After closing more
than 700 churches
and some
mosques in March,
Rwandan government officials have
moved to institute guidelines for how
faith groups operate in the majority-
Christian East African country.
Rwanda’s minister in the office of the
president has brought to Parliament a
draft law that would require Christian and
Muslim clerics to attain university
education before preaching in churches or
mosques. The law would require clerics to
have a bachelor’s degree and a valid
certificate in religious studies. It would
also bar clergy who have been convicted
of crimes of genocide, genocidal ideology,
discrimination or other sectarian
practices.
“I agree with the law. Some of our church
groups have been operating in a
dangerous manner,” Evalister Mugabo,
bishop of the Lutheran Church in Rwanda,
told Religion News Service.
Churches and mosques would also be
required to institute an internal
disagreement resolution body to
complement the work of their umbrella
organizations and the government’s
dispute resolution authority, which
resolves conflicts involving different
faiths.
The measure, according to government
officials, will bring order among churches,
some of which are suspected of
misleading people.
Judith Uwizeye, minister in the office of
President Paul Kagame, presented the
draft law. “Everyone would wake up in the
morning and call people to start a church.
Setting up a faith-based organization
didn’t require anything. We want to bring
about better organization on the way
faith-based organizations work,” she
is quoted as saying.
The draft law received wide support from
most legislators in Rwanda’s Parliament.
It will move to the committee stage, after
which it will be brought back to
Parliament for endorsement.
In 1994, the country about the size of
Maryland witnessed a genocide that left
an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsi and
moderate members of the Hutu tribe
dead. Years later, senior church leaders
were among those accused of killing
citizens or aiding in their deaths and were
arraigned before the International
Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, in nearby
Tanzania.
Despite its dark past, Rwanda, like many
African countries, has witnessed an
upsurge in churches in both urban and
rural areas. But in March, its government
took a radical move, shutting down
hundreds of them in the capital of Kigali.
The action was replicated in other towns,
amid support from some religious leaders
and criticism from others. The authorities
said the churches lacked basic
infrastructure, security and hygiene and
were contributing to noise pollution.
Those most affected by the shuttering
were small Pentecostal churches. Jean
Bosco Nsabimana, founder of Patmos
Church, a Pentecostal congregation,
questioned why government officials had
not targeted bars and nightclubs.
But other religious leaders see wisdom in
the government move. “Churches are
mushrooming too quickly and are
exploiting poor people. If they are not
controlled, more and more will continue to
come up,” said Innocent Maganya, head of
the department of mission and Islamic
studies at Tangaza University College.
“They are being started for personal gains,
not for that of the followers. Without
discrimination, a bit of sanity is needed.”
Maganya noted that other countries
require pastors to have a degree or
certificate. “On the surface, I don’t think
they are interfering with freedom of
worship, unless there is a hidden motive,”
said Maganya.
But Mugabo said the requirement that
clergy have a bachelor’s degree will affect
many young churches like the Lutheran
Church in Rwanda. The Roman Catholic
Church has been dominant in Rwanda,
and institutions that can offer a degree in
divinity for other denominations are few.
“Most of the pastors have certificates
from local Bible schools,” said Mugabo.
“Global missions must look at this as an
emergency.”
With the new rules and regulations,
Mugabo has been negotiating for
affiliation with the University of Iringa,
based in Tanzania. The institution is
owned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church
of Tanzania. Mugabo has sought the use
of the university’s curriculum in teaching
at his church’s Bible school. The
university will also award the pastors
educational certificates.
“We made this plan because we can’t
afford to take many pastors out of the
country for study at once. We do not have
enough resources, so we decided to adopt
mass training from within,” said Mugabo.
Fredrick Nzwili is a journalist based in
Nairobi, Kenya.
than 700 churches
and some
mosques in March,
Rwandan government officials have
moved to institute guidelines for how
faith groups operate in the majority-
Christian East African country.
Rwanda’s minister in the office of the
president has brought to Parliament a
draft law that would require Christian and
Muslim clerics to attain university
education before preaching in churches or
mosques. The law would require clerics to
have a bachelor’s degree and a valid
certificate in religious studies. It would
also bar clergy who have been convicted
of crimes of genocide, genocidal ideology,
discrimination or other sectarian
practices.
“I agree with the law. Some of our church
groups have been operating in a
dangerous manner,” Evalister Mugabo,
bishop of the Lutheran Church in Rwanda,
told Religion News Service.
Churches and mosques would also be
required to institute an internal
disagreement resolution body to
complement the work of their umbrella
organizations and the government’s
dispute resolution authority, which
resolves conflicts involving different
faiths.
The measure, according to government
officials, will bring order among churches,
some of which are suspected of
misleading people.
Judith Uwizeye, minister in the office of
President Paul Kagame, presented the
draft law. “Everyone would wake up in the
morning and call people to start a church.
Setting up a faith-based organization
didn’t require anything. We want to bring
about better organization on the way
faith-based organizations work,” she
is quoted as saying.
The draft law received wide support from
most legislators in Rwanda’s Parliament.
It will move to the committee stage, after
which it will be brought back to
Parliament for endorsement.
In 1994, the country about the size of
Maryland witnessed a genocide that left
an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsi and
moderate members of the Hutu tribe
dead. Years later, senior church leaders
were among those accused of killing
citizens or aiding in their deaths and were
arraigned before the International
Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, in nearby
Tanzania.
Despite its dark past, Rwanda, like many
African countries, has witnessed an
upsurge in churches in both urban and
rural areas. But in March, its government
took a radical move, shutting down
hundreds of them in the capital of Kigali.
The action was replicated in other towns,
amid support from some religious leaders
and criticism from others. The authorities
said the churches lacked basic
infrastructure, security and hygiene and
were contributing to noise pollution.
Those most affected by the shuttering
were small Pentecostal churches. Jean
Bosco Nsabimana, founder of Patmos
Church, a Pentecostal congregation,
questioned why government officials had
not targeted bars and nightclubs.
But other religious leaders see wisdom in
the government move. “Churches are
mushrooming too quickly and are
exploiting poor people. If they are not
controlled, more and more will continue to
come up,” said Innocent Maganya, head of
the department of mission and Islamic
studies at Tangaza University College.
“They are being started for personal gains,
not for that of the followers. Without
discrimination, a bit of sanity is needed.”
Maganya noted that other countries
require pastors to have a degree or
certificate. “On the surface, I don’t think
they are interfering with freedom of
worship, unless there is a hidden motive,”
said Maganya.
But Mugabo said the requirement that
clergy have a bachelor’s degree will affect
many young churches like the Lutheran
Church in Rwanda. The Roman Catholic
Church has been dominant in Rwanda,
and institutions that can offer a degree in
divinity for other denominations are few.
“Most of the pastors have certificates
from local Bible schools,” said Mugabo.
“Global missions must look at this as an
emergency.”
With the new rules and regulations,
Mugabo has been negotiating for
affiliation with the University of Iringa,
based in Tanzania. The institution is
owned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church
of Tanzania. Mugabo has sought the use
of the university’s curriculum in teaching
at his church’s Bible school. The
university will also award the pastors
educational certificates.
“We made this plan because we can’t
afford to take many pastors out of the
country for study at once. We do not have
enough resources, so we decided to adopt
mass training from within,” said Mugabo.
Fredrick Nzwili is a journalist based in
Nairobi, Kenya.
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