Something Can Definitely Be Done About It

A call again to all who may come across this site or, by reason of referral or interest, log in, is that something can be done about it, whatever IT is. So right up front, your comments and ideas ARE wanted.

The purpose of this movement, the Action Africa Interfaith Movement is simply to take all people of goodwill, across the spectrum of religion and faith, and work together for a better world.

Our first area of attention is our youth. Factor in the statistical change of violence in schools, drug abuse and sexual crimes. One need only read the newspapers on a regular basis to get one’s fill of the rapid degradation of our schools and hence the standard of life and ethics of our youth in general. This is the next generation of leaders. What are we making?

Thirty years ago, it was major news when one individual was caught smoking dagga at school. Today, that’s common. In fact, for many youth it is only the entry point for recreation drugs such as Ecstacy and Tic.

Then there is the aspect of violence, sexual crimes and the overall drop in standards of education. Not only dropping in South Africa, but a trend we are following that is and has occurred in many countries around the world.

Well, we can pontificate about it. Have lots of dialog – or alternatively, we can do something about it.

AAIM’s purpose is that, do something about it. We bring leaders of all religious beliefs and movements together under this one message. Hence we are allied with the Africa Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance(AFHRT). [Reachable currently at shaleen@wirelessza.co.za whilst they set up their new communication mediums.] AFHRT is the facilitator for a number of youth upliftment campaigns, proven successful around the world. It’s mandate is to get them activated throughout Africa to bring greater human rights to the people of this continent.

AAIM is interested in helping right now with two of the current campaigns. Youth for Human Rights, which takes the UN Declaration of Human Rights, makes it practical and useable to youth and disseminates this  – with the focus on practical application.

The second campaign is under the international banner of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World and is the anti-drug campaign allied with the 12 years successful Drug-Free Marshals. This consists of nine basic but highly informative booklets on each of the main drugs currently being used on the streets, including LSD, Ecstacy, TIC and would you believe it, painkillers. Again, the reason this is supported is that the campaigns focus is on practical application.

You may ask what this has to do with religion and why in an interfaith movement. The definition of RELIGION includes “…involving a code of ethics…” [Websters New World Dictionary]. And that is the crux. Our responsibility as leaders of religion is to guide and assist our followers/parishioners to spiritual freedom, in the sense or definition of our beliefs whatever they may be. We are responsible for creating a more ethical environment in which people can go spiritually free. Hence a better code of ethics. We, as spiritual leaders, are responsibile for the environment and society in which they live. If that society is degrading, it is us who are primarily responsible for stopping the decay and turning it around.

ACTION is the ONLY way we are going to achieve that and unless we face that responsibility and take it on as our own, we are not going to make it. A barren, irradiated planet is one of the options of failure. We cannot afford to lose the game, and based on the decline of society in the last 20 years alone, we are certainly not winning it right now!

So my appeal to you is, provide your comment, link up your site to ours, write to actionafricainterfaith@gmail.com if you wish to join the Movement or have a site you want linked put on ours, and send the link to this site to all you know of good will.

We are looking for contributions from all faiths and religions. We are also looking for those religious leaders who wish to join the AAIM and make real change for their own and for all people.

I look forward to the new evolution.

