U.S. Dep't of State, 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom: Tonga

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The constitution grants freedom to practice, worship, and assemble for religious services. The constitution requires the Sabbath, which the government defines as Sunday, be “kept holy” and prohibits most commercial transactions and many recreational activities on Sunday, except as permitted by law. While the law does not require registration of religious groups, a group must register to be eligible for specific benefits, such as recognition of clergy as marriage officers and tax exemptions. The government continued to enforce a law that prohibits retail establishments, bakeries, and most restaurants from operating on Sunday to comply with the constitution’s prohibition of commercial activity on the Sabbath.

By special permit, the government continued to allow hotels and resorts to operate on Sunday for tourists. The Church of Tonga, Church of Jesus Christ, Assemblies of God, Seventh-day Adventists, and Methodists jointly held a One Tonga event in September, which brought diverse religious groups together with government officials and the general public. In May, the United States opened an embassy in the country; the U.S. Ambassador to Fiji continued to be accredited to Tonga. In October, the prison chaplain met with embassy officials.

Section I. Religious Demography The U.S. government estimates the total population at 105,000 (midyear 2023). According to 2021 local census data, the largest religious groups are the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, 34.2 percent of the population; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Church of Jesus Christ), 19.7 percent; the Roman Catholic Church, 13.7 percent; the Free Church of Tonga, 11.3 percent; and the Church of Tonga, 6.8 percent (the latter two are local affiliates of the Methodist Church). Other Christian groups account for approximately 10 percent of the population and include the Tokaikolo Church, Mo’ui Fo’ou ‘ia Kalaisi, the Constitutional Church of Tonga, Seventh-day Adventists, the Gospel Church, the Salvation Army, Assemblies of God, other Pentecostal denominations, Anglicans, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. According to the census, approximately 730 reported they followed the Baha’i Faith, 60 individuals identified as Muslims, and 58 as Buddhists.

Approximately 710 individuals identified as belonging to other faiths and approximately 570 individuals reported no religious affiliation or did not answer the census question. Section II. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom Legal Framework The constitution allows freedom of religious practice, freedom of worship, and freedom of assembly for religious services, provided these freedoms are not used “to commit evil and licentious acts” or to “do what is contrary to the law and peace of the land.” The constitution requires that the Sabbath, which the government recognizes as Sunday, be “kept holy” and prohibits commercial transactions on the Sabbath. Only a limited number of restaurants and retail stores are allowed to operate after receiving approval by the Minister of Police.

The law also prohibits many recreational activities and sports on the Sabbath. The law applies to both Christians and non-Christians. The law does not require registration of religious groups. Any group may gather, worship, and practice their faith without informing the government or seeking its permission.

A religious group, however, must register to be eligible for specific benefits, such as recognition of clergy as marriage officers; tax exemptions on nonbusiness income, importation of goods for religious purposes and fundraising; protection of a denomination’s name; and access to broadcasting on public channels. Registration as a religious group requires an application to the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Innovation, and Labor, accompanied by certified copies of the group’s rules and constitution, a declaration detailing any other trust in which the applicant holds assets, a witness’s signature, and a 115 pa’anga ($51) application fee. If a group elects to register with the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Innovation, and Labor, the law requires it also to register with the Ministry of Revenue and Customs as a nonprofit organization. The law allows religious leaders to legalize marriages.

According to the law, only marriages solemnized by clergy or religious officiants, who must be Christian, are legally recognized, and no other marriage is valid. Non-Christians unwilling to be married by a Christian member of the clergy have no legal options to marry. Religious groups may operate schools, and a number do so. There are no schools operated by non-Christian religious groups.

In public schools, the government allows clergy from, or persons accredited by, any religious denomination to offer an hour-long program of religious education to students once per week but does not require schools to do so. In public schools where religious education is provided, students are required to attend the program led by the representative of their respective denomination. Students whose denomination does not send a representative or who don’t indicate they belong to a denomination or have a religious belief are required to take a study period during the hour devoted to religious education. The country is not a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Government Practices During the year, the government continued to enforce a law that prohibits retail establishments, bakeries, and most restaurants from operating on Sunday to comply with the constitution’s prohibition of commercial activity on the Sabbath. Through special permits granted by the Minister of Police, the government continued to allow hotels and resorts to operate Sundays for tourists. The government-owned Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC), a 24-hour service, maintained policy guidelines regarding the broadcast of religious programming on TV Tonga and Radio Tonga. The TBC guidelines stated that in view of “the character of the listening public,” those who preach on TV Tonga and Radio Tonga must confine their preaching “within the limits of the mainstream Christian tradition.” There were no reports, however, of the TBC denying any group’s request to broadcast on public channels.

The government permitted all Christian groups to participate in broadcasting one free hour of services on the radio each Sunday. All churches were able to broadcast notices of their activities on six FM radio stations and three television stations (Television Tonga, Digi TV, and the Christian station Doulos Television Radio). The Education Ministry continued to allow the Scripture Union and Sisu koe Fetu’u Ngingila, two private Christian nongovernmental organizations, to provide Bible study and other activities for students of different faiths throughout the year for one hour per week. Students who did not wish to participate were allowed to study independently in school libraries.

In October, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Lord Fakafanua spoke at a symposium on international law and religion in the United States. According to the Parliament of Tonga’s website, Fakafanua said, “In a defining moment in the year 1839, King George Tupou I proclaimed Tonga’s dedication to God through the Tukufonua ki Langi, seeking divine protection for our nation. This proclamation marked the inception of religious freedom in Tonga, underlining our belief in protection through faith rather than human means. It laid the cornerstone for religious liberty, a core value woven into the very fabric of Tongan society.

Tonga’s constitution that followed in the year 1875 offers robust protection for religious freedom – more than 70 years before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed in the year 1948.” Section III. Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom The Church of Tonga, Church of Jesus Christ, Assemblies of God, Seventh-day Adventists, and Methodists jointly held a One Tonga event in September. The annual event brought diverse religious groups together with government officials and the general public. Section IV.

U.S. Government Policy and Engagement In May, the United States opened an embassy in Nuku’alofa, staffed by two officers; the U.S. Ambassador to Fiji continued to be accredited to Tonga. In October, the prison chaplain met with embassy officials to discuss his work in the prisons and the needs of Tongans returned from overseas after being convicted of crimes abroad. On This Page search > < EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Section I. Religious Demography Section II. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom Legal Framework Government Practices Section III.

Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom Section IV. U.S. Government Policy and Engagement Tags Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Office of International Religious Freedom Religious Freedom Reports Tonga