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2020 - Volume 3 - Number 1

Zambian Constitutional Normativity on Religion

Antonios Maniatis * maniatis@dikaio.gr * ORCID: 0000-0002-7537-8724
University of Patras, Department of Administrative Science and Technology, Patras, GREECE

Open Journal for Legal Studies, 2020, 3(1), 69-78 * https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojls.0301.05069m
Received: 1 March 2020 ▪ Accepted: 17 May 2020 ▪ Published Online: 18 June 2020

LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)

ABSTRACT:
The Republic of Zambia from scratch has consecrated the freedom of religion as a constitutional right. From 1996 and onwards, it has gradually consecrated Christianism in the 1991 Constitution. In a similar way, it attempts to amend its Constitution as far as inter alia religious matters are concerned. This amendment implicates the replacement of the word “multi-religious’’ by the word’ “Christian’’, as for Zambian nation and State. In a similar way, the “morality and ethics’’ as one of the national values and principles are proposed to be transformed into “Christian morality and ethics’’. These proposed changes are in opposition to the constitutional principle of pluralism (multi-culturalism) whilst both democracy and freedom of religion are limited by the Constitution, allowing no political parties founded on religious basis.

KEY WORDS: religion, Zambia, human rights, flexible/rigid constitutions, national values and principles, constitutional normativity, multi-religious state.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Antonios Maniatis, Academic Fellow of the University of Patras, Koutifari Street 8, Kalamata 24134, GREECE. E-mail: maniatis@dikaio.gr.

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