SOUTH AFRICA
Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
In 1996, following the end of the apartheid regime in 1994, South Africa adopted a constitution that prohibits all forms of discrimination, including discrimination on the grounds of religion (Section 9, 2-5).[1]
Under Section 15 (1), everyone “has the right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, and opinion”. Section 15 (2) declares, “Religious observances may be conducted at state or state-aided institutions, provided that those observances follow rules made by the appropriate public authorities … are conducted on an equitable basis, and attendance at them is free and voluntary.”
Section 15 (3a) recognises “marriages concluded under any tradition, or a system of religious, personal or family law; or systems of personal and family law under any tradition or adhered to by persons professing a particular religion.” This has led the South African Parliament to expand the scope of marriage legislation.[2]
In 1998, Parliament passed the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, which allows for polygamy but only relating to those “customs and usages traditionally observed among the indigenous African people”.[3] In 2006, a Civil Union Act was adopted allowing same-sex marriage,[4] amended in 2020 to repeal section 6 of the original legislation that allowed civil marriage officers to opt out of solemnising same-sex marriage on grounds of conscience, religion or belief.[5] In 2010, a Muslim marriage bill was proposed but never passed. This has been challenged in court, and the case remains pending.[6]
In November 2023, the cabinet approved the Single Marriage Bill. It seeks to create a single Marriage Act to replace three existing laws. However, religious and cultural leaders in the country criticised the bill for being too liberal, with few limits, and for seeking to legalise “every social trend”. Critics also fear that the bill in its current form undermines the cultural and religious traditions of people who do not recognise polyandry (marriage of a woman to two or more men) and marriage between people of the same gender.[7]
Although religious marriages are not recognised under South African law, they provide some limited protections in matters of maintenance in case of a spouse’s death, intestate succession, community of property and protection against domestic violence.[8]
Section 16 of the constitution guarantees freedom of expression. Still, it does not protect “advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm”.
Although the constitution is largely silent about religion in education, religious education is part of the national curriculum albeit “teaching a particular faith or belief with a view to inculcation of adherence to that faith or belief” is prohibited in state schools.[9] In 2017, schools were prohibited from teaching only one single religion following a ruling at the Johannesburg High Court.[10]
“Subject to the Constitution and any applicable provincial law,” Section 7 of the South African Schools Act allows religious observances “at a public school under rules issued by the governing body if such observances are conducted on an equitable basis and attendance at them by learners and members of staff is free and voluntary.” [11]
Section 29 (3) of the constitution declares, “Everyone has the right to establish and maintain, at their own expense, independent educational institutions that do not discriminate on the basis of race.” Such establishments must be “registered with the state” and “maintain standards that are not inferior to standards at comparable public educational institutions”. This “does not preclude state subsidies for independent educational institutions”. This has enabled Christian, Islamic and Jewish groups to set up their schools across the country.[12] In 2024, for example, there were 355 Catholic schools in South Africa, 70 percent describing themselves as “public schools on Church-owned land” and 30 percent as “independent”.[13]
Section 31 (1) grants members of religious communities the right to “enjoy their culture, practise their religion and use their language” with other members of their community. To this end, they may “form, join and maintain cultural, religious and linguistic associations and other organs of civil society” as long this is not done “in a manner inconsistent with any provision of the Bill of Rights” (Section 31,2).
