November 1989. The Namibian people vote for the first time. The results of this election form the basis from which the members of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia is selected. The Constituent Assembly, chaired by a certain Hage G Geingob (our current President) proceeds to draw up the document that forms the basis of our Republic, The Constitution of Namibia.
Article 1 reads as follows: “The Republic of Namibia is hereby established as a sovereign, secular, democratic and unitary State founded upon the principles of democracy, the rule of law and justice for all.”
As a nation, we are quite comfortable with being a sovereign nation. We are proud to be a united, unitary nation. And we celebrate being a democratic nation. And yet somehow, we appear to neglect being a true secular nation.
In essence, a ‘secular state’ is a state that is officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. And yet even in his inaugural address, His Excellency Dr Hage Geingob initiated proceedings with the distinctly religious quote, “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” And he closed out his address similarly, with “Thank you, and God bless you all.”
This passed with nary a comment, but that is to be expected. After all, Namibia is quite a religious country. Approximately 86.5% of the country claims to be Christian, with approximately 4.5% following a traditional religion, 0.5% following other religions, and 8.5% non-religious.
Importantly, a secular state does NOT mean an atheist state! It is simply a separation of church and state. It exists to ensure freedom of religion. A secular state is barred from interfering in religious affairs. Conversely, it also bars religious institutions from interfering with affairs of state. A secular state ensures that freedom of conscience and freedom of thought apply equally to all citizens, no matter their religious belief, or lack thereof.
Hospitals, clinics, police and schools are public facilities of which all citizens may avail themselves of – a secular state exists to allow these institutions to service everyone, regardless of their religious beliefs. No one should be disadvantaged or denied access on the grounds of their religious beliefs, or lack thereof.
And yet state schools for a long time featured Bible Studies. While this was eventually replaced with Religious and Moral Education, which featured a more inclusive syllabus, in recent years there has been a push again to force a RME syllabus to focus on Christianity.
There are quite a few religious institutions who appear to be pushing for a less secular state. And yet while they’ll happily apply pressure for their own religion to be included, there’s a distinct lack of interest when a more inclusive approach is presented that includes more disparate religions, or even acknowledges atheism or humanism.
It is telling that some of the most draconian regimes world-wide are not secular states, nor are most of them even democratic. A secular state guarantees citizen’s equality before the law and parliament – justice for all, you might say. Religious states often have laws against apostasy and heresy, and thus severely restrict freedom of speech and freedom of expression. This editorial, in fact, would have me either imprisoned or executed in several of these countries. No idea should be immune from criticism or discussion. It is important to remember that individuals have rights – ideas do not.
And yet Namibia continues on its slow descent from a true secular state. Only Christian holidays are national public holidays – no other religion enjoys that privilege. Government officials continue to espouse religious views and discriminate against the LGBT community based on those views without fear. Only the Christian Sabbath enjoys work exemption in law, with overtime pay for working on a Sunday.
The preamble of the Namibian constitution claims that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is indispensable for freedom, justice and peace;” and points out that “these rights have for so long been denied to the people of Namibia by colonialism, racism and apartheid;”
Let us not slide backwards into a new colonialism, into a new apartheid, based on religious domination.
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