Judgment No. CCZ 7/16 22
Const. Application No. CCZ 17/15
constitutes a prima facie infringement of their religious beliefs. The practice and
observance of their faith demands that they exclude themselves from any place of
worship that contains any religious symbol, including the crucifix. It also demands that
they abstain from any rite or ritual that involves the admixture of any religion other than
their own. By being compelled to enter the School chapel and attend the predominantly
Anglican services conducted therein, they are being called upon to renounce, albeit
temporarily, certain fundamental tenets of their faith that are designed to enhance their
peculiar sense of religious and cultural identity as well as their dignity as self-professed
Jehovah’s Witnesses. They can only be required to renounce those tenets if they choose
to do so freely and voluntarily or in circumstances that are reasonable and justifiable
having regard to the public interest or the rights and freedoms of others.
Permissible Limitation of Religious Freedom
The critical question for determination in casu is whether or not the
compulsion to attend chapel imposed upon the applicants’ daughters is constitutionally
permissible in the circumstances under consideration. In terms of s 86(2) of the
Constitution, fundamental rights and freedoms may be limited “only in terms of a law of
general application and to the extent that the limitation is fair, reasonable, necessary and
justifiable in a democratic society”. In this respect, Adv. de Bourbon argues that the
contract of admission signed by the applicants is the law envisaged in s 86(2) and that the
School is entitled to enforce that contract accordingly. Adv. Mafukidze appears to
implicitly accept this proposition by his lengthy written submissions interrogating the
contract and the School’s conduct under the criteria set out in s 86(2).
Select target paragraph3
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