Tempers flare at religious indaba
SOME clergymen attending a consultative meeting on the draft programme for the national validation on self-regulatory framework yesterday walked out of the meeting in protest against unfair process.
The consultative meeting organized by the Ministry of National and Religious affairs was aimed at coming up with recommendations on the draft but during the deliberations, the church leaders could not agree on some things, leading to others leaving the meeting before they were calmed down.
Among the issues discussed were the draft on the self-regulatory framework, consisting adherence to legal, ethical and other standards, without any external control or inference. Currently, hundreds of churches and religious groups are formed every year, a situation that resulted in an increase in the number of foreign conmen coming into the country to swindle unsuspecting Zambians in the name of preaching.
According to the self- regulatory framework draft, only churches and religious bodies affiliated to recognized umbrella bodies will qualify for registration with the Registrar of Societies and be in compliance with the requirements of the laws of Zambia.
And Minister of National Guidance and Religious Affairs Godfridah Sumaili said her ministry had carried out thorough consultations on the matter across the country that should be incorporated into the document. If well regulated, Reverend Sumaili said, the church and religious bodies would manage conflicts that arose in a faster manner than would courts of law that tend to prolong hearings and passing of judgments. She said there was failure by some churches and other religious umbrella bodies to comply with the laws of the land, when the bible itself required believers to be subjected to civil authorities which was appointed by God.
Ms Sumaili said since 1991 when Zambia was declared a Christian nation, Zambian religious landscape begun experiencing unprecedented influx of foreign religious visitors and emerging of new churches that had resulted into false doctrines.