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is an agency that supports constitutional democracy through promoting “respect for, observance of and protection of human rights” without “fear, favour or prejudice”[14] including religious freedom. Together with the courts, it is responsible for prosecuting suspected violators.[15]
Religious communities are not required by law to register with the authorities, but those that do may benefit from tax-exempt status.[16]
South Africa has a Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission), whose members include politicians, clergy, and scholars.[17] Like the SAHRC, its mandate includes the strengthening of constitutional democracy, and it is also charged with promoting “cultural, religious, and linguistic community rights” by providing “space for...cultural, religious and linguistic communities” while promoting unity among them.[18]
South Africa has 12 statutory holidays, including two, Christmas and Good Friday, that are Christian in character. Two other public holidays, Family Day and the Day of Goodwill, fall respectively on Easter Monday and Boxing Day.[19] No other religious observance is a public holiday. The country’s Law Reform Commission has denounced this[20] and called for change, while some minority groups are demanding that their main holy days also be recognised as public holidays.[21]
In December 2023, Parliament passed legislation criminalising hate speech. The Preventing and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill has been regarded by critics as “an enormous step back for free speech and democracy in South Africa”. It is alleged that the law imposes heavy restrictions on free speech and that the parameters for understanding what is “hate speech” are poorly defined. The penalty for hate speech is up to five years imprisonment.[22]
On 9 May 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act into law, aiming to provide a legal framework against hate crimes and xenophobic incitement, although it has not yet entered into force due to potential procedural irregularities and ongoing concerns about its constitutionality.[23]
In October 2024, the country issued marriage certificates for Muslims after the Home Affairs Ministry amended the law to recognise Muslim marriages. Before the amendments, Muslim marriages were recognised neither by the Marriage Act of 1961 nor by the Divorce Act of 1979. In the absence of legal recognition, there was considerable uncertainty when marriages were dissolved or if a partner died.[24] However, the Muslim Judicial Council said the current format of the marriage certification did not align with the requirements of Shari‘a, and urged the Muslim community not to adopt the government’s marriage licences.[25]
Incidents and developments
South Africa continues to face profound socio-economic challenges. Approximately 20 percent of the population lives below the international poverty line of US$2.15 per day, and the country has the highest income inequality in the world, with a Gini coefficient of 0.63.[26]
While large-scale xenophobic attacks in South Africa have declined in frequency compared to previous years, anti-immigrant sentiment persists and is politically instrumentalised. The vigilante group Operation Dudula, known for its anti-migrant rhetoric, registered as a political party ahead of the May 2024 general elections, raising concerns among human rights groups.[27] Migrants arriving from African and Asian nations — many from Muslim-majority countries — continue to be stigmatised amid the country’s socio-economic challenges.
Recent years have seen a spate of killings of Church leaders in South Africa. On 6 October 2023, Dwayne Gordon, a guest preacher at Eagles Christian Centre in Newlands, was shot dead during a church service. On 12 March 2024, three Coptic monks were stabbed to death at their monastery near Pretoria, and the following day Fr William Banda, a Zambian-born member of St Patrick’s Missionary Society, was shot and killed in the sacristy as he was preparing to celebrate Mass at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tzaneen, Limpopo Province.[28]
On 27 April 2024, Fr Paul Tatu, a Stigmatine missionary from Lesotho and Communications Officer at the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), was found dead outside Pretoria. Unconfirmed events indicate that Fr Tatu had gone to visit an ill friend, Phumla Dladla. Theories suggest that he may have witnessed her murder. He was forced into his car, driven several kilometres, and ultimately shot in the back of the head.[29] In August 2025, Sergeant Mokgessing Dladla, the husband of the dead women, went on trial for both murders.[30]
The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious, and Linguistic Communities (CRL) investigated multiple allegations of abuse and “cult-like” practices. Notably, the trial of Bishop Stephen Zondo of Rivers, founder of Living Waters Ministries, continued into 2024 involving charges of rape and manipulation of congregants.[31]
Traditional initiation rituals—such as male circumcision and female genital mutilation—resulted in several deaths between 2023 and 2024. A 10 July 2024 report indicated that at least 12 young men died during the winter initiation season, with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and Eastern Cape CoGTA officials citing dehydration, beatings, and negligence as key causes.[32]
On 8 December 2024, eight more deaths were confirmed tied to illegal circumcisions and poor oversight.[33] On 20 December, a further 17 fatalities were reported, prompting calls from SAHRC representatives for greater community vigilance and stricter enforcement of safety protocols.[34] In response, the CRL Commission and traditional leaders held discussions aimed at preventing further loss of life, underscoring the ongoing challenge of balancing cultural and religious traditions with human rights protections.[35]
In May 2024, South Africa held parliamentary elections in which the African National Congress (ANC) garnered only 40 percent of the vote. Its leader, Cyril Ramaphosa, formed a coalition government with the Democratic Alliance (DA), which historically draws its support from white, coloured and Indian populations. The ANC took 20 of the 32 cabinet posts and the DA took six, with the rest going to smaller parties, including the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party. The ANC came to power in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela and was vital in ending a decade of white minority rule in South Africa.[36]
