RELIGION: DOUBLE SIDED BLADE

Man has always attributed to a Supreme Being his devotion and worship. Some of this at times comes from fear while on the other hand it comes from love and an innate moving in him that there is a Supreme Being that governs the affairs of men. So basically religion is man searching out for God. While he does this, faith is what gives him the fulfillment that whatever worship or devotion he has attributed to this Supreme Being, that Being has accepted it.

Human beings are social animals. They find warmth and comfort within a community and in most cases, their identity comes from the community they belong to. This community may come from their racial background, ethnic background, tribal background (in this case Africans), socio-economic background and lastly religious background. The focus here is their religious background which on the most part, they find meaning in it.

A renowned African scholar has submitted his observation that “Africans are notoriously religious”---John S. Mbiti. This is a very honest opinion about Africans although this maybe debatable in the post-modern era.

Religion has brought some civility to mankind and at the same time, it has wreck an irreparably havoc on humanity. In the Medieval times, the Roman Catholic Church controlled the activities of men on earth and they decide what is true or false regardless of an empirical proof. Men at this time were tamed intellectually as anyone caught teaching something that is contrary to the belief of the Church will face the music. And so man was not allowed liberty to explore his universe.

The West has had a positive impact of religion because religion contributed a great deal to their development. At the time the West had a dominance of religion, they used it build and solidify the institution(s) that make up their government. The ideological framework that makes up their political system was solid and rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition and thus was their worldview as well. At this time in history of the West, their meaning and ways of life came from religion. Many people found warmth and security in religion at this point in time.

Social security is a huge aspect of peoples’ lives. They go to where they will have security; security here is in all ramifications: social, economic and property.

Africans are notoriously religious as it has been established above. At this point in the lives of Africans, their meaning and source for social security comes from religion. Instead of using this opportunity to solidify and make their system of government have a very strong ideological base, they are using religion to plunge their lives and continent to abyss. The continent has witnessed ethno-religious conflict and religion seems not to be answering the problems that this continent is facing.

The West at this time has shown a less use for religion because they have invented a system of government that has come to be accepted as one of the best system of government. This is democracy; a government of the people, by the people and for the people. This is the basic definition of democracy by one of America’s founding fathers, Abraham Lincoln. With this system of government, they have for the most part, a good social security package for their citizens. Therefore, what their citizens get from religious organization(s) as security has been replaced by the government. They are longer insecure instead they have in abundance. They are at liberty now to think and express their full liberty within the context of their countries’ laws.

In my opinion, why Africans are religious is because of the social security that they find in their religious group not really because they want to ascribe their devotion and worship to a Supreme Deity. Socio-economic advantage is also a key factor of why Africans are ‘notoriously religious’. If truly Africans are religious because of the love for a Supreme Deity, why is there wanton corruption and looting of public funds by most government officials of the African state? The irony here is that, religion teaches appropriate moral conduct but where do Africans find reason(s) of stealing the money meant for their fellow countrymen?

For this continent to move ahead there needs to be a total over haul of religious belief or better still, a reformation of our religion so as to bring a strong ideology for us make our dear continent where we want it to be. The power lies with us but the will is what will make the whole situation different.