Religious Freedom Under Threat

Please thank God with us for a successful meeting on 11 February of over 70 church leaders and representatives with the responsible Parliamentary Committee to discuss the proposal by the CRL Commission to regulate the Church by law.

The Committee's response was sympathetic and our counter proposal that churches should rather commit to a voluntary code of conduct was well received. More meetings will follow, but it seems there is unanimous opposition to the CRL proposal.

Please pray with us that the idea of a law to regulate the church will be withdrawn quickly.

Our petition on this issue has been signed by 128 people so far. Thank you for your support, but we are pushing for many more signatures! The threat to religious freedom is real and the CRL Commission is not backing down from its destructive course of action.

In December a so-called draft report has been published, containing the same proposals for a law that would create a statutory council for keeping oversight over all churches and denominations. Clothed in language that sounds as if a system of self-regulation is proposed, the report provides for the opposite – a statutory council, registration of churches and clergy, procedures for complaints, and powers to impose sanctions on churches, which can include deregistration and suspension. At the press conference the chair of the Commission confirmed that the proposals would be enforced.

We reject these proposals as strongly as ever, because they deeply violate our religious freedom and are completely unconstitutional. By targeting the Christian faith only, the proposals are unconstitutional for another reason. They amount to unfair discrimination on the basis of religion and belief, which is not allowed by the Constitution.

We intend to send the petition that many of you signed to the Commission as soon as possible. Share this with friends, family and church members and let's get those signatures in! We'll be joining many other voices being heard louder and louder now in opposition to the Commission's proposals.

In the meantime, the chair of the committee appointed by the Commission to drive its proposal resigned on 15 January 2026, claiming interference by the chair of the Commission to the extent that he was unable to perform his functions. He was not even involved in the preparation of the draft report published in December. In his press statement he also mentioned various other irregularities as well as bias towards certain churches by the chair of the Commission. If true, this puts a huge question mark behind the Commission's credibility. Our religious freedom should not be entrusted to a body guilty of bias towards people of faith and of various irregularities in conducting its business. The Commission should get its own house in order instead of bothering us with its misplaced ambition to control the church.

The Western Cape Provincial Christian March held on 13 November 2025 was a resounding success, with over 15,000 believers gathering in Cape Town to stand united against state regulation of religious institutions.

Church leaders from across denominations addressed the crowd, emphasizing the importance of religious freedom and the unconstitutional nature of the CRL Commission's proposals. The peaceful demonstration sent a clear message to government officials that faith communities will not accept state interference in matters of doctrine and church governance.

A parliamentary portfolio committee has scheduled public hearings on the CRL Commission's regulatory proposals for early 2026. This provides a critical opportunity for faith communities to formally present their objections to the proposed licensing and peer review mechanisms.

Religious organizations are encouraged to prepare written submissions and register to participate in oral presentations. Voice of Faith will be coordinating a unified response from member churches.

The National Christian March on 8 October 2025 saw an estimated 50,000 participants gather in Pretoria to protest against proposed government regulation of churches. Representatives from over 200 denominations participated in what organisers called the largest demonstration of religious unity in South Africa's democratic history.

The march concluded at the Union Buildings where a memorandum was delivered to government representatives outlining the constitutional concerns with the CRL Commission's proposals.