Kiribati

Kiribati (officially pronounced Kiribas) is a presidential republic, which gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1979 and joined the United Nations as a full member in 1999. The majority of the population live on the largest island, Tarawa.

According to its 2020 census,[ref]https://pacificdata.org/data/dataset/spc_kir_2020_phc_v01_m/resource/dd60866e-258d-4043-ae86-4862e8ba2cc9?inner_span=True[/ref] approximately 98% of the population is Christian – the largest denomination represented by the Catholic Church (59% of the population). The non-religious account for 0.1% of the population. Other religious groups include Bahai’s (2%) and Muslims (0.1%).

Kiribati looks set to disappear entirely as a consequence of global warming.[ref]https://www.iberdrola.com/sustainability/kiribati-climate-change[/ref] The nation comprises 33 low-lying atolls and reef islands and one raised coral island.

Constitution and government Education and children’s rights Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
‘Blasphemy’ is outlawed or criticism of religion (including de facto ‘blasphemy’ laws) is restricted and punishable with a prison sentence
Discriminatory prominence is given to religious bodies, traditions or leaders
Official symbolic deference to religion
State-funded schools offer religious or ideological instruction with no secular or humanist alternative, but it is optional
Constitution and government
Official symbolic deference to religion
Education and children’s rights
State-funded schools offer religious or ideological instruction with no secular or humanist alternative, but it is optional
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
Discriminatory prominence is given to religious bodies, traditions or leaders
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
‘Blasphemy’ is outlawed or criticism of religion (including de facto ‘blasphemy’ laws) is restricted and punishable with a prison sentence
The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: Angola, South Sudan, Tuvalu

Religious courts or tribunals rule directly on some family or ‘moral’ matters; it is legally an opt-in system, but the possibility of social coercion is very clear
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Lesotho, Uzbekistan

No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Andorra

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious

This condition is unusual in that it is applied in cases where there is some social discrimination, but it is not pervasive or nationwide. This condition is applied when there is sufficient background evidence to warrant the assertion that discrimination is not anomalous but widespread, and this condition may be applied for example even where if there is no legislative discrimination or where the non-religious may have legal recourse against such discrimination. However, societal discrimination (i.e. discrimination by peers, as opposed to state or legal discrimination) is not easily measured, and for this reason the Report does not currently have similar more severe boundary conditions to capture higher levels of social discrimination per se. In principle these may be introduced in future. However, we consider that countries with actual higher levels of social discrimination against the non-religious will generally already meet other higher level (more severe) boundary conditions under this thematic strand.

Countries: Albania, Botswana, Greece, Serbia, United States of America

The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination

Applied when the influence of religion on public life undermines others’ rights, such as SRHR, women’s rights, LGBTI+ rights.

May be applied when the influence is overt (i.e. when religious laws are applied to undermine others’ rights) or covert (i.e. where religious pressure groups exert influence to affect policy)

Countries: Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Burundi, Chile, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Lithuania, Mali, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zambia

Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief

Applied when overriding acts of oppression by the State are extreme, to the extent that the question of freedom of thought and expression is almost redundant, because all human rights and freedoms are quashed by authorities.

Countries: Afghanistan, North Korea

The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment

Countries: Bulgaria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda

Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
Expression of non-religious views is severely persecuted, or is rendered almost impossible by severe social stigma, or is highly likely to be met with hatred or violence
The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state

Countries: Iran

State legislation is partly derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general

This condition is applied where there are miscellaneous indicators that organs of the state offer various forms of support for a religion, or to religion in general over non-religious worldviews, suggesting a preference for those beliefs, or that the organs of that religion are privileged.

Countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety

This condition highlights countries where schools subject children to fundamentalist religious instruction with no real opportunity to question fundamentalist tenets, or where lessons routinely encourage hatred (for example religious or ethnic hatred). The wording “significant number of schools” is not given a rigid quantification (sometimes the worst-offending schools are unregistered, illegal, or otherwise uncounted); however the condition is not applied in cases where only a small number of schools meet the description and may be anomalous, as opposed to being indicative of a widespread problem.

Countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the non-religious
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence

Countries: Bahrain, Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait

State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Anomalous discrimination by local or provincial authorities, or overseas territories
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
Government authorities push a socially conservative, religiously or ideologically inspired agenda, without regard to the rights of those with progressive views
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Legal or constitutional provisions exclude non-religious views from freedom of religion or belief
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
Some concerns about children's right to specifically freedom of religion or belief

This condition may apply if specifically religious education, religious materials, or specific religious denominations are so tightly controlled that children are in fact over-protected from exposure to religion and are likely unable to explore or construct their own worldview in accordance with their evolving capacities. This condition helps us to classify states (perhaps with secular constitutions) which have criminalized specifically religious beliefs or practices. This condition is not applied if the restricted beliefs or practices are found to be outlawed due to their being of an extremist variety. While this condition does not directly reflect discrimination against non-religious persons or non-religious ideas, it does represent an overall threat to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; such restrictions could spill over to affect non-religious beliefs later; and they pose a risk of backlash against over-zealous secular authorities or even against non-religious individuals by association.

Countries: China, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guyana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe

It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
Legend
 
Severe Discrimination
Systemic Discrimination
Mostly Satisfactory
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

The Constitution[ref]https://www.parliament.gov.ki/constitution[/ref] and other laws and policies protect freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as freedom of opinion, expression, and assembly (Articles 11, 12 and 13, respectively). These rights are generally respected in practice.

