Mozambique's president, Daniel Chapo, has encouraged religious congregations to intentionally contribute to rebuilding the moral and ethical values of the east African country that has been plagued by terrorism in recent years in its northern areas.

Representatives from multiple religious congregations in Mozambique gathered on Sept. 29 for the 9th National Religious Conference under the theme, "Celebrating Religious Diversity and Promoting Bonds of Fraternity Among Mozambicans."

They sought to address some of the challenges facing the country, in particular the decline of moral and ethical values, World Vision Mozambique reported.

During the event's opening speech, Chapo encouraged religious congregations to intentionally contribute to rebuilding the country's moral and ethical values.

"The greatest investment in a society is in moral and ethical values, and religious institutions have an important role to play in this regard," said the president.

Chapo said this would reduce vulnerabilities that lead to several forms of crime, including terrorism.

Mozambique is generally safe for tourists in the southern and central coastal regions, but severe security risks make parts of the far north unsafe to visit

The country that neighbours South Africa to the south, Tanzania to the north, Zambia, Zimbawe and Malawi as well, gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

But it is still suffering from the effects of a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992, according to the BBC.

Tensions remain between the ruling Frelimo party and the former rebel movement Renamo.

          -- JIHADIST INSURGENCY IN THE NORTH

And since 2017, there has been a jihadist insurgency in Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique, and this has put the state's ability to guarantee security in doubt.

Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in Africa. It is on the cusp of tapping offshore gas fields that could transform the economy and these are expected to fully come on stream around 2027-29.

The conference reflected on faith as a foundation for solidarity and peace, as well as on the need to identify coordinated responses to the consequences of natural disasters and other crises.

"If there is inter-religious coordination, it would be much easier for us to combine our contributions to help those in need, and this will give us much greater strength as an inter-religious group,' said Emeritus Bishop Carlos Matsinhe.

"We could establish a platform to help coordinate humanitarian responses," said Anglican Emeritus Bishop Carlos Matsinhe.

Mozambique is a secular state, but Christianity is the largest religion in the country,, with substantial minorities adhering to Islam or identifying with no religion, according to Wikipedia.

According to a 2026 Afrobarometer survey, 68.6 percent of the population of Mozambique was Christian, 21.3 percent was Muslim, and 7.7 percent had no religion. Protestants outnumbered Catholics said Wikipedia.

Church leaders are among World Vision Mozambique's main implementing partners for child well-being.

Addressing the conference, the organization reiterated the influence of religious congregations in combating some of the major challenges affecting Mozambique.

These included the consequences of natural disasters, particularly among vulnerable groups, and malnutrition, one of the country's largest crises, affecting 37 percent of children under the age of five.

To address these challenges, Muslim Sheik Umar Auiba said, "We need to understand the crises that affect us.

"Working with technical groups that have a comprehensive understanding of these issues is one of the approaches, and through them we can build responses that allow us to use our strengths to combat these challenges."

The National Conference also brought together recommendations and outcomes from conferences held at the provincial level.

In Tete Province, for instance, the conference gathered around 70 signatures from church leaders committed to playing an active role in initiatives aimed at helping the country to curb malnutrition.

          -- CHURCH LEADERS SEEK RESPONSE PLATFORM

In Gaza Province, the provincial conference saw church leaders expressing their interest in establishing a platform to coordinate humanitarian responses to the effects of natural disasters.

World Vision said it has been working with church leaders through provincial and national forums, and very recently concluded the pilot phase of an approach that established safeguarding mechanisms in places of worship.

The initiative aims to promote safe reporting channels for survivors while making places of worship and communities safer for both children and adults.

The ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO), became predominantly Marxist during the liberation war against Portugal that ended in 1975.

After independence, Mozambique declared state atheism and nationalized all schools and health facilities, including those owned and run by religious institutions.

The anti-religious campaign of FRELIMO formally ended in 1982 when the party in power held a meeting with all the main religious institutions.

Pope John Paul II visited the country in 1988.