Is Religion Losing its Value in Africa?
Reflection on role of religion in African Colonization & Current Status
I guess no one would criticize me if I dared to say that Africa has got religion and religion has got Africa!
Yes, this is the truth, walk with me on this journey where we will discuss the influence that religion has in Africa, the highs and lows, and we’ll discuss the impacts of religion on the socioeconomic development of Africa, the colonial nexus, and human rights implications that religion exhibits on African continent.
Recently, my country, Rwanda has revised the religious order, where over 5000 churches were closed. The reason behind this closure was to reform and improve the standards regarding infrastructure safety, and protecting Rwandan citizens against certain religious ideologies, conspiracies, illusions, and intimacy brought by some religions, but what is the course behind this? Rwanda is a very small country in East Africa, so you may be wondering if there remains any open church if 5000 are off.
This is the incumbent Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, discussing with the parliament how the churches have caused chaos in the whole country.
“These churches have come to take off the least our people may be having, to build their stocks.” President Paul Kagame.
In the 2020s, religion has taken another look in the eyes of Rwandans, what used to unite people, bring them comfort, and foster love and reconciliation, has become a business where everyone who had had a dream of becoming a religious leader like a Pastor, it was the right time to have his dreams come true. With the motivation that there were no strict rules regulating religious procedures, plus the fact that the 1994 genocide against Tutsi tarnished the hearts of many Rwandans, they needed somewhere to live again, unfortunately, this period itself ruined the image of religion in Africa.
Legal and Colonial Implications of Religions in Africa
Religion has a very poignant and bitter taste in African history. Yet Africans are the strongest believers in the world, but what bad is that?
The answer is “COLONIZATION.”
Colonization has changed Africa, divided Africa, stolen Africa, and buried Africa alive!
Let us once recall this famous quote of a renowned socialist and pan-Africanist, Desmond Tutu;
The effects of colonization are innumerable, but the worst is that they are still present today.
From the above Desmond Tutu’s quote, it is clear, that missionaries wanted the African treasure, and Africans sold their continent in exchange for the Bible, or other words, religion.
Never had the Africans known that this complicated thing would become a hatchet to cripple the bond that bound them together, and to their ancestors, it happened, and it is still happening!
The colonization of Africa has been influenced by religion, and it would not been so grave without the hand of the Bible. The missionaries have served as the pioneers of colonialists by preparing the hearts of Africans to abide by their rules and regulations. They used verses such as Mathew 5:3 to manipulate and divert the minds of Africans.
The connection between Colonization, Religion, and the 1994 genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda:
Belgians have used Christianity religion to destroy the Rwandan traditional religion by force.
They divided Rwandans into ethnic groups (Hutus, Tutsis, and Twas), according to their body height and nose length.
This division started the conflict_ and sowed the aggressive culture of ‘Us’ versus ‘Them.’
What was the unified Rwanda? It became Rwanda of Hutus and Rwanda of Tutsis.
Bad propaganda and bad leadership administrations of the 1st and 2nd republics aggravated the hatred between the 2 groups.
Genocide against Tutsis took place in 1994.
1000, 000+ people died.
What changed the view of religions in Rwanda is how the Tutsis tried to seek refugee by going into the churches and temples thinking that God would save them or that the priests would say any word, or at least the perpetrators would fear killing them inside the church, for it was believed to be the house of God. Unfortunately, that didn’t work, instead, some of the priests called perpetrators to kill people inside the churches, and some priests were directly involved in killing innocent people including babies, children, youth, and adults.
Other implications of religion in Rwanda and Africa in general include:
Abuse and gender-based violence: Some religions were found to violate the rights of women and girls. A very prominent example is the late Pastor T.B. Joshua who used his position as pastor to abuse and rape women and girls.*
Misleading and stealing the poor: According to the source, there are lots of pastors, who act like the late TB Joshua to mislead people telling them that they are capable of making miracles, treating diseases like AIDS, cancer, etc. just to gain their trust and steal them.
