The director of INAR pointed out that there are still churches that have been wiped out due to the cancellation of the emanic platforms that controlled about 2,006 denominations, a number that he said could reach 4,000 because a large part operates outside the law. At the conference, Angolan Culture Minister Carolina Cerqueira said that because the state is secular, it demonstrates neutrality and impartiality in terms of religious practice, so that it does not “support or discriminate” against any religious denomination, provided that it plays its role and does not respect the rights of citizens. Castro Maria pointed out that since 2000 it has been “impossible” to legalize more churches, “mainly because of religious denominations” that “have struggled to collect a hundred thousand signatures duly recognized by the notary.” Francisco de Castro Maria, who spoke to the media on the sidelines of a meeting on religious activities in Bengo province, said the culture ministry had not legalized churches in 18 years. The senior official of the Ministry of Culture said that many religious leaders have no theological training, stressing that “almost every day, new religious communities appear in the country which, instead of preaching the Word of God, promote promiscuity and extort money from the population.” “This is indeed a very serious problem,” said Francisco de Castro Maria, who said the executive was changing this framework, “in the interest of the people, the churches and the country.” In Angola, according to the official, 84 recognized churches legally engage in religious activities. For Francisco de Castro Maria, the churches play an important role in the moralization of society and contribute to the development of communities. Francisco de Castro Maria, citing the current law on freedom of conscience, worship and religion, recalled that 100,000 signatures are needed for the recognition of a church, a figure that can be reduced to 60,000 signatures of believers residing in Angola if a new executive proposal is adopted. Currently, there are only 77 legal churches and more than 2,000 illegal denominations in Angola, which is why the spread of churches has been the target of the Angolan government`s attention since the end of August 2018. The document refers to a report released at the same time as the legislation that cites the social reasons for the emergence of so many new churches: illiteracy, poverty and belief in mysticism and magic. Churches operating illegally in Angola will be closed from November following the government`s decision to remove Ecuadorian platforms in the country in order to “normalize the exercise of freedom of religion, belief and religion”.
According to officials, in addition to the©81 recognized and legal denominations, several religious platforms have been created under new government guidelines, grouping together several small churches. Castro Maria said that more than 50 percent of the churches established in the country are foreigners and come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, Nigeria and Senegal. According to official figures, there are officially 81 recognized churches in Angola. Angola`s Ministry of Culture has registered 81 churches, while about 1,100 more are awaiting recognition by law. Angola has 1,106 churches awaiting recognition, the director of the National Institute of Religious Affairs, a structure of the Ministry of Culture, said Thursday in Caxito, Bengo province. This decision is the result of a joint executive decree of the Angolan Ministries of the Interior, Territorial Administration and State Reform, Justice and Human Rights and Culture, which repealed the previous legislation of 25 June 2015. On July 5, Lusa reported on the Angolan government`s decision to remove the Yemeni platforms in the country in order to “normalize the exercise of freedom of religion, belief and religion,” as provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of Angola. “All illegal churches have the opportunity to set up the legalization processes by an installation commission by next month and then submit them to the National Institute of Religious Affairs for further recognition,” he said.