South Africa is heading into a major legal showdown over church regulation, after the South African Church Defenders (SACD) launched a sweeping court challenge against the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) and its leadership.
The case, filed on 17 November 2025 in the Johannesburg High Court, comes after months of tension between Christian groups and the CRL, following the Commission’s decision to form what it called a “Section 22 Committee.”
According to the SACD, this committee was created illegally and is part of a broader attempt to place churches, doctrines, and religious leadership under state control — something Parliament had previously rejected.
Tensions Reach Breaking Point
The dispute escalated on 2 October 2025, when SACD says the CRL reignited an old regulatory agenda without legal authority or public consultation.
The move sparked outrage among Christian organisations, who accused the CRL of ignoring constitutional limits and acting in defiance of Parliament’s earlier decisions.
Thousands of believers marched from Pretoria to Cape Town on 8 October and again on 13 November, presenting a memorandum to both the President and Parliament.
But SACD says the CRL refused to back down, dismissing calls for restraint and showing “disturbing indifference” to the rights of the Christian community.
A ‘Moment of Truth’ for Religious Freedom
SACD argues that South Africa has now reached a critical turning point.
The organisation wants the High Court to:
Declare the Section 22 Committee unlawful
Strike down the CRL’s attempts to regulate church doctrine, leadership and training
Reject the CRL’s classification of charismatic churches as a “national security threat”
SACD describes the case as a direct challenge to a Chapter 9 institution it believes has gone far beyond its mandate and interfered in the “sacred terrain” of worship and church autonomy.
The Fight Moves to the High Court
The application was officially served on 18 November 2025 on the CRL’s chairperson, Ms Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, Mr Musa Xulu and the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
With the matter now heading to the High Court, the future of religious freedom in South Africa is set to be contested with “unprecedented intensity.”
SACD Vows to Continue the Battle
In a firm statement, SACD said it would pursue the case relentlessly to defend the Church and protect constitutional rights:
“We will not allow any institution to erode the freedoms guaranteed to every believer in this nation.”
The organisation promised to provide further updates as the court proceedings unfold.