NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — In a crackdown, Rwanda has shut down more than 5,600 places of worship over failure to meet the conditions required for operation.
Churches, mosques, caves and tents affected by the shutdown were found to have fallen short of the standard requirements set by 2018 laws, according to officials conducting the two-week process that started July 29.
The law requires clerics to have theology degrees, and faith organizations to register with the government and have clear statements indicating their doctrine. The statements should be deposited with the Rwanda Governance Board, the government agency that registers houses of worship and other civil society organizations. Houses of worship must also pass safety and hygiene codes.
“I think what was introduced—not today but five years ago—is good for the church. The government gave us five years to comply and kept giving us reminders. That ended last year in September,” Anglican Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda told Religion News Service in a telephone interview.
“I think this was enough time to comply. We need to look at this from a positive side.”
The Rwanda Governance Board introduced the rules and standards to tame what officials viewed as an unregulated proliferation of churches.
Mbanda said the rules were good for the improvement of congregations and the people’s worship environment.
“We are talking about aeration, sound control…toilets for men and women,” said Mbanda. “I think there is nothing out of the ordinary about these.”
Most affected by the shutdowns were small Pentecostal churches and some mosques, reportedly operating on riverbanks and in caves. Many of these had no address, and according to some claims, were prone to indoctrinating their followers and exploiting congregants.
“I think most people agree with this. There has to be training of clergy, order and sanity in the churches’ operation, so that religion serves its purpose,” the Rev. Innocent Halerimana Maganya, a Congolese Catholic priest at Tangaza University in Nairobi, told RNS. “In the current state of affairs, it is the poor who are suffering exploitation.”
Rwanda—an East African country with 12 million people—is largely Christian. According to the 2022 census, about 48% of its citizens are Protestants, but the Roman Catholic Church forms the largest single denomination, with 40% of the population identifying as such.
The country, approximately the size of the U.S. state of Maryland, had 15,000 churches in 2019, according to official figures. Only 700 were legally registered at the time.
