In Fiji, religion is closely related to ethnicity. About 55% of the population is made up of indigenous Fijians (iTaukei) who are mostly Christian, while Indo-Fijians, the second largest ethnic group (37.5%), are mainly Hindu with a large Muslim component. Around a third of Fiji’s population is Methodist.
Fiji is a secular state under the 2013 constitution, which provides for the separation of state and religion (Section 4, 3) as well as freedom of religion, conscience, and belief (Section 4, 3). The constitution prohibits discrimination based on religion and criminalises incitement of hatred, including on religious grounds (Section 17, 2, c, I, and Section 26, 3, a).
The principle of religious freedom is generally respected, with the authorities requiring religious groups to register.
Non-compulsory religious instruction is permitted, but religious groups may run their own schools provided they maintain the standards prescribed by law. Property is held by religious groups through trustees, after registration with the government.
In August 2018, Fiji ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which took effect in November of the same year.
In October 2018, the Fiji Times reported that, for most political parties involved in the campaign leading up to the November general elections, “race and religion are issues that matter to the people and are raised and expressed by the people.” Sitiveni Rabuka, the leader of the opposition Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA), said that Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama was wrong to suggest that SODELPA was ethnocentric, only for the mostly Christian iTaukei.
According to the Fiji Sun, in July 2018, 60 per cent of a thousand people interviewed agreed that “the opposition was using race or religion in their campaigns.” It was also reported that a Nukuloa resident, Jashwant Lal, had noted that a provisional candidate of the opposition National Federation Party had visited him and said that “If [the governing party] Fiji First wins, [Attorney General] Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum will make everyone a Muslim.” There were also allegations that three other NFP provisional candidates “had expressed anti-Muslim sentiments in their political campaigns.” The candidates denied the allegations, and the chairperson of the Electoral Commission stated that such behaviour would not be tolerated.
The Fiji Sun also reported that there was a general increase in anti-Muslim social media posts leading up to the 14th November 2018 elections.
Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, as a small island nation, Fiji has been well positioned geographically to handle it. As of 8th September 2020, it has reported zero deaths and only 32 cases, with eight still active.
Nevertheless, like in the rest of the world, the virus has also had an impact: a devastated tourism and travel market, disrupted supply chains, and a rise in domestic violence, etc. At the onset of the pandemic, church services in Fiji were also suspended in response to the outbreak.
Religious freedom is established and protected in Fiji, and there is little to indicate a departure from this in the near future. Still, religion, ethnicity, and politics are closely intertwined in Fijian society and it is sometimes difficult to isolate the religious and cultural elements in certain incidents.
In the not too distant past, Indo-Fijians suffered from discriminatory laws and policies; cultural tensions have also affected civil society. Now Fijians appear to have largely moved on from these problems, notwithstanding a few isolated incidents. The principle of religious freedom is regularly upheld as a great value in the public sphere.
Fiji