RELIGION AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN AFRICA: A CRITICAL AND APPRECIATIVE PERSPECTIVE(PART 5)

RELIGION AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN AFRICA: A CRITICAL AND APPRECIATIVE PERSPECTIVE(PART 5)

 Preamble 

This 5th Edition in the series of this exposition of the Research carried out by Obaji Ogbaji and Ignatius Swart of the Research institute for Theology and Religion of University of South Africa is designed to galvanise the African Society towards appreciating what role religion is playing on the continent. Please take time to digest the contents.  

 The Role of Religion in African Political and Social Development 

In the nations of the global North or the so-called developed world, the forces of enlightenment and modernisation have distanced religion from socio-political and economic life, relegating it to the private sphere. To provide a philosophical and ideological basis for the modernisation agenda, "reason and faith were constructed as oppositional, mutually incompatible spheres" (Clarke & Jennings 2009:1). During the same era, religion was seen as counter-developmental. It was assumed that religious reasoning was inflexible and unyielding in the face of social and political change (Clarke & Jennings 2008:1). However, over a period of time, and particularly from the latter part of the 20th century, a movement from estrangement to engagement between faith and development occurred. For example, faith-based organisations (FBOs) led mainly by certain Christian churches have actively sought dialogue on development-related issues with donor agencies, whilst donors have also reciprocated (Clarke & Jennings 2008:2).

Unlike societies of the global North, where faith and development were estranged at some point in history, in African societies religion remained central in all aspects of society (Kobia 1978:160; Laguda 2013:27; Adesina 2013:36, 37). Religion, moral values, wealth and social progress were, historically speaking, all communal matters and have remained so in many instances. Poverty was not a pronounced feature of African societies. For example, among the already-mentioned Olulumo (Okuni) people of Cross River State, Nigeria, traditional norms still exist until today that are religiously informed and that ensure there is care for all members of the community. Such norms and practices include that a member of the community or a stranger can harvest food crops from another's farm for the purpose of addressing his/her need for food. A stranger, on passing by a yam barn when hungry, can stop over to roast yam and eat to his or her satisfaction. When passing by tapped palm trees, a thirsty person that desires to drink palm wine but cannot afford it can drink some wine. A cut tree branch or leaves placed on the spot where the needy person helped himself or herself was sufficient to inform the owner that the wine was not taken by a thief but by a person in need.6

The notion of material accumulation for personal gain is foreign to African traditional societies. To be wealthy or rich, means to be surrounded by many people - community. It also means to be healthy and ethically sound, and to be in tune with one's creator, ancestors and community (Narayan 2001:40). Among the Olulumo people, for example, a rich person is called efang-ane, which literarily means "being wealthy of people or having many people". The concept of honour and shame was also helpful in African societies as it prevented people from stealing in order to gain prestige or win accolades from the community. Stealing was taboo and stigmatised the thief, his family and community, all of whom would suffer shame and stigmatisation on account of such behaviour (Agbiji 2012:150; Magesa 2010:71).

There are critics who argue that the African patterns of social behaviour are basically responsible for the material backwardness of African societies. However, within the corpus of alternative developmental approaches, humankind is being urged to return to communal and sustainable lifestyles, as they are now believed to be the solution to the global economic and environmental challenges (Theron 2008:7-9). Despite the erosion of many religiously informed traditional practices by the forces of modernity and globalisation, religion, whether African Traditional, Christian or Islam, still has a vital contribution to make to the progress of African societies. Religion can provide a frame of reference by which the existing value systems of a society may be examined critically. Religious values have informed local and international law; such values are greatly cherished and have been of immense benefit in the conceptualisation and development of modern democracy and democratisation. These values include the sanctity of human life, human equality and human dignity (Tsele 2001:213). Within the Christian understanding, this is the prophetic function of religion. Besides providing a yardstick by which the value system of society can be measured, religion is indispensable for conveying moral values in a society.

Religion plays an indispensable role in fostering values such as honesty, integrity, openness, forthrightness and tolerance (Kalu 2010d:36; Tsele 2001:210-211). Such values are crucial for the development of good economic and democratic political systems. African economic and democratic political systems are still grossly underdeveloped. Signs of underdevelopment are evident in weak economic institutions and in the almost total absence of robust opposition parties in countries such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Togo and Malawi, but also many others. The low level of forthrightness and transparency within political and economic institutions and by leaders is hindering social progress as this fosters corruption and stifles the development of civil societies. The indirect influence of religious culture on economic and political culture through the transference of religious values to these spheres (Agi 2008:129-130) could therefore benefit economic and political institutions in Africa. In African Traditional Religion, the fostering of values in society is achieved through the immersion of the individual in the activities of society through participation in the community.

