Faith and Friction: The Dual Role of Religion in Africa
By Kathurima Mwongera
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed here are those of the authors. View more opinion on ScoonTV.
Not long ago religion was powerful and infallible, not only in Africa but globally. It yielded a lot of power ranging from political to social, moral, to spiritual, and even to the afterlife. Religion’s sphere of influence has, however, shrunk greatly. Today, religion is subject to criticism, ridicule, and abandonment. Although Africa is considered among the global regions that are still highly religious, religion is fast losing the place it had in people’s lives.
For a long time, religion in Africa has been inseparable from daily life, including the most mundane of tasks such as doing the dishes or visiting the neighbor. Not anymore as religion is fast being replaced by other centers of power and sources of community. Where has religion failed the people of Africa and not only lost its grip on the population but also became subject to ridicule?
African Culture Erased
When both Islam and Christianity, the largest religions in the continent, were introduced to Africa, they not only promoted spirituality but the culture of the foreigners who brought them along. Africans were stripped of so many aspects of their culture including their indigenous names. Two centuries later, Africans are increasingly realizing that although religion brought along with it good things such as education and healthcare, it also robbed them of their identity. In Swahili, we say, mwacha mila ni mtumwa, loosely translated to “whoever abandons their tradition becomes a slave.” Sadly, that is what became of Africa and religion played a very key role in paving this road to slavery. This happened both literally during the transatlantic slave trade and continues to happen metaphorically where Africans still promote the foreigners’ cultures over their own.
Divisive Religion
Possibly more than race, religion is the most divisive concept confronting humanity. Islam and Christianity as the major religions within the continent are also the cause of conflicts and friction between their followers. Rivalry between Islam and Christianity has been witnessed in Nigeria, Central African Republic (CAR), Sudan, and Burkina Faso, among others. In all these conflicts, the core is that one religion seeks to be the dominant one. Without pursuing coexistence as humans beyond the concept of religion, the pursuit of peace has been elusive in these countries.
In CAR, for example, the fighting between the Muslim group of Seleka and the mainly Christian group of anti-Balaka has made the country delicate and largely ungovernable. In Nigeria, there is constant religious tension between the Muslim North that feels marginalized by the Christian South. Christians in the North fear to publicly practice their religion while Muslims in the South feel targeted. When people of a nation treat each other with distrust due to their religious differences, co-existence is challenging. Eventually, the inhabitants suffer regardless of whether they are Christian or Muslim.
On the other side of the continent in Sudan, the civil war that led to the split of the country also had religious undertones. The predominantly North oppressed and even tried to Arabize and Islamize the South. It is prudent to acknowledge that there were other significant reasons for the separation beyond religion. These other factors included the sharing of resources and the colonial history in which the British favored the northern part of Sudan against the South. Religion, however, was also a key factor in the separation with the Muslim North trying to promote their religion which they certainly considered superior to the Southerners who are largely Christian.
Pacification Instead of Solutions
There is a common prevailing narrative that the most aggressively religious societies tend to be the least developed. This, however, must be examined broadly in light of other factors because there are progressive nations that are also highly religious, especially in the Middle East. Numerous countries in the West also managed to achieve admirable progress while they were still religious. Where then did the rain start beating African countries on matters of religion and development?
First, religion is by nature very conservative and resistant to change. It was the case during the Enlightenment era and it is common to see religions opposed to modern technology including life-saving tech such as in healthcare. This can explain why the most religious societies are often undeveloped compared to the less religious ones.
There is no denying that religion has played a very vital role in Africa’s development. Religious organizations have set up schools, hospitals, charities, and advocacy groups all of which have been beneficial. However, the rate of development is slow because these are not the major drivers of progress in the 21st century.
Religious institutions in Africa have remained stuck in the last century whereas the rest of the world has moved on. To catch up, religion must also evolve to the needs and dynamics of the current century which are beyond prayers, education, and healthcare. This is particularly so in Africa where a large portion of the society is still religious and relies on religion for guidance in their daily life.
Many people attend church and mosques because they are poor and desperate. They have the hope that these religious institutions will offer them some relief. More than giving people hope, however, religious institutions need to do more to help people practically get out of their worldly troubles besides a promise of eternal happiness. For example, if a village is suffering from hunger and disease, instead of just praying for the victims, religious institutions should explore practical ways of eradicating poverty and disease.
