Religious liberty would be a founding principle of the State, with public office-holders constitutionally required to treat all religions equally, under the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 tabled in Parliament yesterday.
Section 4 of the proposed Constitution states that “religious belief is personal” and sets out specific obligations on the State and people holding public office.
It states that the State and public office-holders “must treat all religions equally” and must not dictate any religious belief.
The Bill goes further by prohibiting the State and public officials from preferring or advancing any particular religion, religious denomination, belief or practice over another.
That protection also extends to people holding non-religious beliefs.
“The State and all persons holding public office must not prefer or advance, by any means, any particular religion, religious denomination, religious belief, or religious practice over another, or over any non-religious belief,” the Bill states.
The provision also establishes a boundary between religious belief and the law.
It states that “no person may assert any religious belief as a legal reason to disregard this Constitution or any other written law.”
The religious liberty provision sits alongside other clauses in the Bill that give Christianity explicit recognition.
Chapter 1 lists “Christianity and family values” among the proposed founding values of Fiji, while the Preamble acknowledges Christianity’s “enduring influence” on the development of the islands alongside the contribution of other faiths.
The Bill also states separately that religion and the State are separate.
Parliament’s official records confirm constitutional amendment proceedings are recorded through its formal voting and legislative processes.
