The Republic of Kiribati is a small insular nation of 32 coral atolls and one raised coral island, located about halfway between Hawaii and Australia. Its capital is Tarawa.
Its 1979 constitution (amended in 2013) protects freedom of religion. Under Article 11 (1), religious groups are entitled, “both in public and in private, to manifest and propagate [their] religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.” Religious freedom may nevertheless be legally curtailed under Article 11 (6, a) if it is “reasonably required in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health,” provided that the curtailment is “reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.”
Religious groups are entitled to establish, maintain, and run their own schools. Religious instruction is not compulsory in public schools and parents may have their children opt out of such instruction.
Religious organisations whose membership is 2 per cent or more of the country’s population must register with the authorities. However, it is known that those which have failed to register are not penalised. The government continues to administer grants to registered religious organisations for development work.
As a predominantly Christian nation since British and American missionaries arrived in the 19th century, Kiribati acknowledges “God as the Almighty Father in whom we put our trust” in the Preamble to the Constitution.
Catholics are more than half of the population (57 per cent), and predominate in the northern islands. Protestants dominate in the southern islands. There are also small numbers of Mormons, Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as Muslims and Baha’is.
In the past two years, no religious incidents have been reported in Kiribati. The local government remains committed to religious freedom. Yet, the US Department of State has noted that a “one-Church only” tradition is still maintained in two southern islands. Despite this, no tensions have been reported.
Conversely, the decision by the Kiribati government to recognise Communist China in September 2019 could jeopardise Catholic Church projects funded by Taiwan, the Catholic Bishop of Kiribati and Nauru, Koru Tito said in a radio interview.
Like many other South Pacific island nations, Kiribati has not had a single COVID-19 case, as of mid-September 2020. As soon as a worldwide pandemic was declared, local authorities were quick to institute a state of emergency in March 2020, closing the country to foreign travellers to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, this eventually led to the mass departure of most foreign Mormon missionaries.
Everything suggests that the government is not likely to interfere with the constitutional right to freedom of religion.
Kiribati