There is no state religion. However, the Constitution’s preamble states, “We the people of Kiribati, acknowledging God as the Almighty Father in whom we put trust, and with faith in the enduring value of our tradition and heritage, do now grant ourselves this Constitution establishing a sovereign democratic State.”

Additionally, governmental meetings and events often begin and end with an ordained minister or other church official delivering a Christian prayer.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/kiribati[/ref]

Religious groups with memberships of over 2% of the population are required to register with the government by submitting a request to the Ministry of Women, Youth and Social Affairs. There are no legal consequences for not registering.[ref]https://www.parliament.gov.ki/sites/default/files/2021-04/Religious%20Bodies%20Registration%20Act%202018%20.pdf[/ref] Registered religious organizations are subject to an income tax exemption. According to the US State Department’s 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom, the government of Kiribati continues to administer “a small grants program for development projects administered by nongovernmental organizations and religious organizations.”[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/kiribati/[/ref]

Two islands in the southern part of Kiribati, Arorae and Tamana, uphold a “one church only” policy, apparently in deference to the first Protestant missionaries that visited the islands in the 1800s. Regardless of whether there is any demand, this may mean that the right to practice other religions is in practice restricted on these islands.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/kiribati[/ref]

Education and children’s rights

Article 11 of the Constitution provides individuals the right not to receive religious instruction or take part in religious ceremony or observance if it relates to a religion other than their own. It also entitles religious communities to establish and maintain schools, and provide religious instruction for members of its community.

The 2013 Education Act (No. 12 of 2013)[ref]https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/98634/117447/F-2062926296/KIR98634.pdf[/ref] states that a child cannot be refused enrolment at a school based on his or her sex, religion, race or disability. Article 20 of the Act also decrees that, “education in schools must be non-sectarian and secular, except where the Minister, acting, in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet, has approved that education in the school is otherwise.”

There is no mandated religious education in public schools. However, the law permits religious education to be delivered in schools so long as no teacher is compelled to give or be present at such instruction against the dictates of their own conscience. Students who opt out must participate in a supervised study period. As such, public schools in the country allow a variety of religious groups, including Catholics, Methodists, Seventh-day Adventists, and Mormons, to provide religious instruction in schools.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/kiribati[/ref]

According to the National Curriculum and Assessment Framework (2021),[ref]https://pacificdata.org/data/dataset/national-curriculum-and-assessment-framework/resource/d4f16cdd-db3b-499c-88e5-43758b9a1c0c[/ref] which applies to all schools be they government or private, students’ education is guided through five streams: Language, Mathematics, Science, Community & Culture, and Personal Development. Although the document takes pains to emphasize that “developing tolerance for the religious, cultural and spiritual beliefs of others is very important,” religion is clearly placed as an important part of cultural identity within the Community and Culture curriculum, with intended learning outcomes such as, “gain an understanding of their faith, believes (sic) and grow religiously throughout their life” and “gain an understanding of their religious belief to make Kiribati a strong religious nation.”

The Personal Development curriculum’s stated aim is to equip students with “the knowledge, skills and attitudes to make rational, informed decisions about their own lives and to develop personal responsibility and judgment in matters of values and morals.” As such, the focus of Moral education is on “the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students need to make informed decisions about their lifestyles, including the values of family, culture and religion to which they belong,” promoting values identified in the Kiribati Constitution, learning “why it is important to be spiritually, morally and culturally healthy” and appreciate “the differences in individuals, cultures, religions, situations, contexts and to be able to perform/behave appropriately.” Moral education is taught from grades 3-11.

Family, community and society

Conservative religious influence on society

Representing 98% of the population, Christianity has a strong influence on social and cultural norms. Individuals’ strongly-held religious beliefs are reportedly affecting their willingness to accept the risks that climate change poses to the nation.[ref]https://insights.grcglobalgroup.com/kiribati-between-the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea/; https://www.npr.org/2011/02/16/133650679/climate-change-and-faith-collide-in-kiribati; https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/978-1-83982-984-020201002/full/html[/ref]

We have found no reports of direct discrimination against non-religious individuals.

Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights

According to the US State Department’s 2021 Report on Human Rights Practices, “cultural and religious influences remained barriers to access and utilization of services.”

LGBTI+ Rights

Consensual sexual conduct between men is punishable by between five to 14 years in prison depending on the nature of the offense. However, there have not been reports of prosecution under these provisions for several years.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/kiribati/[/ref]

Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values

The Constitution provides for freedom of conscience, expression, assembly, and association. These rights may be limited by law “which is reasonably required” in the interests of public defense, safety, order, morality, or health, or to protect the rights of others, however, they are generally respected by the government.[ref]https://freedomhouse.org/country/kiribati/freedom-world/2022[/ref]

According to the BBC:

“The government-run radio station and newspaper offer diverse views. Protestant and Catholic churches publish newsletters and periodicals; these are important sources of information.”[ref]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-16433902[/ref]

“Blasphemy”

Articles 123 and 127 of the Kiribati Penal Code[ref]https://www.parliament.gov.ki/sites/default/files/2021-04/Penal%20Code.pdf[/ref] criminalize “insult to religion” and “uttering words with the intent to wound religious feelings,” designating them misdemeanours punishable by up to two years and one year in prison, respectively.