The Samoa Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church (SISDAC) gave $200,000 to the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST), which is not a small amount. This donation suggests that the church is mixing itself with politics.

Despite assurance from the church leader that SISDAC was apolitical, the donations and his comments that followed suggest otherwise. Pastor Alaimoana Willie Papu said this donation was made because they believed that FAST was founded on God.

"The church is not political, whereas it focuses truly on Jesus who is the leader of the church and is also the leader of the FAST Party," Pastor Papu said in his remarks. "This is why we donated this money to assist the FAST Party in pursuing Jesus' love for the people of Samoa and the whole world. This donation is for the government which is the Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi, La'auli, Speaker and all its members."

This statement does not display political neutrality but a justification for why the church gave such an amount to a faction of a political party that is not part of the executive. The church leader goes on record to say that the faction to which the donation was made is the government. Hopefully, the church leader is not telling the flock who to vote for. That is not the role of any church.

Its role in society is to offer spiritual guidance, foster community, provide social services, and encourage moral and ethical values while striving to be a force for good in the world.

Churches should not seek to elect government officials, support or oppose political parties, or, generally, take sides in conflicts. Churches have to be neutral in matters of politics. However, as an institution, it can reserve the right to address issues it believes have significant moral consequences.

Churches should never endorse, promote or oppose political parties and their platforms or candidates for political office. It should also not allow its buildings, membership lists or other resources to be used for political purposes.

Most importantly, no church should ever advise its members on how to vote or direct government officials or party leaders in the duties of their office.

Churches should believe and teach that members should follow the law and allow individuals and institutions to express publicly their views on issues facing society. They should encourage their members to play a role as responsible citizens in their communities, including becoming informed about issues, voting in elections and participating in governance processes.

Churches can encourage members to engage in the political process in an informed and civil manner, respecting that people come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and may have differences of opinion in partisan political matters. The churches should also encourage members to keep all communications (including on social media) respectful and aligned with Christlike behaviour.

Churches must request that candidates for office not imply that their candidacies or platforms are endorsed by the church. We see this happening too often. Politicians have weaponised churches for political gains.

While it is agreed that the relationship between church and politics is historically complex, it should never be mixed. Historical examples have shown that when this happened, church leaders were guilty of being more interested in the political than in the spiritual affairs of their dominions.

It is also amazing that SISDAC forked out $200,000 for a political donation and yet questions hang over its ability to pay off the $13 million loan from the Samoa National Provident Fund. The church leader said he was filing a lawsuit against a newspaper and SNPF and hoping to use the money from the lawsuit to pay off the loan. The church has made a declaration that they would pay the loan by the end of the year. Time will tell if that happens.

Churches are for spiritual guidance and not a place to influence political views.

Have a great and blessed weekend Samoa.