the ban on faith-based gatherings, which as we said in our court papers, has been that we have been unfairly discriminated as the religious sector.

“The court challenge still remains.

“Every time the problem comes round again, we may find ourselves right back in exactly the same situation and we do not believe government’s response is constitutionally or rationally justifiable.

“Having tried all other avenues, we still need to go to court, by asking for the assessment of the regulations – particularly in relation to the constitution,” said Swain.

We certainly have an intention to continue – obviously without court urgency – after the president’s announcement.

Michael Swain

Freedom of Religion South Africa executive director