Views On Human Rights: Scientology

In 1992, the Church of Scientology in Denmark co-founded the Danish Interfaith Forum, whose membership includes representatives of Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Unitarian, Christian Science, Quaker, Lutheran and Bahai faiths. The Forum organized religious services at which a variety of faiths were represented and staged an exposition in Copenhagen in September 1998, entitled “Who Believes What?”, to introduce the public to diverse religious and spiritual groups that have become a part of Danish society.  The Forum has published a booklet explaining a diversity of beliefs, Global Love and Justice, and held public events that included a former Justice Minister of Denmark speaking on the importance of freedom of conscience.  In May 2002, 75 representatives from the world’s religions attended a conference titled “Filling the Moral Vacuum” at the Great Hall at Saint Hill, headquarters of the Church of Scientology in the United Kingdom. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Church’s European Human Rights Office, the Association of British Muslims and the Queens Federation of Churches in New York, a coalition of 700 churches in the New York area. Participants included clergymen, professors and government officials from two dozen different religious traditions.  Some came from faculties of universities in England, Germany, Belgium and Sweden, others from Nigeria, Czech Republic, Uzbekistan, Russia, Belgium, France, Poland, USA, Latvia, Croatia, Canada, Spain, Zambia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.  The Church of Scientology has continued to hold roundtables and conferences to promote religious tolerance in countries around the world.  The Church has also published a series of brochures in ten languages that describe the national and international laws protecting freedom of religion, so that individuals are informed of what their religious rights are and how to protect them.  Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion.  The Church’s Human Rights Office has upheld this basic right all over the world. Where repressive laws or officials create discrimination, oppression and intolerance, the Church forms alliances with human rights groups, publicizes the intolerance, contacts members of parliament known to have strong pro-democracy views and to be defenders of religious freedom and human rights, and conducts campaigns to popularize democracy and human rights.  Over the last decade, the Church of Scientology Human Rights Office has organized many conferences internationally to increase inter-religious understanding. A post-September 11 conference at the Church of Scientology Religious Education College in East Grinstead, England, brought together 75 representatives of the world’s major religions. The clergymen, professors and government officials represented two dozen religious traditions from all parts of the world.  The Office played a key role in uniting more than 30 minority religious and spiritual organizations in France into a coalition to protect the rights of their members. The coalition holds public hearings that examine cases of religious discrimination and publishes the results.  Throughout the last decade, the Church has taken actions to promote the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  To this end, a new series of public service announcements (PSAs) has been created, each of which features a child envisioning the type of world he or she will grow up into. The PSAs promote the need to learn and apply the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The PSAs, to run in community-conscious newspapers and TV outlets, are a centerpiece of a massive new campaign to increase public awareness and use of the Declaration.  Human Rights are defined as: “The basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled, often held to include the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law.”  None of us enjoys being wrongly accused. We resist being told what to think and believe and prefer to make our own choices. We feel we should be able to freely voice our own opinions. We like to be treated equally with others.  Each of these is a human right: the right to a fair hearing, the right to freedom of expression, the right to freedom of conscience, and the right not to be discriminated against. There are many other rights, such as the right to life and human dignity, the right to an education and the right to form groups.  Human rights are based on respect for each individual. Those whose rights have been violated feel a strong sense of resentment. If they have no means to remedy the injustices, it simmers and may break out in what we recognize as civil disorder, ethnic conflicts and other disturbances. Government officials then feel they must become increasingly repressive to hold down the potential violence in the society.  It is a vicious circle, leading in the end to conflict between the oppressor and the oppressed. The Church of Scientology is a leader in the forwarding of human rights across the world. It has proven, in the face of adversity, that when one is determined to help the individual and to better society that intention of this nature is unstoppable.

 

Views on Human Rights: The Baha’i Faith

The Baha’i Faith is the second youngest of the world’s independent religions, Scientology being founded in the middle of the twentieth century and being the youngest. Its founder, Bahá’u'lláh (1817-1892), is regarded by Bahá’ís as the most recent in the line of Messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.

The central theme of Bahá’u'lláh’s message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God, Bahá’u'lláh said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization.

The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification.One of the purposes of the Bahá’í Faith is to help make this possible. A worldwide community of some five million Bahá’ís, representative of most of the nations, races and cultures on earth, is working to give Bahá’u'lláh’s teachings practical effect. Their experience will be a source of encouragement to all who share their vision of humanity as one global family and the earth as one homeland.The Baha’i are by the nature of their faith, attuned to a human rights culture.

One of the most distinctive aspects of the worldwide Bahá’í community is the hopeful and yet pragmatic way in which its members face the future. Far from fearing it, Bahá’ís the world over are dedicated to creating a new and peaceful world civilization based on principles of justice, prosperity, and continuing advancement. This vision reflects not only an appreciation for humanity’s historic longing for peace and collective well-being, but also our understanding that humanity as a whole has now reached a new level of maturity.

That it is possible to create societies founded upon cooperation, trust, and genuine concern for others is at the heart of Bahá’í belief and action. Indeed, Bahá’ís believe that humanity is on the verge of an evolutionary leap that will carry humankind to a future where “world peace is not only possible but inevitable.”

