Judgment No. CCZ 7/16 15
Const. Application No. CCZ 17/15
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if so, whether any such infringement constitutes a permissible limitation by virtue
of subs (1), (2) or (3) of s 86 of the Constitution.
Subsection (1) of s 60 defines the right to freedom of conscience as
including, inter alia, freedom of religion or belief and freedom to practise and propagate
and give expression to one’s religion or belief, whether in public or in private and
whether alone or together with others. Subsection (3) affirms the right of parents and
guardians to determine, in accordance with their beliefs, the moral and religious
upbringing of their minor children, provided they do not prejudice the constitutional
rights of their children, including their rights to education, health, safety and welfare.
The essence of the applicants’ religious credo, as appears from their
founding papers, is that there is no hell of fire and torment, that places of worship should
not contain any religious symbols, that religions and faiths should not be mixed, and that
there can only be one truth from God which truth they hold. With specific reference to
religious symbols at the School, they object to the three crucifixes atop, outside and
inside the chapel, as well as the foundation stone at the entrance of the chapel. These
symbols, so they believe, contravene the first Commandment against idolatry.
The fundamental doctrinal beliefs and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses
may also be gleaned from the following article by John Gordon Melton in the online
Encyclopaedia Britannica:
“Witnesses hold a number of traditional Christian views but also many that are
unique to them. They affirm that God—Jehovah—is the most high. Jesus Christ is
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