There are several areas of concern for Christian witness in South Africa when it comes to new legislation.
The Parliamentary subcommittee on Justice is considering two proposed Bills which have elicited vigorous responses from Christian churches and organisations. One is a Sexual Offences Amendment Bill which will legalise prostitution, the other is a ‘Hate Speech’ Bill.
The legalisation of prostitution, euphemistically referred to as ‘sex work’, has for several years been the subject of a vigorous campaign by well-funded activists. Submissions have been made to the Parliamentary committee by Christian groups on the negative effects of aspects of this proposed new law. Demonstrations against the Bill which have been supported by many Christians have taken place, including a picket outside the National Parliament.
The proposed ‘Hate Speech’ Bill would criminalise hate speech that provoked ‘contempt or ridicule’, thus putting preachers and church leaders at risk of prosecution. An opposition member of parliament has said: ‘One source of this overreach is its classification of speech as a crime if it is “hateful, insulting, threatening or abusive and incites harm, violence, contempt, or ridicule on the basis of race, gender, sex, sexual orientation, intersex, religion, belief, culture, language, birth, disability, HIV status, nationality, gender identity, albinism, or occupation or trade”.’ He added: ‘But it goes even further, making the distribution – including electronically – of another person’s hate speech a crime, regardless of whether or not it constitutes an endorsement; and making an offence of “attempted” free speech, criminalising even our thoughts’.
The proposed penalty for such offences is imprisonment for three to ten years – a draconian sentence for ‘thought crimes’! Obviously this is so wide ranging that it would threaten the freedom of Christians to preach in public, write on social media, even in the publication of newsletters, sermons, etc, which could be construed by someone as ‘hateful’ or ‘insulting’.
The proposed Bill resulted in a flood of lengthy legal submissions, including by FOR SA (Freedom of Religion South Africa), a legal advocacy organisation protecting religious freedom which is headed up by a prominent Christian pastor. These pointed out various problems, including the effect that the Bill’s wide definition of hate speech would have on the right to freedom of expression and the right to religious freedom (which are both protected in the Constitution), and argued for a strengthening of the religious exemption clause.
The South African Government also has drafted a proposed policy that will result in a single marriage act which will cover all types of marriages – traditional, customary, same-sex, and other religious marriages such as Hindu and Muslim. Of concern to Christians was the proposed redefining of marriage without reference to gender, and also the lack of protection for clergy who are marriage officers. Again there was a large public participation including submissions by FOR SA to ensure the religious freedom of marriage officers was protected – specifically only to conduct marriages that conform to their religious doctrines and beliefs. The resultant White Paper has now respected and protected this right.
It is clear that Christians in South Africa face many of the same cultural forces as the United Kingdom and the United States, which are shaping changes in government legislation and which are antithetical to Biblical standards of morality and civil order.
This assault by secular movements espouses ideologies which are antithetical to Christian values and that have undermined Western nations; these movements are now attempting to impose their agendas on Africa. Our Department of Basic Education has received millions of Rands in external international funding for materials to carry out ‘diversity and inclusion work in education and training’. Such materials include ‘The Gender Responsive Pedagogy for Early Childhood Education’ aimed at early childhood development; also the development of ‘Guidelines for the Socio-educational Inclusion of Diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression and Sex Characteristics’ which will apply to all school grades from R to grade 12. Such materials are based on gender ideology and if implemented will inculcate a radical antichristian sexual ethic in our children.
They will be firmly resisted.