Equally destructive as disease and poverty, corruption and embezzlement of public resources are other drawbacks to African development. Instead of calling believers to pray for their leaders, churches and mosques should pursue practical and real-world solutions. They should mobilize and lead people to not only push for accountability from their leaders but also to depose and punish the greedy and corrupt politicians holding on to power. Unfortunately, religion is often in bed with the most brazen exploiters of the continent.
Religion as an Accomplice to State Evils
Since the Edict of Milan in 313 CE, which made Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire, the church underwent an ideological shift. Instead of fervently supporting the poor and working people for their well-being, the church supported the ruling class. In return, the church continued to maintain a privileged position within the society. This situation has become more outspoken today where the church is striving to remain relevant in a world that is increasingly seeking to separate state and religion.
In Apartheid South Africa, the church was either an accomplice or chose to remain silent towards the atrocities committed by the state against native South Africans. In his 1998 article, The Church and State in Apartheid South Africa, Kiran Lalloo, writes that some churches helped legitimize apartheid while others chose to remain silent and inactive while the state committed injustices and atrocities. In a classical case of the church being partisan in state evils, the Dutch Reformed Church had to change its theology about equality in Christ to align with the government policy of racial separation.
Other faiths such as the Methodist Church, the Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists also found it hard to practice equality as enshrined in their Christian theology. The theology of equality, therefore, remained only in principle but not in practice because churches continued to promote white ideologies and held separate congregations for the races. It was only in 1957, that the South African Catholic Bishops Conference became the first church body to ‘theologically reject apartheid’.
It is common knowledge that Africa is highly corrupt despite the two major religions preaching against corruption. In some countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, corruption has become mainstream and a norm within the public sector. It defies logic when a continent is highly religious while also promoting vices such as corruption and theft of public funds. It would be prudent to argue that in such cases religion becomes an accomplice in ruining a society instead of building it. It is common practice for religious leaders to entertain, dine, and wine with public servants and leaders who are openly known to be corrupt.
A good example is my country Kenya. Our president and first lady are religious and can be seen crying emotionally in prayer. Sadly, our president, William Ruto, was nominated as the “Person of the Year” by The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) although they ranked him second after ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad despite receiving the most votes. Despite public knowledge that our president is corrupt, we also see national religious leaders dining with him and making trips to the state house. This is instead of them rebuking him and pushing their congregants towards demanding accountable leadership. With this kind of practice, religion then stops serving a practical need for its adherents and works to promote the selfish interests of those in power thus taking the continent further in the wrong direction.
Better Things Happened
In the 1992 film, Sister Act, Vince LaRocca, the gangster boyfriend of Deloris van Cartier, goes for confession and afterward, we hear him say: Do you want me to get excommunicated for going against the priest? There were days when people had to remain in church because it was at the center of almost everything in their lives. These days, however, people can get community elsewhere. There is no longer the fear of excommunication or not belonging. The world has also become more liberal and people have increased freedom to either believe or not believe. It is common to hear people argue that those in the church do far more evil things than those outside. In so many ways, therefore, religion has lost the grip it had on people’s lives. Today, people have better and more practical choices that they can replace religion with.
The Bright Side of Religion
However much we may want to bash religion, it has its bright side and plays a key role in humanity. That said, the bright side of religion should be promoted as the dark inefficient side gets suppressed. At the top of this regulation, religion should be pragmatically practiced. Whereas matters of faith need no logical explanation, faith should not override logical explanation. For example, faith should not make one fail to seek medical attention. However, if healing happens beyond the scope of available medical interventions, that needs no explanation.
Religion also helps promote certain desirable virtues in society such as humility, empathy, morality, and hope. Hope is deceitful; it makes us believe tomorrow will be better even if there is no such guarantee and it might turn out to be worse. Even then, humans need hope to face tomorrow. Religion helps people to persevere on their worst days with the hope that God or Allah will change their situation someday, even if that is in the afterlife. Hope enables us to look forward to tomorrow.
In the last century, religion played a key developmental role for the people of Africa. Religions established schools and educated the masses. Although they still do, religion has been overtaken by other major drivers of development such as governance, global cooperation, and technological advancements. Unfortunately, religion has largely remained stuck in the last century and this has made it lose favor among many. Instead of helping the population to move forward, it is often at the center of conflicts and a platform for enriching preachers and also cleansing corrupt public officials. Unless religion redefines itself, it shall completely lose its once-favored place in the hearts of Africans.
