Streamlining the Church Milieu

For the umpteenth time our nation is embroiled in yet another scandal of machinations and creations of the so-called international media who, finding really very little to say about a country resolutely set on its path of social progress, have nothing else to rely on than to pick every spicy human interest story to blow out to attract the appetite of a very demanding readership or listeners who would rather hear about these phantom stories about Africa and its leaders, than about what is really being done to take ordinary people out of backwardness and patented underdevelopment.

This week, the Minister of Communication and government spokesperson was out again, this time painstakingly dismissing the outright misreading of a government action meant to call for the respect of existing texts in the area of religious practice in Cameroon. In reaction to growing indiscipline and uncivil and, even, illegal acts on the part of several religious movements, decided to close down a number of them as a way of inciting respect for existing legislation. Rather than greet this Republican behaviour of these State officials in ensuring that citizens' right were being fully respected as per the recommendations of the Constitution of the Republic, critics went for the shadow rather than the object. The object here is that the Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon upholds the right to freedom of religion and other freedoms such as that of the press and association. But such respect and recognition have to be done within the framework of existing laws which are not new creations, but are prescribed by the same Constitution.

For example, for a religious organization to exist legally, there must be an executive order signed by the Head of State to acknowledge such legal existence. As at today, there exist some 50-odd religious bodies in Cameroon. No one has ever questioned why there was ever any restriction, if there is at all, on religious freedom. So the assumption is that recognized groups have very much been in accordance with existing laws which they obviously respect. Otherwise they will not be the one to denounce the many mushroom groups that fraudulently use their licences to operate as is the averred case in a number of cases cited by the public authorities and which informed their decision to close down these churches operating in absolute illegality.

Cameroon is a secular State in its organization, but this does not mean it is an anti-clerical or atheistic State as the impression has been given by the international media in reaction to the decision by the public authorities to close down non-registered churches. On the other hand, by recognizing such a broad spectrum of churches spanning wide-ranging theological and sociological divides, Cameroon is simply acknowledging the importance of these churches in its socio-economic development because, unlike the impression given that the State is up against churches, the latter have been an important partner accompanying the State in various forms to ensure the economic and social development of the nation as can be attested by the number of initiatives taken by religious bodies in the areas of education, health and social peace through sermons about the necessity to live decent and progressive lives.

By trying to instill order in the church milieu, Cameroon was, in fact only stressing the importance of ensuring that such an important partner in its development drive could not be left in reckless hands. Rather, the act is very much in the furtherance of its republican duties as is the case even in the West where lately we noted that repulsive religious movements such as Christian Science have been proscribed by many governments because of their derisive posture and the danger they pose to social cohesion. The need to streamline the church milieu is therefore most highly justified.