Severing church from state in Fiji

Despite this near monopoly of land ownership, overseen by the Native Land Trust Board, land was a hot issue for indigenous Fijians. Some argued the potential loss of government to an Indian-Fijian elite could lead to land reform, but that threat, critics responded, has been used as a pretext for the dreadful early coups which led to tens of thousands of Fijian-Indians leaving the country under the fear of violence.

A 2010 estimate has 45 per cent of the population living in poverty.[3] Religious adherence is very high. According to the 2007 census 64 per cent of the population are Christian, 33 per cent Methodist and 9 per cent Catholic. The remaining population of Christians are represented by as many as forty seven sects; 28 per cent of the population are Hindu, 6 per cent Muslim.

There were coups in 1987, 2000, 2006. In May 1987 lieutenant colonel Sitiveni Rambuka overthrew the government of Timoci Bavadra motivated by the racist assertion that indigenous Fijians were 'losing control' of their country to its Fijian-born Indian residents.

In October that year Rambuka took another step that would have consequences he would not have foreseen. For reasons that were never made clear, possibly to avoid a charge of treason should the wheels come off his coup, he made Fiji into a republic, formally breaking the link to Britain.

In 2012 it was thus a simple matter for the Bainimarama regime to endorse secularism as a cornerstone of the new constitution, despite the high degree of religious adherence, for the informal but influential constitutional link to the religion of the monarchy was long gone.

Theocratic Methodism

The leadership of the Methodist Church in Fiji, up until very recently, has been hard core. They:

* Wanted Fiji to be declared a Christian state barely tolerating other beliefs;

* openly campaigned in 2001with full page ads in newspapers encouraging the electorate to vote for the indigenous-elite SDL party on the grounds the party was supported by God;

* advocated a top-down patriarchal form of government that endorses male control, from government to the family to the school, with punishment for children an acceptable part of its agenda; and

* have argued that those of other religions are heathens.

SDL stands for Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua which means 'the party of land owners'. It was established after the 2000 coup by the man Bainimarama had chosen to be a stand-in prime minister, businessman Laisenia Qarase. In alliance with another conservative party SDL won the 2001 election.