Hijacking the Church: Exposing the CRL’s First Draft White Paper Framework for Spiritual Control in South Africa

A Dangerous Blueprint for Religious Control

A leaked 32-page “First Draft White Paper Framework”, titled “Towards the Prevention and Administration of Harmful and Abusive Spiritual Transgressions within Religious Communities”, has ignited outrage and deep concern within South Africa’s faith community.

This 32-page framework, though disguised as a “protective measure,” is in truth a covert plan to regulate, monitor, and control the Church. It outlines how the State could soon decide who may preach, what may be preached, and which spiritual practices are “acceptable.”

If implemented, this framework would represent the most serious threat to religious freedom since the dawn of democracy.

The CRL’s Hidden Agenda

At the core of the proposal is the creation of a new structure called the Religious Peer Review Council (RPRC) — an unelected, multi-faith committee of up to 18 members empowered to:

• Investigate pastors and religious leaders.

• Suspend or terminate their ministry.

• Revoke marriage licences.

• Enforce “remedial training” and re-education.

• Audit churches’ internal ethics and discipline procedures.

• Empowered to notify insurers and suspend or revoke a pastor’s insurance.

(Buried within the proposed powers of the RPRC is a shocking provision that allows it to cancel or suspend a pastor’s insurance cover and prohibit him from officiating marriages while still under investigation)

This is not peer accountability — it is state surveillance disguised as moral reform.

The CRL’s vision is clear: to place religious institutions under a centralised, government-aligned body with sweeping powers to sanction, silence, and even re-train pastors.

Pastors Turned Into “Compliance Officers”

The White Paper calls for certain clergy to become “compliance officers” — legally bound to report their peers to the RPRC.

In effect, pastors would be forced to spy on other pastors and report “spiritual transgressions” — a term so vaguely defined it could include preaching repentance, opposing LGBT ideology, or simply discouraging sin.

This is not protection of victims — it’s surveillance of the Church.

Unchecked Power: The RPRC as Judge, Jury, and Enforcer

The RPRC claims authority to issue a “Restricted Activity Notification (RAN)” — a legal order that can bar a pastor from preaching, counselling, or conducting marriages even before an investigation is completed.

It can extend its own jurisdiction “in exceptional circumstances,” operate more like a “family” than a regulated body, and even impose “restorative justice” settlements on accused pastors.

That means a pastor could be forced to apologise or undergo “re-training” simply to avoid criminal referral — even when innocent.

It violates South Africa’s Constitutional principles of natural and administrative justice, which guarantee fairness and presumption of innocence.

Re-Training Pastors Under a State Ideology

State-Funded Re-Education of Pastors.

Perhaps the most disturbing element is the CRL’s plan for training and refresher programs for clergy — funded by national and provincial government budgets.

Pastors would be required to attend state-approved training and “education on harmful religious practices,” potentially re-shaping Biblical teaching to fit political and ideological agendas.

Once the State determines what is “acceptable theology,” the pulpit becomes a platform of propaganda — not prophecy.

The Psychology of Control

The first 20 pages of the White Paper — written from a psychological-sociological viewpoint, condemn “guilt,” “repentance,” “shame,” and “condemnation” as forms of spiritual abuse.

Think about that.

The Bible teaches repentance unto salvation — yet the CRL’s framework implies that preaching about guilt or sin is psychologically harmful and could be classified as “abusive spiritual conduct.”

It is a subtle but deadly attack on Biblical truth itself.

If guilt and repentance are banned, the Gospel is effectively silenced.

One Council to Rule All Faiths

In earlier public statements, the CRL claimed it wanted each faith community to regulate itself.Yet this document centralises control under a single multi-religious RPRC — where individuals who may not share your faith could rule over your church.

The Council’s “diverse representation” sounds inclusive, but in practice it would erase denominational autonomy and create an inter-faith oversight structure that supersedes the authority of Scripture, pastors, and congregations.

The Illusion of Protection

The CRL wraps its agenda in soft words — “healing,” “restoration,” “prevention,” “best practice.”But beneath the language of compassion lies the architecture of control.

By claiming to protect believers from harm, the CRL is positioning itself as a regulator of religion — with power to decide what counts as faith, who qualifies as a minister, and what can be preached from the pulpit.

It is the State wearing the robes of the Church.

A Violation of the Constitution

Section 15 of the South African Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, belief, and opinion.

The CRL’s draft White Paper would override that freedom by:

• Giving unelected committees power over spiritual matters.

• Forcing churches to comply with secular ideologies.

• Criminalising religious conviction under the term “spiritual harm.”

It transforms religious liberty from a right into a government-granted licence — revocable at any time.

Why Every Christian Must Pay Attention

History teaches that freedom, once surrendered, is never easily regained.

Today it’s “compliance training” and “peer review.”Tomorrow it’s licensing to preach and permission to worship.

If the Church remains silent now, the next generation will inherit pulpits bound by bureaucracy instead of conviction.

The Church Must Rise

This is a defining moment for the South African Church.

We must:

• Expose this regulatory agenda publicly.

• Educate believers and pastors on its implications.

• Engage Parliament and policymakers with firm opposition.

• Empower congregations to defend freedom of faith.

The South African Church Defenders (SACD) calls on every believer, pastor, and faith leader to stand together and say No to the CRL’s attempt to hijack the Church of Jesus Christ.

“We must obey God rather than men.” — Acts 5:29

🛡️ For Christ. For Freedom. For the Church.

South African Church Defenders (SACD)

📞 +27 (76) 811 2631🌐 www.sachurchdefenders.org✉️ info@sachurchdefenders.org