New Bolivian Law to Control Churches, Beliefs

By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (Worthy News)– Protestant church leaders in Bolivia are bucking a new law that they claim imposes religious beliefs contrary to their own and denies them the right to be a church. As a result, the National Association of Evangelicals of Bolivia intends to file suit this week asserting that Law 351 is unconstitutional and demanding it be revoked, according to Morning Star News.

Law 351 stipulates a standardized administrative structure for all religious organizations that would force churches to betray their true ecclesiastical traditions, legal advisor Ruth Montano told Morning Star News.

“The measure deprives them of any autonomy to follow their original faith convictions,” she said.

The law requires all churches and not-for-profit organizations to re-register their legal charters with the government; this process requires data on membership, financial activity and organizational leadership. Any churches failing to complete re-registration within a two-year period could lose their legal right to exist.

Protestant leaders claim that the new law gives the Bolivian government regulatory power over the internal affairs of their denominations to the point of defining what is and isn’t a church.

Ironically, Bolivian President Evo Morales — the first indigenous Andean to be democratically elected to that office — abolished the historic influence of the Roman Catholic Church over the nation’s religious affairs. But Protestant leaders now fear that pre-Colombian animism has replaced Catholicism, e.g., instead of Catholic priests, Morales’s administration routinely invites “folk doctors” to bless all government ceremonies.

Protestant worship was banned in Bolivia until about a century ago; they now represent 16 percent of the country’s population of 10 million, according to Operation World.

Lift this up in Prayer

7

people are currently praying.

Latest Worthy News

Fair Use Notice:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Books by George Whitten

Identity in Messiah Revealed https://identityinmessiah.com

Identity in Messiah is a 60-day devotional journey designed to help you exchange the world’s labels for Heaven’s declaration. Each devotional combines rich Biblical teaching, Hebraic insights, practical application, and carefully selected Scripture passages to lead you into a deeper understanding of your position in Messiah.

Get it on Amazon

The Biblical Fall Feasts https://biblicalfallfeasts.com

In The Biblical Fall Feasts Revealed, George Whitten leads readers on a stirring devotional journey along the Hebrew month of Elul, the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah), the Days of Awe (Yamim Nora'im), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), and the Eighth Day (Shemini Atzeret). With Scripture as the foundation, each chapter uncovers the prophetic beauty threaded into God’s calendar and shows how these sacred seasons still speak with urgency and hope today.

Get it on Amazon