A number of other characteristics evident in the Bahá’í community today will, Bahá’ís believe, come to characterize the humanity of our planet’s future.

The first of these is unity, the mainspring of humanity’s future in a world where disunity is increasingly recognized as the ultimate source of danger and suffering. As national, religious, and ethnic conflicts divide peoples around the globe, the imperative of building bonds of reconciliation and understanding takes on greater urgency. Bahá’u'lláh asserted, “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.”

Second only to its unity is the universality of the community created by Bahá’u'lláh. No one is left out; no one takes second place. Embracing more than 2,100 ethnic, racial, and tribal groups, the Bahá’í community is quite likely the most diverse organized body of people on the planet. Its very existence challenges prevailing theories about human nature and the prospects for creating peaceful patterns of life.

Third is the new system of values necessary for the development of a global civilization. Such an ethos–where each member of the human race is regarded as a trust of the whole–is guided by an inner ethical orientation relevant to the challenges of the next stage of human development–an orientation that does not come only from legislation and education but from a divine source. Evidence that such a transformation in moral behaviour is possible can be found in the response to Bahá’u'lláh’s teachings in Bahá’í communities  around the globe.

A mechanism promoting the ability to think and decide collectively is the fourth attribute of an evolving world civilization. A mode of decision-making both inclusive and cooperative and that avoids adversarial posturing and partisanship while still democratic in spirit and method now exists uniquely in the Bahá’í community. This administrative order functions at the village, regional, national, and global level.

The will to address the problems confronting humanity is a fifth attribute. In this, the Bahá’í community offers its experience in the field of social and economic development. More than 1,500 grassroots projects in the areas of health, agriculture, education, and environmental preservation are now being undertaken by Bahá’ís throughout the world. These activities focus not on the delivery of services but rather on the development of capacities within people themselves. Underpinning such efforts is the recognition that every culture and segment of humanity represents a distinct heritage that must be permitted to bear fruit in a global society.

Finally, the manner in which members of the Bahá’í community draw upon the resources of both reason and faith to address challenging problems. Bahá’u'lláh stated that the greatest gift of God to humankind is reason, a quality that is continually developed through the maturation of Bahá’í administrative institutions. The turmoil and dislocations confronting present-day society will not be solved until both the scientific and religious genius of the human race are fully utilized.

While the pattern of a future global civilization already exists, in embryonic form, in their community, Bahá’ís see all of these attributes as endowments of Bahá’u'lláh’s guidance to humankind in this day–guidance available to everybody and not the sole property of Bahá’ís. This conviction is the source of their inspiring and hopeful vision of the future.

They are a significant contributing religion to human rights on this planet.

What Religion Should Be Doing

The very reason for this movement, the Action Africa Interfaith Movement (AAIM) is to get away from the product of many interfaith organisations of ‘consensus’ and ‘dialog’. There is room for that for sure, it keeps humankind in communication and resolves differences.

However, there is a more pressing issue in these times we live in. It is called ACTION. Millions die every year from AIDS and AIDS related illnesses, millions starve every day we sit on our computers and blog, whilst sipping a cup of coffee or chewing on a muffin. Even more are dying, suffering or traumatised by addiction to drugs. Most people on this planet wouldn’t know even five of the thirty Human Rights they have according to the UN Declaration on Human Rights.

The lack of knowledge of application of human rights, the lack of awareness of the dangers of drugs amongst the youth, the simple humanitarian actions we can take daily to improve the lives of our fellows are what ACTION is about.

AAIM is thus dedicated to aligning itself with those in the religious field of whatever religious belief – simply to take on the responsibility to see to an improvement in our society. As it is named the Action Africa Interfaith, it is clear we are focused on the continent of Africa. That does not eliminate anyone else from participation.

Currently we are interested in assisting two campaigns – Anti-Drug awareness and education and a successful international campaign called Youth for Human Rights which is educating youth about their fundamental rights.

If you like the idea, let us know.

