Abstract
The right to religious freedom in South African schools
In general, religion is to be regarded as one of the most important aspects of human life and as one of the key human functions that distinguishes a human being from the rest of creation. For this reason, religious freedom is deemed by many to be the “first liberty" to be protected by any Bill of Rights. However, protecting everyone’s religious freedom on an equal and equitable basis is sometimes easier said than done. In the USA, for instance, in an effort to protect the religious rights and freedom of all, a wall of separation between state and religion was implemented on the basis of the US "establishment clause”: the American State is compelled to maintain a neutral stance as far as religious matters are concerned. In the eyes of some representatives of the US academe, this approach to the protection of religious freedom ultimately led to the US government’s becoming the “enemy of religion” in American schools. In the 1998 case of Wittmann v Deutscher Schulverein, Pretoria the court confirmed that the drafters of the South African constitution steered the issue of religious freedom on a different course to that of the United States. In Wittmann it was held that the South African constitution did not create a wall of separation between church and state (i.e. schools) and that it is the constitutional right of every person (i.e. the learner and the teacher) at school to "entertain such beliefs as a person chooses". The court also held that everyone at school has the right to confess his/her faith and to participate freely in religious worship and religious practice (and even teach and disseminate religion) at school.
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