CHURCH $ CORRUPTION
Over
the weekend I visited one of my Professors, so intent at rehabilitating some of
us to return to the Church. There is a Catholic church that has special service
slot for an African group. My professor attends to this service and he has
observed a remarkable level of enthusiasm which distinguishes the traditional
Canadian mass from the African way of praying. Accordingly, the Canadian Catholic
priests say mass while their African counterparts do celebrate mass.
The
exuding spiritual vigor set aside, we sustained a debate about the role of
churches in social and political development in Africa. There was the argument
that western religious belief systems have found such a stronghold in the
hearts of African communities because by nature, these communities were already
deeply spiritual. I agreed with this analysis because from personal experiences,
African communities that I know believed in plethora of religious belief
systems, rituals and traditions. For instance, the concept of resurrection is
nothing new since a large section of African traditional societies believed in
life after death. Making sacrifices were common practice, believed to reconcile
the two worlds, of the living and the dead, but also reinforced the concept of
sharing and caring for each other.
Given
the strong beliefs in Africa, one would still find it difficult to explain the
animosity of the African race towards each other. It is amazing how we almost
gnaw at each other during moments of sharing, when have to distribute resources
or in an election. Clearly there has not been an illustration of the
intersection between Christian values and African tradition belief systems as
both appear to be fading fast among the youngsters.
The
biggest dilemma manifests in the form of corruption that is nearly bringing
African societies to its knees. The magnitude of corruption that exists in our contemporary
society is transmitted through community organizations such as churches and
state agencies. The societal superstructure is one that is positioned to
produce, reproduce and transmit this vice called corruption which complicates
its relations with the base. From Marxian perspective, the base comprehends the
forces and relations of production in which people enter to produce the necessities
and amenities of life. These relations determine society’s
other relationships and ideas, which are described as its superstructure. The
superstructure of a society includes its culture, institutions, political power
structures, roles, rituals, and state.
It is believed that the base determines and predominate the superstructure
(Marx, 1977; Scaff, 1984; Morrera, 1990). However, in a corrupted and
dictatorial society like Uganda, the superstructure has usurped the influencing
acts over the base. As it is, the Churches in Uganda, which should be the moral
foundation of society, have become subservient to this vice of corruption.
The
church, both traditional Catholic and Protestant have failed the society in as
far as cultivating strong Christian values of honesty. These churches are deficient
in moral authority to hold sway over their congregation because they appear to
be beneficiaries of corrupted society. It is saddening that churches are already
tripping on their own robes. Whether they can hold on firmly to their own centres
and avoid a crack due to pervasive current moral crises through the 22nd
century is yet another steep test. For instance, the Catholic Church must now
deal with moral dishonesty and duplicitous priests who are on rampage of sexual
abuse of children and bearing illegitimate children, some with Nuns and members
of the congregation.
Seemingly,
with fading of religious values in the population, the emergence of all the
other so-called Born-Again movements have truly diluted faith and
commercialized its practices too. Churches are now the places where corruption
finds its own life and soul food; a place where being corrupt is encouraged and
redeemed by these Preachers.
Preachers
in Africa have excelled in the art of duplicity and extraction, striking at a time
when the population is most vulnerable. Many people run to churches to seek the
guidance of God towards their own survival. Most of these people live with
HIV/AIDS, are poor and may have lost their loved ones, or are jobless. Some of
the people may be transitioning through personal difficulties, so they turn to
the Church for consolation. At their most vulnerable, this is when the churches
strike them to pry on their vulnerability for an exploit.
The
link between churches perpetuating corruption is ebbed in luxurious lifestyles
of the church leaders. In the Bible, tax collectors were always portrayed as wretchedly
for their wealth accumulation. We recall the story of Zacharia who had to climb
the sycamore tree to seek Jesus’ redemption (Luke 19:4). In Africa, most of the
Preachers are the new Zacharias who collects the tithe on behalf of the Lord for
their own aggrandizement. This way, these churches have become the platform where
the corrupt cleanse their sins and get redemption for their injustices.
It
is important to question the materialistic agenda of these churches. Why are churches
not bothered with social inequalities or the rampant corruption that undermine
genuine economic development? Just take a trip through Kampala’s wealthy
suburbs, you would be amazed at how owners of churches also live in meticulous
villas; you must see their brand new multibillion cars and the kind of toys
that their children play with. When we were growing up, church leaders were not
exactly paupers, but they were not as rich as politicians and even more. It is
unusual that that at this time when corruption is so rampant, church leaders are
also stinking wealthy. This pattern explains why some Muslims are converting to
born-again beliefs and opening a church because it is just a cash-cow! It also
tells how desperate and vulnerable the people are in the hands of corrupted religious
institutions.
END.
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