Posted: March 30, 2016. 5:15 p.m. CST.
By BBN Staff: The National Evangelical Association of Belize (NEAB) has come out in defense of Pastor Scott Stirm, who recently came under fire over the last week following the publication of a video where he made derogatory comments about the Garifuna culture. 
Those comments led to a backlash and even the National Garifuna Council has demanded an apology from Stirm.
Today the NEAB issued a release in which it defends Stirm’s statements saying he had the “full right to do so” in a country that embraces religious freedom.
It goes on to call the NGC’s demand “extremely inappropriate and misplaced in the context of religious freedom, as well as free speech,” and adds that it looks forward to dialogue in the context of mutual respect and religious freedoms.
The association also states that “in the context of religious freedom, Garifuna, Maya, East Indian, Creole, Asian, Caucasian, African, Mestizo and within all cultural orientations in Belize, Evangelical Christians have the right to remain within their culture while simultaneously rejecting spiritual practices that contradict Evangelical Christian foundations and convictions.”
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