If one understands religion as I do – something people turn to to explain what they can’t seemingly ‘control’ – then it’s no surprise that religion in Africa is “surging.” Endemic poverty, violence and corruption are overwhelming and seemingly uncontrollable in many African countries.
While I believe religion – in limited doses – is important to the psyche of many people faced with tough situations, I resent the apathetic attitudes some churches propagate. I remember speaking to a few Christians in Uganda who were convinced that ‘God’ would come to their rescue once in heaven. This was translated into doing nothing proactive while ‘on earth’.
The Born-Again movement has been only to the detriment of the congregates. I wrote a long paper on this movement for a contemporary religions class at university. There were countless reports in the New Vision and Daily Monitor – Ugandan newspapers – of Born-Again churches taking from the poor. One woman was told that if she gave the church her car, God would cure her AIDS. This was not an isolated account.
Aside from the corruption, another troubling aspect is the time people invest in being a part of the Born-Again movement (as well as other Churches). I suppose that the alternatives are limited: opportunities for learning, reading, writing etc. are severely limited by lack of electricity, educational facilities and more in countries like Uganda. The Born-Again movement has swept in and replaced these potential activities for enrichment (both monetary and intellectual) with the highly publicized and emotional appeal of their prayers promising eventual wealth and ‘salvation.’