Views on Human Rights: Buddhism

Notions of rights derive from ethical principles. There is a clear convergence between Buddhist ethics and modern discussions on human rights, particularly in the common focus on responsibility and indivisibility/interdependence. The non-dual understanding of Buddhism gives rise to an ethics of inter-responsibility, or Bodhicitta – what His Holiness the Dalai Lama calls Universal Responsibility. In the Theravada Buddhism speaks of Samma-sankappa or Right Thought, which leads to Bodhi, the Awakened Mind. This principle is expressed in everyday terms by the teaching of loving-kindness, non-violence, compassion, and particular responsibilities. For monks and nuns these are set down in the rule or Vinaya; for lay people in the Sigalovada Sutta and for rulers in the Dasarajadhamma.All human beings, according to Buddhism, are equal, and each has the potential to realize the truth by his or her own will and endeavour, and can help others to realize it. Buddhist concepts recognize the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all human beings. The teaching of the Buddha holds that all human beings are endowed with reason and conscience. It recommends a Universal spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood. Buddhist theory holds that the “three poisons” of hatred, greed and delusion are at the root of violence in the world, and that the solution is for us to see so deeply into these factors that we are no longer dominated by them.In the early, organic, societies the Buddha was addressing, these specific responsibilities were assumed to be adequate guidelines for human behaviour, with no need to identify the corresponding rights. In modern, fragmented societies, however, where the fulfillment of responsibilities cannot be guaranteed by the immediate community, these guidelines or skillful means (upaya) have been supplemented by corresponding rights. These are specified and protected by States and International Organisations. In large part these bodies derive their legitimacy from their promotion and protection of human rights. A State which does not guarantee the enjoyment of human rights by its people loses its claim to legitimacy.

Buddhism is widely regarded as the most tolerant of all religious traditions. However, Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka, Burma, and Cambodia have seen some of the highest levels of religious and ethnic intolerance in the world, with Buddhists among the main perpetrators. In other places it is Buddhists who are persecuted by the State, which fears the influence of Buddhism on the people. In Burma, Tibet and Viêt Nam, for instance, thousands of Buddhists (especially monks and nuns) have been persecuted, with well-documented instances of torture and executions. In Tibet most of the country’s monasteries have been demolished.

The depiction of rights as simply a Western invention fails to understand the relationship of rights to responsibilities and ethical norms. The central values of all societies are very much the same. All ethical systems encourage people to respect each other, and discourage killing, violence and so on. Rights are skillful means designed to assist the implementation of these ethics.

Human Rights discourse has moved on during the past 50 years and has expanded and enriched the somewhat individualistic principles set out in the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ which was adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1948. The dialectic of universalism and cultural relativism, for instance, is an immensely creative process as well as a cause for countless conflicts. The work since 1982 on the rights of indigenous peoples – group rights – is another important development. The cultural, social and political development of a nation is a dynamic process. The orientation of the process should not only be based in our own roots and traditions, but must also be shaped by innovative new ideas. Cultural diversity is a factor that enriches the modern approach to human rights, rather than hindering the universal respect for and observance of human rights.

Views On Human Rights: Islam

We acknowledge www.islam-guide.com as the source of this article. Islam provides many human rights for the individual.  The following are some of these human rights that Islam protects.

The life and property of all citizens in an Islamic state are considered sacred, whether a person is Muslim or not.  Islam also protects honor.  So, in Islam, insulting others or making fun of them is not allowed.  The Prophet Muhammad said: {Truly your blood, your property, and your honor are inviolable.}Racism is not allowed in Islam, for the Quran speaks of human equality in the following terms: O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female and have made you into nations and tribes for you to know one another.  Truly, the noblest of you with God is the most pious.  Truly, God is All-Knowing, All-Aware.  (Quran, 49:13)Islam rejects certain individuals or nations being favored because of their wealth, power, or race.  God created human beings as equals who are to be distinguished from each other only on the basis of their faith and piety.  The Prophet Muhammad said: {O people!  Your God is one and your forefather (Adam) is one.  An Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab, and a red (i.e. white tinged with red) person is not better than a black person and a black person is not better than a red person, except in piety.}One of the major problems facing mankind today is racism.  The developed world can send a man to the moon but cannot stop man from hating and fighting his fellow man. Ever since the days of the Prophet Muhammad , Islam has provided a vivid example of how racism can be ended.  The annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah shows the real Islamic brotherhood of all races and nations, when about two million Muslims from all over the world come to Makkah to perform the pilgrimage.Islam is a religion of justice.  God has said:  Truly God commands you to give back trusts to those to whom they are due, and when you judge between people, to judge with justice….  (Quran, 4:58)And He has said:  …And act justly.  Truly, God loves those who are just.  (Quran, 49:9)We should even be just with those who we hate, as God has said:  …And let not the hatred of others make you avoid justice.  Be just: that is nearer to piety….  (Quran, 5:8)The Prophet Muhammad said: {People, beware of injustice, for injustice shall be darkness on the Day of Judgment.}

