Law and religious freedom in South Africa: Challenges facing the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Abstract

The Seventh-day Adventist church within the South African context faces a number of potential and real problems that relate to religious freedom and law. This article outlines the interaction between the state and the Seventh-day Adventist church in light of its development from late nineteenth century to the present. The Seventh-day Adventist church in South Africa does not operate with policies and a polity that is crafted and developed in a local context exclusively. As a global organization the Seventh-day Adventist church operates across many legal contexts. The discussion generated from this article will help in facilitating an open dialogue on issues that need to be taken into consideration in creating a healthy and working relationship between the church and state in the South African context. Cases discussed in this article serve as evidence of issues that need to be addressed by the church by clarifying a self-understanding of religious freedom within the South African context.