The Justice and Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference commended the conduct of the general elections, affirming that they were carried out properly and stood in stark contrast to the irregularities observed in many other African contexts. While acknowledging logistical shortcomings that impeded the voting process, as well as a concerning decline in voter turnout, the commission nonetheless praised South Africa as “one of the best democracies in Africa”. In contrast to this positive assessment, 58 MPs belonging the MK party of former President Zuma denounced alleged irregularities and said they would boycott parliamentary work. The election results marked the first time since the end of apartheid that the African National Congress (ANC) has lost its absolute majority.[37]
In August 2024, Archbishop Sithembele Anton Sipuka, President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), expressed deep concern over reports that South Africa was being used as a financial hub for the Islamic State (IS).[38] He criticised the apparent lack of response from government authorities and called for urgent and decisive action. According to international investigations, ISIS has channelled funds through South African banks to support affiliated groups in DRC.[39] One individual based in Durban was sanctioned for financing IS operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo through extortion and kidnapping for ransom, while another in Cape Town was reportedly involved in training operatives for criminal activities.[40] Archbishop Sipuka also referred to the discovery of a military-style camp in Limpopo, where 95 Libyan recruits — potentially linked to the forces of General Haftar from the Libyan National Army — were undergoing training, raising further alarm over the presence of extremist infrastructure within South African territory.[41]
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) reported a noticeable rise in antisemitic incidents, increasing from 68 in 2022 to 207 in 2023. These incidents included verbal threats, online harassment, vandalism, and antisemitic graffiti. The increase was partly linked to political statements made after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.[42] SAJBD reports that in the period October and December 2023 alone, antisemitism in South Africa increased by 631 percent compared to the same months the previous year.[43]
On 5 December 2024, an explosive device was thrown over the wall into a Jewish community office in Cape Town. The device did not denotate. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) called the president to ask him to condemn a hate crime against the country’s Jewish community.[44] In Johannesburg, a rabbi was attacked outside a synagogue, and a person was hit on his head by a pole at a pro-Palestine rally in Cape Town.[45]
Earlier, in June 2024, a Muslim woman in Durban was murdered and her husband stabbed 15 times, apparently because they supported Palestine.[46]
On 7 February 2025, President Trump issued an executive order[47] cutting all US government aid to South Africa. That same week Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, announced that he would not be attending the G20 summit in South Africa. The presidential order cited South Africa’s Expropriation Act 13 of 2024, and grounds given for both decisions was victimisation, violence and hateful rhetoric against ethnic minority Afrikaners, along with the expropriation of their land without compensation.[48] According to a 2022 census, 90 percent of white South Africans identify as Christian.
President Ramaphosa of South Africa denied that any political, religious or economic persecution was taking place stating: “In particular, we should challenge the completely false narrative that our country is a place in which people of a certain race or culture are being targeted for persecution.”[49] So too, a group of Anglican, Reformed and charismatic Christian leaders in South Africa representing diverse political views rejected the narrative of the US government. The group declared that the assumption of “disproportionate violence” aimed at whites negated the reality that black South Africans continued to suffer the worst excesses.[50] Genocide Watch noted that while white South Africans make up eight percent of the population, they account for less than two percent of murder victims.[51]
The Christian leaders also denounced the 7 February 2025 executive order noting that the sudden withdrawal of US government aid would disproportionately affect the HIV community on anti-retroviral medication and would “contribute to the early death of the poor and vulnerable”.[52] For the same reason, Cardinal Stephen Brislin, the Catholic Archbishop of Johannesburg, stated that the withdrawal of US aid was an “enormous tragedy”.[53]
Nearly one-fifth of white South Africans have emigrated since the ANC came to power in 1994,[54] although influential Christian voices in the country have urged them to stay, most notably the farmer evangelist Angus Buchan, who is himself embedded in the Zulu community.[55] In May 2025, a first group of 59 white Afrikaner South Africans arrived in the United States, where they will be granted refugee status.
Prospects for freedom of religion
South Africa offers a generally favourable environment for the exercise of religious freedom, underpinned by a robust constitutional framework that protects freedom of religion, belief and conscience. This has enabled diverse religious communities to coexist peacefully and contribute to social cohesion.
However, recent legal developments have raised concerns. The Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act, signed in May 2024, has been criticised for its vague definitions and potential for restricting free expression, despite religious exemptions. Similarly, the proposed Single Marriage Bill, which seeks to unify various forms of marriage under one legal framework, has drawn criticism from religious leaders who fear it disregards doctrinal beliefs, particularly regarding same-sex unions and polyandry.
While the recognition of Muslim marriages in October 2024 was welcomed by many, some Islamic bodies, including the Muslim Judicial Council, voiced concerns over incompatibility with Shari‘a principles.
Despite these tensions, the overall outlook for religious freedom remains positive.
Sources
South Africa