Karl Max once said, and I paraphrase, that religion is the opium of the masses, the maintainer of the status quo and the exploiter of the proletariat.
Religion has been into existence since time immemorial especially with the advent of Christianity during the colonial period in Africa.
Religion can be used to build or to destroy, to save lives or to kill and to encourage or to discourage. It all depends on how one embraces it.
In the recent past, Kenya has experienced a stormy revolution in the religious sector. The churches in Kenya are as many as the sinners and there has never been a shortage of the so called “faithful”.
Some crafty individuals have turned religion into lucrative business ventures. The buildings you see scattered all over and painted as churches are actually businesses enterprises where the poor go to be preyed on.
Most preachers in Kenya drive big and expensive cars while their flocks move around in tattered clothes barely managing one meal a day.
The gospel of giving and receiving is what is being preached in Kenya and this is hurting the economy. People have been made to believe that miracles still exist so long as you part with some money as an ” offering” to the “Almighty” in the house of the “Lord.”
Most people, therefore, especially those from the lower social class, are not working. Upon giving their offering, they revert to praying and expecting manner to fall from heaven. People are being brainwashed the same way gambling is brainwashing the young generation in Kenya and soon the country will be filled with religious zombies as well unscrupulous gamblers.
There are churches in Kenya that discourage their followers from seeking medication whenever they are ill. Most have lost their lives on such ignorance being perpetuated by some “Men of God.” We have seen some preachers proclaiming to be in procession of healing powers forcing some people taking off from hospitals only to end their journey on earth in such “healing crusades”.
“The people we see today are not pastors but miracle merchants. These are the people who make up imaginary miracles and play with the psychology of the poor and woo them to them,” said Mr. Nahashon Tsuma, a pastor as well as a high school teacher.
“A religion that makes people to stop living in the real world and start living in an imaginary world that overflows with milk and honey is not a religion but an enemy of the people,” he said.
Christianity has not been the only problematic religion in Kenya but Islam too. Some Muslims has led their young people astray through the misinterpretation of the Quran leading to radicalization.
Some Muslim clerics have been arrested on suspicion of recruiting young people and then radicalizing them turning them into killer terrorists.
As the things are at the moment, religion in Kenya is becoming a dangerous force that needs to be controlled before things get out of hand. It is high time the government make it real its threat to vet all the men of the cloth. Unfortunately, that might not happen soon as our esteemed government has only perfected the art of talking tough on issues and doing almost nothing.
Off the Cuff…
Religion is a double edged sword. It can kill or heal, unite or separate, build or destroy, encourage or discourage and inform or misinform.