And those who have not gotten their rights (i.e. what they have a just claim to) in this life will receive them on the Day of Judgment, as the Prophet  said: {On the Day of Judgment, rights will be given to those to whom they are due (and wrongs will be redressed)…}

Islam is part of the fabric of our society as are the Christian, Jewish, Scientology, Jehovah’s Witness and other religions. ActionAfricaInterfaith Movement invites all to communicate their basic beliefs and those on the African continent to join with the AAIM to work towards a human rights culture we all aspire to and can be proud of. 

SCIENTOLOGY sets the record straight

We include here a statement from Scientology;

           The Church of Scientology International sets the record straight:            

December 10’ths media statements concerning a so-called ban on Scientology omit the fact that the German Ministers of Interior conference on Friday did not vote for a motion to instigate procedures to ban Scientology.  Instead, those officials recognized that there is no evidence whatsoever to support such a motion.  Furthermore, Federal Minister of Interior Wolfgang Schauble in an interview with German Radio, also on Friday, conceded that there is no legal basis for such a procedure.              

The false report in the media statements stems from a story in the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag (and released internationally by the Associated Press) which mischaracterizes the result of the Ministers’ conference and omits the fact that there was no vote on the motion.             

As in the rest of the world, Scientology is an expanding movement in Germany.            

In the last 25 years, there have been over 40 German court decisions acknowledging the Church’s religiosity, including a decision of the Federal Administrative Court. These court decisions have repeatedly validated the rights of the Church of Scientology to operate per Article 4 of the German Constitution, have affirmed that its services are religious, that the Church has the right to disseminate its teachings, that Church staff members are motivated by idealistic and spiritual purposes, and that its fundraising methods are fair and aligned to what is expected of a charitable organization.            

Furthermore, 10 years of OPC surveillance has uncovered absolutely no wrongdoing.            

The suggestion that the OPC not only continue but expand its intrusive and illegal investigation represents a desperate attempt to concoct a justification for a never-ending investigation that wastes millions of taxpayer euros.  There is no evidence of wrongdoing to uncover.             

Since the opening of its major Church in Berlin earlier this year, the religious status of the Church of Scientology has been further acknowledged all over the world.             

On the 24th of September 2007, the European Court of Human Rights  confirmed the Court’s unanimous decision of April 2007 affirming that the Church  of Scientology is entitled to the rights and protections of religious freedom that  flow to religious organizations pursuant to Article 9 of the European Human  Rights Convention.             

The principles enunciated in that decision upheld the religious freedom of Scientologists and their religious associations and apply throughout the forty- seven member states that have signed and ratified the European Human Rights  Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, including Germany.            

On the 31st of October 2007, the National Court in Madrid issued a  landmark decision recognizing that the National Church of Scientology of Spain should be entered in the Registry of Religious Entities as a religion.              On the 5th of November 2007, the Church of Scientology of Portugal was officially recognized as a religious organization.              On the 3rd of December 2007, the South African Revenue Service granted the Church of Scientology the status of a Public Benefit Organization as a religious entity with full tax exemption.            

The Scientology religion was founded by L. Ron Hubbard. The first church was established in the United States in 1954.  It has grown to more than 7,500 churches, missions and groups and ten million members in 163 nations.

SA Church of Scientology gets Tax Exemption

Tax exemption has been awarded to the SA Church of Scientology by the SA Revenue Services (SARS), the Church told ActionAfrica Interfaith Movement.

“We are ecstatic, this is a memorable and historic day for us as it provides us with an even better opportunity to serve our community and scientologists,” said President of the Church, Ryan Hogarth.

He said that SARS issued the Church with a certificate on Monday, 3 December 2007, approving its status as a ‘Public Benefit Organisation’.

