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Religious leaders given five years to get qualifications

Tuesday July 31 2018
urusengero

The Holy City church in Gasabo District was closed over its lack of basic infrastructure. The proposed law seeks to tighten rules on registration and function of churches, and faith-based leaders. PHOTO | FILE

By LEONCE MUVUNYI

A new draft law governing faith-based organisations has given a five-year grace period for religious leaders to acquire university degrees and theology qualifications.

Parliamentarians are concerned that some faith-based leaders with moderate education levels are bound to misinterpret religious scripts for their own gain, which puts their followers at a disadvantage.

Comparatively, according to the sponsors of the Bill, a religious leader with a minimum university degree and theology training is less likely to distort religious teachings.

Therefore, lawmakers supported the President’s Office, which sponsored the Bill that has been tabled before the preliminary session of the lower house.

When passed, this means without both the first degree and theology training, no person will be allowed to head any faith-based organisation in the country.

Thus, faith-based leaders are pushing their members to pursue higher education in order to follow the law.

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“Anyone with a spiritual calling without educational qualifications has to use this transitional period to acquire higher qualifications,” said Alfred Rwasa Kayiranga, the chairperson of Committee on Political Affairs and Gender in the lower chamber.

According to Bishop Innocent Nzeyimana, the head of a faith-based organisation in Kigali, there are many church leaders without the minimum required qualification.

The major objective of the Bill is to protect followers from extortions and misinformation from faith-based orgnisations.

This will see many churches leaders especially Pentecostal leaders who often claim to have received a calling to preach locked out especially in the rural areas.

Under the new law, faith-based organisations will have to provide a list of the people serving in different positions and their qualifications

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