MONROVIA, Liberia — Baptist leaders in Liberia have spoken in opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment declaring the West African republic a Christian state.
A committee charged with reviewing Liberia’s 1986 constitution recommended 19 changes during a five-day conference March 29 through April 2. The most controversial, adopted overwhelmingly by about 400 delegates, would declare Liberia a “Christian nation.”
The Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention, the nation’s oldest Christian denomination, responded with a statement declaring the amendment inconsistent with “Baptist Christian principles.”
The statement, signed by convention president Olu Menjay, said Liberian Baptists “have no room for sectarian arrogance within the country’s diverse Christian persuasions and in a progressively more pluralistic world where Liberia is for all persons regardless of faith persuasion or affiliation.”
“A nerve center of our denominational sensibility as Christians is not merely religious toleration, but religious liberty,” the statement said. “Not merely sufferance, but freedom. Not just for us, but for all people. As such we affirm our stance against making Liberia a Christian nation.”
Muslims, who make up about 12 percent of Liberia’s 4 million residents, said the proposed amendment is discriminatory.
(BNG)
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