Freedom of religion in Guyana

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice. The Government at all levels sought to protect this right in full and did not tolerate its abuse, either by governmental or private actors.[1]

The law protects the right of individuals to choose and change their religion and to interpret their religious beliefs for themselves. Members of all religious groups worshipped freely. There is no state or otherwise dominant religion, and the Government practised no form of religious favouritism or discrimination except for public schools, where Christianity is the only religion practised, school children are asked to recite Christian prayers throughout the day.[1]

While the Government recognizes religious groups of all faiths, they must register with the Government to receive formal recognition. Religious groups seeking to establish operations must first obtain permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs. In the past, access to Amerindian areas required permission from the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs; however, under the 2006 revision of the Amerindian Act only the permission of the local Village Council is required. There is no formal monitoring of religious groups.[1]

The following holy days are national holidays: Christian-Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas; Hindu-Phagwah (festival welcoming spring) and Diwali (festival of lights); Islamic-You-Man-Nabi (birth of the Prophet Muhammad) and Eid Al-Adha (feast of sacrifice).[1]

Both public and religiously affiliated schools exist, and parents are free to send their children to the school of their choice without sanction or restriction, except the AFC-ANUP administration has imposed an 18% VAT/tax on students that choose to attend private school. The Government imposes no requirements regarding religion for any official or nonofficial purposes.[1]

Government policy and practice contributed to the generally free practice of religion.[1]

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) makes an effort to coordinate with civilian religious groups to provide personnel with access to religious services. Leaders of all major religious groups provided prayer and counselling, although generally only Christian sermons were given on GDF bases. Although no official GDF policy requires attendance at religious services, anecdotal evidence from GDF officers suggests that individual commanders required attendance at some religious programs. Membership in a particular religion did not confer any advantage or disadvantage; however, general military practice tended to be biased in favour of Christians.[1]

There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees in the country or of forced religious conversion.[1]

The Inter-Religious Organization (IRO), a nongovernmental umbrella organization for Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Baháʼí organizations, held events to promote peace during the August 2006 election. The IRO's role in supporting harmony among religious groups was largely supplanted by the Ethnic Relations Commission, a government-constituted body.[1]

In September 2009, forty mainly U.S. citizen missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were detained briefly. Subsequently, the 100+ missionaries were ordered to leave the country within a month. In addition to its missionary work, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns approximately $2 million in property in Guyana. Missionaries have worked in the country for more than 20 years.[2][3]