“This was after 42 years and 26 applications to the South African Revenue Service,” Hogarth said.

He said the approval followed similar recognition in countries such as Sweden, Germany, Spain, and New Zealand, as well the European Court of Human Rights.

We congratulate the Church on their recognition.

Scientology, a Religion in Germany

While failing to pursue the Hamburg Minister of Interior’s motion, 
the recently held Minister of Interior Conference in Germany, 
has demonstrated that they are completely out of step with the rest 
of the world. Their statement and recommendation are a blatant 
attempt at justifying the on-going and never-ending discrimination 
against the Church of Scientology and its members in Germany.
               
10 years of OPC surveillance has uncovered absolutely no wrongdoing 
which could justify a ban, as conceded by Federal Minister of Interior 
Wolfgang Schauble in his interview with German Radio.  There is no 
evidence of wrongdoing to uncover.
 
The suggestion that the OPC not only continue but expand its intrusive 
and illegal investigation represents a desperate attempt to concoct a 
justification for a never-ending investigation that wastes millions of 
taxpayer euros.  
 
In the last 25 years, there have been over 40 German court decisions 
acknowledging the Church’s religiosity, including a decision of the Federal 
Administrative Court.
 
Since the opening of its major Church in Berlin in February, the religious 
status of the Church of Scientology has been further acknowledged all over 
the world. 
 
On the 31st of October 2007, the National Court in Madrid issued a 
landmark decision recognizing that the National Church of Scientology 
of Spain should be entered in the Registry of Religious Entities as a 
religion. 
 
On the 24th of September 2007, the European Court of Human Rights 
confirmed the Court’s unanimous decision of April 2007 affirming that 
the Church of Scientology is entitled to the rights and protections 
of religious freedom that flow to religious organizations pursuant to 
Article 9 of the European Human Rights Convention. 
 
The principles enunciated in that decision upheld the religious freedom 
of Scientologists and their religious associations and apply throughout the 
forty-seven member states that have signed and ratified the European 
Human Rights Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and 
Fundamental Freedoms, including Germany.
 
On the 5th of November 2007, the Church of Scientology of Portugal was 
officially recognized as a religious organization. 
 
On the 3rd of December 2007, the South African Revenue Service granted 
the Church of Scientology the status of a Public Benefit Organization as a 
religious entity with full tax exemption.
 
The Scientology religion was founded by L. Ron Hubbard. 
The first church was established in the United States in 1954.  
It has grown to more than 7,500 churches, missions and groups and ten 
million members in 163 nations.
 
Scientology is part of our society and now a major religion internationally, 
as a member of ActionAfrica Interfaith Movement, we feel this message needs
to be known. 
Religious intolerance is out of step with modern society.

RELIGION CAN BE TAXING

South Africa is a success story for many. We came through the trauma of overcoming apartheid without a civil war. Today, we are experiencing a boom in the economy, we won the World Cup Rugby, we have numerous success stories in business, politics and most spheres of life in this country.

We unfortunately also have the horror stories – baby rapes, murders and so on, and we have the sad part of our country, the poor, AIDS, the neglected side of our African Renaissance.

Religion plays a major role in creating a better environment. You will find across the world, people dedicated to spiritual improvement are more focused on helping others than usual. It becomes their life’s work.

In South Africa this is no different. However, we have one drawback. Tax. Religions are usually tax exempt under the law in South Africa. This means they don’t pay income tax. To help their communities and our society, most religions rely on donations. Parishioners, or members, of religious denominations are relieved of donations tax when donating to their religions. However, funny as it may seem, you cannot claim exemption on your donations to your Church on your income tax return.

Yet, in the same breath, government recognises that religions play both a major role in the improvement of an individuals life as well as the overall community. So when a parishioner donates or contributes in his or her way, according to their particular religion, would it not be wise for government to allow exemption from tax? If you donated to some welfare activities, AIDS and most educational activities, per part 2 of the Ninth Schedule of our Income Tax Act, you now get 10% deductible from your taxable income. This is a section 18A deduction. Why not the same for the investment, or donation to, something that not only improves your life, makes your more productive, more ethical – and ultimately saves the government money.

It would seem to make a lot of sense that religions should enjoy the same, Section 18A SHOULD apply to religions.

Your comments?