Written by: Daniela Ellerbeck
Article source: JOY! Magazine
The 24th September is Heritage Day, a day when South Africans celebrate the diversity and wealth of our cultures and traditions as the “Rainbow Nation”. Amid all our diversity, one thing that unites us is the South African Constitution –the foundational law of our society. This is something that we all share and have in common – one over arching law that underpins and undergirds our entire legal system.
Foundational values
The Constitution is perhaps best known for including the Bill of Rights, which contains all the human rights in our law. This includes the right which FOR SA is dedicated to promoting and protecting (section 15) – the right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, and opinion (commonly referred to as the “right to religious freedom”). Besides the Bill of Rights, the Constitution also contains the foundational values of South African society. Section 1 of the Constitution says that South Africa is founded on the values of “human dignity, the achievement of equality, and the advancement of human rights and freedoms”. The Bill of Rights starts by saying that “human dignity, equality, and freedom” are democratic values (section 7(1)). Later on, the Constitution’s ambition is stated as being the creation of an “open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom” (section 39).
Religious freedom and the foundational values
Our right to religious freedom is one of the most important freedoms that we enjoy under our Constitution – the freedom to choose what we believe, the freedom to share our beliefs openly with others, and the freedom to publicly manifest our religious beliefs by worship and practice. Unsurprisingly, the right to religious freedom is closely connected to human dignity. Our highest court, the Constitutional Court, has said that religious freedom “is one of the key ingredients of any person’s dignity”. Equally, it is significant that “conscience”, “religion”, and “belief” are also included in section 9 as ‘equality rights’. Our Constitution specifically lists them as grounds upon which neither the State nor any person may (unfairly) discriminate against another person.
Conclusion
Religious freedom is therefore closely tied to all three of our Constitution’s foundational values. It is integral to the institution of democracy, with the Constitutional Court saying that it is “one of the hallmarks of a free society”. This Heritage Day, let us celebrate that religious freedom is protected in South Africa and that freedom, dignity, and equality are part of our unique heritage.
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Date published: 27/08/2022
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