Churches Must be Regulated

McKAY OSWALD LOSPERIT IS OF great concern that, other than the ruling party, it has come to pass that some ‘churches’ rank among the key contributors to hunger and poverty in Namibia.

There are unsupervised church leaders who, in the name of ‘papa’, prophet, or men of God, exercise power over churchgoers’ personal lives, marital affairs, relationships, finances and religious affairs, to name a few.

This has become a problem. I understand the Constitution protects freedom of religion and belief, but that freedom is abused by those religious practitioners who have turned the church into an open market for maximum profit.

I believe there should be rules and regulations to which churches are bound. Protecting the financial, social and religious freedom of citizens should be one of the fundamental objectives of regulating churches.

The mushrooming of churches is not a problem in itself. Everyone has the freedom to form their own religious organisation. The concern is the activities associated with some of these organisations, particularly Christian churches. Many are registered as a close corporation (CCs) or Proprietary Limited (Pty Ltd).

The purpose is to use the church as a profit-making organisation through, among others, the sale of anointed masks, anointed water, anointed oil, etcetera, or prophetic this and prophetic that.

They take advantage of churchgoers’ desperation to try and find solutions to their problems. Some churches go as far as asking consultation fees to assist people. Kindly note I am not fighting the church or the body of Christ, but a burning issue that affects many lives. In my view, urgent government intervention is needed.

Since independence, new churches have mushroomed to the point that almost every fifth house is now a church or worship centre. At times, some among the devout express concern or complain about being misled by self-proclaimed prophets and pastors, whose followers believe they have the power to perform miracles and heal the sick, including those with HIV-AIDS, cancer, the coronavirus and more.

Yes, God can do that, but there are those who appear to use such statements to mislead and manipulate people.

The problem is distinguishing between genuine churches and those that are there for the leader’s personal gain. Running a church has become an easy way to make money.

All that is required is a few members signing an acknowledgement letter.

Leaders tend to believe that if you say “God has said”, or “voice of fire”, or “prophetic voice”, people will follow you and, because of people’s vulnerability, devotion is measured by how much they give to the church and its leader.

This, more than your faith, determines your status in the church.

It is essential to develop enforceable, effective regulations based on sound democratic principles. I recommend that:

1. Namfisa and/or the Bank of Namibia regulate the finances of churches

2. All religious organisations are registered as an NGO and/or NPO

3. Any religious organisations not registered as an NGO and/or NPO should be taxed and must be in full possession of a valid tax certificate, SSC certificate and all other documentation required from a registered company, and should be taxed relatively above what normal for-profit companies are taxed.

4. There should be a minimum requirement for opening a church which includes, at least an NQA-accredited diploma in theology, philosophy and/or other religious studies.

Other effective steps should tackle issues such as church activities complying with existing laws.

The government and relevant regulatory bodies should also ensure that certain requirements are met for a religious congregation to call itself a church, or for certain religious practitioners to call themselves bishop, pastor, prophet, demon destroyer, prophetic fire and thunder.

Too many in our communities have to part with their hard-earned money by so-called religious leaders who care more about money than spiritual welfare.

* McKay Oswald Losper is a Namibian activist and ambassador of change, and is currently studying towards an advanced diploma in legal studies at Triumphant College. This article is written in his personal capacity.

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