The legal team of the civil rights organisation AfriForum eventually received the court documents of the Organisasie vir Godsdienste-Onderrig en Demokrasie (Organisation for Religion Education and Democracy, or OGOD) and can now prepare for the legal case to protect the practice of religion in schools. This follows after the court documents of the six schools who have been taken to court by this fundamentalist organisation at the end of 2014, were submitted in April 2015 already.

According to Carien Bloem, AfriForum’s Project Coordinator for Education, these six schools – Laerskool Randhart, Laerskool Baanbreker, Laerskool Garsfontein, Hoërskool Linden, Hoërskool Oudtshoorn and Oudtshoorn Gimnasium – are taken to court as a result of their religious policies. The Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS) represents these six schools, while AfriForum provides support for the legal costs.

“The preparation for the court case has taken longer than a year, mostly because each school’s case is handled separately and because we had to wait so long for the opponents’ court documents,” Bloem explained.

Fundamentalist organisations started threatening in October 2009 that schools with a Christian ethos will be taken to court, because religion should be kept out of schools. Even then, AfriForum took a strong stand and said that it would support schools against such legal actions. AfriForum launched a campaign in 2015 for the preservation of religion in schools to support the court case and create awareness. Rev. Henk Stavast and Derick Francis cycled 6 000 km across the country as part of a campaign to not only raise funds for the matter, but also to inform people about the matter and to highlight the negative results if religion was to be banned from schools. For the same reasons, AfriForum undertook a hiking tour in the Drakensberg with Hykie Berg and Jacobsdal Primêre Skool.

“The support for the project had been unbelievable and once again showed how important religion and Christianity in schools are to schools, learners and parents,” Bloem said.

AfriForum is also applying to join the Court case as a friend of the court, but will continue to support FEDSAS and the six schools with legal costs.

The six schools and the fundamentalist organisation aim to go to Court around the middle of the year.

Anyone who wants to make a donation to the court case, can donate R10 by sending an SMS with their name to 38313 (R1 per SMS).

Issued by AfriForum