The rise of false prophets: The rise of fake prophets who preach in the name of God, promising people miracles has gained another momentum. This has been the case in Rwanda, and this has happened to me as well, I have met with lots of such prophets, and. Last year, just a week before 2023 Christmas, one person approached me and told me that I would die. I did not care, but my mother got terrified and spent a whole week saying she was praying for me, which I do not know till now; Was I saved by my mom’s prayers or it was a prank…!
Lack of standard and safe infrastructure: Before the government of Rwanda’s revision of church order, you could find a church every 100 meters in my village, and some of them were just the living rooms of one home, so to gain money, they could turn it into a temple. Sadly, some of these had no proper hygienic toilets, or had no toilets at all, a concentration of a large number of people, which has accelerated the spreading of diseases like COVID-19.
Spreading rumors and igniting conflicts: I know a woman who went to such a fake prophet, and the prophet was a man, of course. The woman was asking him to pray for her husband to get a job. This prophet told her in these words: “My God told me before you entered here that you are living with a wrong husband and that’s why your promises can’t come true.” After that, a woman broke up with her husband, and she got married to that prophet.
Rumors, terrorism, and conspiracies in the people: Religions in Africa have been objects of terror. For instance, the nature of Christianity is that you have to follow the 10 commandments of God, if you don’t, you will die and perish, go to hell after death, and face everlasting fire, which is itself terrorism. This makes a person live fearful, and with judgments that everything he does might lead to his execution, which is a threat to freedom. In countries like Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda, some people are forced to become Muslims, or else, they get killed, harassed, or violated by terrorists.*
What shows Decreased Interest in Religion in Africa?
Besides Africa, religions are losing followership as time goes on. With the influence of the Western cultures, media and technology, literacy and science.
Literacy and technology: As compared to the past decades, the number of people who used to go to churches, believing in the healing power of God shrinks with time. As the literacy rate increases, more people get to know and understand the reality behind religions, and the fact that science is controversial to religion, which becomes neutralized, and some people may lose the value of religion.
Role of Media and technology: With the rise of social media, the internet as well and global news, the world has become a village, some people get to know other religions, and find that there’s no difference between other religions, and some who use religions to divide people, which decreases the followership of religions.
Influence of the Western culture: The Western media continues to spread all over the world, and it is based on pragmatism, we all know how it has gained the hearts of people, especially Gen-Z youth, and thereby retiring religious status.
Cultural mismatches: Most African countries had their traditional religions, which were stopped by missionaries forcefully. The religions like Christianity were brought to Africa by European missionaries, and Islam by Arabic traders during the Sub-saharan slave trade, and other past histories connecting Africa with Arabs. Therefore, Africans perceived religion in a wrong way, which still brings some consequences as mentioned above, and this is now hindering the followership of religion in the age of millennials and Gen-Z.
As a conclusion, religion continues to be seen as ambivalent, bringing both positive and negative impacts in Africa. As people gain awareness about religion, through the connection of the world through media, technologies, and literacy growth, people are getting to know and understand both sides. We don’t know the future of religion in Africa, but what we have seen so far_ is that religion is getting less love from the new generations, particularly the millennials and Gen-Z.
References
Spooner, By Charlie Northcott and Helen. “TB Joshua: Megachurch leader raped and tortured worshippers, BBC finds,” January 8, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67749215.
Oakford, Samuel, and Samuel Oakford. “Pentecostal Pastors in Nigeria Are Rolling in Money — and Political Power.” VICE, July 29, 2024. https://www.vice.com/en/article/pentecostal-pastors-in-nigeria-are-rolling-in-money-and-political-power/?primis_content=embed4818depoqlyh.
Lausanne Movement. “The Problem of False Prophets in Africa — Lausanne Movement,” July 22, 2024. https://lausanne.org/global-analysis/problem-false-prophets-africa.
Basedau, Matthias, Georg Strüver, Johannes Vüllers, and Tim Wegenast. “Do Religious Factors Impact Armed Conflict? Empirical Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa.” Terrorism and Political Violence 23, no. 5 (November 1, 2011): 752–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2011.619240.