2018 Report on International Religious Freedom: Eswatini

The U.S. government estimates the total population at 1.1 million (July 2018 estimate).  Religious leaders estimate that 90 percent of the population is Christian, approximately 2 percent is Muslim (of whom many are not ethnic emaSwati), and the remainder belongs to other religious groups, including those with indigenous African beliefs.  According to anecdotal reports, approximately 40 percent of the population practices Zionism, a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship (some adherents of which self-identify as evangelical Christians), while another 20 percent is Roman Catholic.  There are also Anglicans, Methodists, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and very small Jewish and Baha’i communities.  Zionism is widely practiced in rural areas.

Legal Framework

The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides for freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, including the right to worship, alone or in community with others, and to change religion or belief.  These rights may be limited by laws that are “reasonably required” in the interest of defense, public safety, order, morality, health, or protecting the rights of others.  The constitution provides religious groups the right to establish and operate private schools and to provide religious instruction for their students without interference from the government.

The constitution recognizes unwritten traditional laws and customs, which are interpreted by traditional courts, granted equal status with codified laws, and protected from amendment or regulation by the parliament and/or national courts.  The law requires religious groups to register with the government.  The Ministry of Home Affairs is the government agency responsible for monitoring religious affairs in the country.  To register as a religious group, Christian groups must apply through one of the country’s three umbrella religious bodies – the League of Churches, Swaziland Conference of Churches, or Council of Swaziland Churches – for a recommendation, which is routinely granted and does not impede registration, according to church leaders.  The application process requires a group to provide its constitution, membership, and physical location, along with the umbrella body’s recommendation, to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Trade, which then registers the organization.  For indigenous religious groups and non-Christian religious organizations, authorities consider proof of a religious leader, a congregation, and a place of worship as sufficient grounds to grant registration.  Registered religious groups are exempt from taxation, but contributions are not tax deductible.

Religious groups must obtain government permission for the construction of new religious buildings in urban areas, and permission from the appropriate chief and chief’s advisory council for new religious buildings in rural areas.  In some rural communities, chiefs have designated special committees to allocate land to religious groups for a minimal fee.

Christian religious instruction is mandatory in public primary schools and incorporated into the daily morning assembly.  Christian education is also compulsory in public secondary schools.  There are no opt-out procedures.  Religious education is neither prohibited nor mandated in private schools.

The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Government Practices

The 2017 directive declaring Christianity the only religion in the public school curriculum and banning the teaching of other religions remained in effect.  According to religious leaders and civil society organizations, school administrations permitted only Christian religious youth clubs to operate in public schools.  Christian clubs sometimes conducted daily prayer services in public schools and were permitted to raise funds on campus.  Christian clubs’ activities were normally conducted during lunch breaks, weekends, and school holidays.

In contrast with prior years, there were no reports of security officials monitoring prayer sessions in mosques.  Muslims reported incidents of not receiving prompt services from government officials, such as obtaining identity documents or processing immigration and customs paperwork at border posts.

Religious leaders said the government continued to protect the right of Muslim workers to close businesses in order to attend Friday afternoon prayer sessions at mosques despite government-mandated business operating hours.  Businesses owned by members of the Baha’i community were allowed to close shops in observance of Baha’i religious holidays.  Public schools, however, did not allow early departure for Muslim students to attend Friday prayers or excuse Baha’i or Muslim students from attendance on their respective religious holidays.

Non-Christian groups reported the government continued to provide some preferential benefits to Christians, such as free transportation to religious activities and free time on state television and radio.  Government-owned television and radio stations broadcast daily morning and evening Christian programming.  The government continued to provide each of the three Christian umbrella religious bodies and their affiliates with free airtime to broadcast daily religious services on the state-run radio station.  Non-Christian religious groups stated they had stopped requesting free radio and television airtime following years of government denial of such access.

The monarchy, and by extension the government, aligned itself with Christian faith-based groups and supported many Christian activities.  Official government programs often opened with a Christian prayer, and several government ministers held Christian prayer vigils (which civil servants were expected to attend).

The Muslim community continued to report negative views of Islam in society.  According to Muslim leaders, when some members of society heard international radio reports of violence committed by groups such as ISIS or Boko Haram, they attributed this behavior as representing all Muslims in the country or Islam in general.

Religious leaders expressed interest in resuming meetings of the Interfaith Working Group established in 2016.  Muslim leaders reported that they saw this as a key to increasing societal respect and tolerance for Islam, stating they believed the suspicion Muslims faced was due more to ignorance than intolerance.

The Ambassador and other U.S. government officials engaged with the government, including the principal secretary of education, the head of the Human Rights Commission Secretariat, the head of the Millennium Challenge Corporation task force, and others on issues such as the directive banning the teaching of non-Christian religions and the importance of developing and maintaining interfaith dialogue in the country.

A senior embassy official hosted an iftar attended by Muslims, Christians, and government officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry or Commerce, Industry, and Trade.  During the event, religious leaders and government officials had a wide discussion of religious freedom issues, including the topic of mandatory Christian education in public schools.

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the International Religious Freedom Act, the embassy hosted a roundtable on religious freedom.  Government officials and religious leaders representing Muslim, Baha’i, Rastafarian, and various Christian traditions attended.  Participants discussed the Christian-only public school religious education directive, as well as land rights and other policy issues affecting their congregations.  The Muslim community reported the embassy’s efforts to bring together religious leaders in 2017 and 2018 led to improved relations among religious leaders of different faiths.