A group of churches wants Christianity recognised as the country's official religion.
The draft constitution that states there shall be no state religion should read: "Christianity shall be the official State religion of the Republic of Kenya provided that other religions are free to practise their beliefs," the organisation, calling itself the Kenya Church, said yesterday.
It said Christianity was professed by more than 80 per cent of the population and should therefore be elevated to the official faith.
The group comprises the Deliverance Church, the Kenya Assemblies of God, the Methodist Church and the Gospel Assemblies of God.
It presented its views to the chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee, Mr Paul Muite, at County Hall, Nairobi.
Describing themselves as the voice of the Christians, the churches' leaders said: "If the constitution must recognise the beliefs and practices of specific religions, then, in order to safeguard the interests of the Christian faith, Christianity must of necessity be declared the official religion in Kenya, provided that all other religions are accorded liberty to practise their beliefs."
They said this was the practice in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and England, where they said the religion of the majority was the official faith.
The leaders included Bishop Mark Kariuki and Pastor Margaret Muchai (Deliverance), the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Rev Stephen Kanyaru M'Impwii, Bishop Peter Njiri and the Rev Harris Gachuhi of the Kenya Assemblies of God and Bishop Gerry Kibarabara of the Gospel Assemblies of God.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church said it was opposed to the entrenchment of the Kadhi court in the new constitution.
The chairman of the Episcopal Conference, Archbishop John Njue, said Kenyans were making the issue unnecessarily controversial and said it could be dealt with without involving the constitution.
Kenyans, he said, should respect religious diversity in the country while recognising that all religions had their laws.
"We should respect the constitution as the basic law governing all religious groups in the country," Bishop Njue said at the Consolata Cathedral Church in Nyeri town.
Meanwhile, the youth want to be represented in the review commission. University and college student leaders said they had been sidelined in the constitution making process.
Speaking at the Nation Centre, they said they were determined to be a part of the reform process.
Mr Paul Simba from Kenya Polytechnic said politicians had asked the youth to surrender their proposals to them, "but we would rather spell them out before the commission ourselves."
"Mr Lumumba told us that the mandate to select who was to be in the meeting lied with the Parliamentary Select Committee. He said he would consult with the Committee over the matter," said Mr Makokha Wanjala of Nairobi University.