DURBAN - A group of Durban Christian leaders are disappointed with the management of public consultations regarding the proposal for regulation of religious practitioners and religion.
The Ministerial Leaders for Christian Rights, a voluntary association comprised of 100 or so church leaders, was formed to allow the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities to engage with the leaders on the proposed regulation.
Consultations between the commission and religious leaders from various organisations began in August 2015, with public hearings held around the country as part of the process.
According to the commission’s preliminary report of the hearings on commercialisation of religion and abuse of people’s belief systems, its intention was also to understand why people practise bizarre rituals, as well as what caused them to believe in them “to the extent of inexplicable gullibility”.
“There is a prima facie evidence of commercialisation of religion. We heard of many examples where people are expected to pay substantial amounts of money before blessings and prayers could be said over them,” the report reads.
“Blessed water and oils are sold to congregants at a high marked-up price. Access to the spiritual leader or traditional healer is only guaranteed by payment of a fixed amount of money.”
The ministerial association, which also participated in the hearings and even submitted a petition signed by its members, has accused the commission of failing to update them.
They claim they have been forced to rely on the media for information on the latest developments on the regulations.
The organisation’s secretary, Leslie Kemp, said dependence on information from public gleanings opens up religious bodies to vague, conflicting and non-constructive messages.
“These developments are of a great concern to our body, considering the severe impact the regulatory proposal will have for administration of governance, finance and regulatory reporting, as well as the satisfaction of requirements to maintain the legal establishments of church organisations and lawful practice of religious leaders,” he said.
The proposed regulation is intended to help clamp down on bogus pastors and the increase of unregistered churches, along with the abuse of people’s beliefs.
Last month, the Sunday Tribune quoted the commission’s chairperson, Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, who said that the report on the commercialisation of religion and the abuse of people’s belief systems had been finalised and would be tabled in Parliament next month.
This was also confirmed by the commission’s spokesperson, Mpiyakhe Mkholo, on Friday.
“The CRL commission has received a letter from the MLCR and will be engaging them in the next three weeks,” Mkholo said.