Liberians petition for Christian nation

AFTER YEARS OF CAMPAIGNING by church leaders to return Liberia to its Christian heritage, hundreds of Liberians on March 19, 2013, delivered a petition the 53rd National legislature.

The petition ceremony was organized and led by the by the Liberia Restoration Christian Heritage Committee (LRCHC) and the group said more than 700,000 citizens from the 15 counties have signed the petition to make Liberia a Christian country.

Liberians came from the fifteen political subdivisions of the country, with some wearing red, white and blue, the national colors. Some had their faces painted and were carrying the Bible and chanting songs of victory at the grounds of the Capitol Building that houses the national legislature.

The Chairman of the group, Rev. Jomah Woiwor, said the Bible warns against "removing the ancient landmarks" with reference to Proverbs 22: 28. He claimed Liberia was built on Christian principles, and as such the ancient landmarks which "our forefather set should not be removed."

According to allafrica.com Rev. Woiwor said it is disappointing to know that the framers of the 1986 Liberian Constitution removed the clause "no sect of Christian shall have exclusive privileges", which had been in place since 1847, and replaced it with the controversial clause, of "no sect of religion shall have privileges."

He said the concepts of "sect of Christian" and "sect of religion" are not the same, and the Christian community views this change as a direct attack on the country's national heritage. He pointed out that any nation that divorces itself from history ceases to exist.

The petition calls on lawmakers to make Liberia a Christian nation, with religious tolerance, by removing the clause from section 3 of the 1986 constitution that reads "no sect of religion shall have privileges” and reverting back to the clause, "No sect of Christians shall have exclusive privileges or preference over other sects".

LRCHC activists say their campaign to return Liberia to its Christian heritage is also connected to the series of wars begun in 1990 that brought former president Charles Taylor to power. They also were moved by the 2003 LURD and MODEL war that led to the coming of the United Nation Mission in Liberia, and also what they described as the overtaking of the Liberia’s economy by foreigners and extreme poverty among the Liberian population.

They added that if the country returns to its origin of Christian nation, the many problems experienced would improve because, according to the church, God has turned his back to Liberia over the years.

The Chairman on Claims and Petition, Gabriel Nyenkan, received the petition on behalf of the House of Representatives. He accepted the petition cheerfully describing it as "no mistake and not a new thing of campaigning as several years have passed since the campaign begun.”

"I accept this petition with an open heart not only because I am a Christian but because we were elected to make law in the interest of the Liberian people.”

The chairman promised to present the petition to the House of Representatives during session, and if two thirds of the membership of the house concurs, there will be a referendum giving the Liberian people a say in the matter.

In taxis, buses, and gathering places, and among people of other religions, the feeling is that this campaign of Christianizing Liberia could be a recipe for conflict. On local radio, people continue to debate the campaign, even though the petition has a long legislative road to travel through the two Houses before a decision would be made and an amendment added to the Constitution.

The Liberia Restoration to Christian Heritage Campaign was started by a few groups of Christians after the fall of former president Charles Taylor. Over the years notable changes have been made to the Constitution, including the addition of a new preamble in 1986 that reads:

“Acknowledging our devout gratitude to God for our existence as a Free, Sovereign and Independent State, and relying on His Divine Guidance for our survival as a Nation.

Realizing from many experiences during the course of our national existence which culminated in the Revolution of April 12, 1980, when our Constitution of July 26, 1847, was suspended, that all of our people, irrespective of history, tradition, creed, or ethnic background are of one common body politic."

The signatories to the petition and other forerunners of the campaign named the 14 years of civil unrest, weakness in the country's economy - which despite being rich in resources is the second-poorest country in Africa - unequal distribution of the country's wealth, and bad governance as consequences of turning the nation into a secular state. This view is bitterly disputed by other groups of citizens.

Scholars tend to shun religious explanations for the 14 years of civil unrest in Liberia. They instead point to ethnic divisions, predatory elites who abused power, a corrupt political system, and economic disparities as sowing the seeds of conflict in the country.

Creative Commons photo credit: Flickr user miqul.