Zambia’s constitution should not identify ‘Christian nation,’ bishops argue

Zambia’s constitution should not identify ‘Christian nation,’ bishops argue

CWN – August 20, 2012

The Catholic bishops of Zambia are opposing a plan to identify the African country as “a Christian nation” in the preamble to a new proposed constitution.

In explaining their stand, the bishops said that “a country cannot practice the values and precepts of Christianity by a mere declaration.” The bishops’ statement, circulated in response to a call for comments on the draft constitution, continued:

The principle of separation between State and Religion must not be lost. If Zambia is a multi-religious Country, a fact that was recognized in the preamble of the first draft of the Technical Committee, to say that Zambia is a Christian nation would be in contradiction with this fact.

In other comments, the Catholic bishops objected to language that would allow for the death penalty and for legal abortion.

Additional sources for this story: The bishops contrary to defining Zambia in the constitutional preamble as a “Christian nation” (Fides) www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=32073&lan=eng