Christianity in Papua New Guinea may gain national religion status

At a time when Christianity in Australia in in serious decline, the position could not be more different in Papua New Guinea where moves are under way to accord Christianity national religion status.

The possible consequences of this proposal deserve examining – and contrasting with the position in Australia.

The PNG Prime Minister, James Marape, has launched a constitutional inquiry on the declaration of Papua New Guinea as a Christian country. The inquiry will be conducted by the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission which advises the national government on possible changes to the national constitution.

The PNG national constitution was adopted at Independence in 1975, and while it makes reference to Christianity, it does not define Christianity as the national religion, and in fact stresses the importance of freedom of religion.

Coming just a year from the PNG national elections the move by Prime Minister Marape may well be a very shrewd one provided the process is managed transparently.

At a time when Christian commitment in Australia is now barely 50 per cent of the population, down from 75 per cent just a few decades ago, Christianity is stronger than it has ever been in Papua New Guinea.

Even there are no reliable census reports to draw on there is general agreement that around 90 per cent of Papua New Guineans profess a commitment to Christianity. There has been no decline in that position for years, and in fact it may be even higher than it was just a decade ago.

This is a remarkable position given that Christianity is not an indigenous religion in our closest neighbour, having been initially "imported" by missionaries from Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and the South Pacific Islands, from the late 19^th century onwards.

In the largest region, the Highlands, the arrival of Christianity dates back only to the early 1950's. Today Christianity in the Highlands is strong, and growing, and as elsewhere in PNG, a force for good – with a few exceptions.

The proposal from Prime Minister Marape is highly likely to be very popular provided as I have said the process is transparent and probably able to enjoy political support across the national parliament.

If the independent inquiry recommends that Papua New Guinea be declared a Christian country, the national parliament will begin the process of amending the national constitution to formally declare Christianity as the national religion.

Even though the "benchmark" for changing the Constitution, requiring a significant majority "yes" vote at successive national parliament sessions, there is no doubt in my mind it will be overwhelmingly endorsed by MPs, most probably in the parliament elected at the 2022 national elections.

The Christian churches in Papua New Guinea are one of the great "hopes" for the nation, and the nine million people, at the most difficult times in its post-independence history.

Today Papua New Guinea faces a Covid-19 virus crisis that is far worse than almost anyone in authority is prepared to acknowledge, or fully address. The economy is in dire straits with only limited prospect of improvement during 2021. And as a consequence of the poor economy, and possibly the spread of Covid-19, crime is rising rapidly in a number of urban communities, including gang lawlessness in once peaceful centres such as Alotau and Rabaul-Kokopo.

The influence of Christianity, and the Christian churches, is one of the few hopes for better times ahead. But the churches need a significant boost to state funding (and even Australian development assistance funding) for the vital health, school education and vocational training they provide.

Constitutional status might enable the churches to exercise more "clout" in not only securing the funding they have been promised but also the increase they need to meet the desperate welfare and family life challenges they confront on a daily basis.

But they are going to need to be encouraged to do so by a listening government, and frankly by regional neighbours who see Christian churches as part of the solution, not part of the problem!

The other obvious advantage of declaring PNG a Christian country is that it will infuriate the Peoples Republic of China which remains unrelenting in its efforts to minimise Australia's influence in PNG.

So far the PRC, and its agents in PNG, have generally avoided confrontation with the mainstream churches but there can be no guarantee that will continue, especially as China is increasingly funding schools and training centres where Christianity plays no part.

Declaring PNG a Christian country may also wake up a few national leaders, and provincial leaders, who seem to be doing the PRC's bidding at every opportunity.

The Australian Government should be prepared to embrace the benefits declaring PNG a Christian country will open up.

Until the arrival of the Abbott Government, and Julie Bishop as Foreign Minister, in 2013 limited Australian development assistance programs in PNG, and elsewhere in the Pacific, were delivered through the Christian churches.

What needs to happen now is for the federal government to significantly, and urgently, expand its engagement with the Christian churches, and church-based agencies, in meeting the enormous challenges facing the "community of Papua New Guinea". I deliberately say "community" for in many parts of our neighbour it is only the churches who are delivering basic school education, health care, vocational training and family life support programs.

It is nonsense for Australia to minimise engagement with the one great entity holding PNG together – the mainstream Christian churches. The very opposite needs to be the case – that engagement needs to be increased.

The federal government ought also be encouraging, and assisting counterpart churches in Australia – notably the Catholic Church (the largest in PNG), the United Church, the Lutheran Church The Seventh Day Adventist Church, and increasingly the growing number of Pentecostal churches (rapidly growing in PNG) – to meet the growing challenges of a nation under massive pressure on a number of fronts.

In the likely event that the anti-Christian elements in Australian society try to prevent or undermine a greater role for the Churches, and engagement with Australian churches, the federal government needs to be resolute. The real challenges facing the community of Papua New Guinea cannot possibly be met by government agencies alone.

In fact the capacity of the state to do so is diminishing all the time and that is a reality we just cannot ignore.

The history of successful Christian engagement in Papua New Guinea since the late 19^th century is in general a very honourable and proud one. The Bible has been successfully translated into many of Papua New Guinea's 800 languages and the church-run hospitals and health centres are almost without exception the very best.

The other area the Churches of PNG need to be encouraged to focus on is agriculture which as I shall write in the near future is undergoing truly alarming decline.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church (in which James Marape is an Elder) has for many years been a very successful producer of basic food needs on its farms in the Highlands.

And the Catholic, SDA and Lutheran Churches have established and maintained high class universities and technical colleges which need to be given further funding to increase both enrolments and course choices.

Making Christianity the "national religion of Papua New Guinea" will be just one step along the road to rebuilding the nation, and enhancing the living standards of its people.

But properly implemented it will be a welcome and positive step!