This act of immersion in society through participation in community is the very core of indigenous spirituality and morality. In this light, spirituality and morality are inseparable (Magesa 2010:71). The immersion of the individual into the community begins with the family setting and extends to the house/compound (the extended family), and to the village and clan (the community). All of these levels of immersion into community occur simultaneously and reflect the moral formation of the individual who is also accountable to the community. Both the immersion and moral formation of the individual are carried out by parents and members of the community through religious rituals and teachings. The link between spirituality and morality, and the processes of immersion and moral formation in African Traditional Religion resonate with African Christianity (Kalu 2010c:84). Christianity pays attention to moral formation through Bible study, catechism and through other means of disseminating scripture within the family unit and the church community. Religious teachings that are aimed at moral formation also contribute substantially to developing optimism amidst the deplorable socio-political and economic conditions in African societies.

Religion creates hope and optimism in spite of failed governments and economic institutions in Africa. African Christianity, through African Pentecostalism, offers a typical example of the enormous hope that extends from religion to the society. Hope and optimism are mediated through emphasis on the power of the Word of God in spiritual formation and in resisting evil forces (Kalu 2010f:77). Illustrating how Pentecostals kindle hope and optimism in worship, Kalu describes how members of the congregation arrive for Bible studies and Sunday worship with notebooks to take down the message or 'revelation' with the intention of applying it during the week. In the process everyone is urged to become a victor and 'demon destroyer'. Kalu describes this way of kindling optimism as a hermeneutics for conscientisation. The aim here is to relate the promises in the Bible to the existential problems being experienced by the people so that no worshipper leaves the service bearing ' the burdens of yesterday' (Kalu 2010f:77). Alongside the building of optimism in the lives of worshippers through the hermeneutics for conscientisation, religion also contributes towards conscientising the religious practitioner to be responsive to the challenges of society. As a result, the religious person becomes a source of social capital.

Religion in Africa is a key source of social capital. Social, cultural and religious or spiritual capital are not mutually exclusive but are interconnected (Adogame 2013:106; cf. Davies & Guest 2007). The concept of spiritual and religious capital is similar to the more general concept of social capital because this is a resource based on relationships that individuals and religious groups can access for their personal well-being. The same resources can also be donated as a gift to the larger society (Adogame 2013:106). Using the case of Africans in the diaspora and the role of religion as source of social capital, Kalu (2010g:207) argues that religious communities assist new immigrants to secure roots; they provide a network of social and economic transactions, spiritual solace, and link to the religion of the homeland (traditional and Christian).

Among African societies, religion is useful in mobilising resources that would not otherwise have been mobilised to address community problems. It assists in raising consciousness about community problems among people who would not otherwise be aware of those problems. It creates linkages between social groups that would not normally exist. Religious communities such as churches assist in empowering social groups that usually have little influence. According to Adogame (2013:108), these benefits of religious communities as providers of social capital are playing out within African Christian communities in the triangular context of Africa, Europe and North America. In considering the operation of religious and spiritual capital within the broader understanding of social capital, its importance in relation to the development of civil society and democratic life in Europe and North America should be recognised. A nexus between social capital drawn from religious communities, and civil society and democratic life is emerging among African societies (Agbiji 2012:135-136, 333).

A few examples will illustrate the role of religion in terms of social capital drawn from religious communities, civil society and democratic life in Africa. In Nigeria, Kalu argues that all churches have been forced by the economic collapse and the political legitimacy crisis to assume greater visibility in the public space. In the past mainline churches have borne the brunt of building civil society and responding to both the state and the enormous social service burdens (Kalu 2010h:302). In recent times, however, Pentecostal churches such as the Later Rain Assembly, under the auspices of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), are also engaging with civil society (Agbiji 2012:135-136,333). And within the South African context, Ignatius Swart (2006b:2) has shown through socio-empirical research how churches are strategically very important in terms of the formation of social capital to promote social development. This is especially so in light of the high levels of trust still shown in this sector by ordinary people and the way in which churches inspire the activities of voluntary outreach, caring and social services, all of which can be mobilised for social capital interventions (cf. Eigelaar-Meets et al. 2010:53). Churches also provided platforms that enabled civil society to survive even under oppressive regimes such as apartheid and military rule in Africa. As such, religious communities still remain viable platforms for the sustaining of civil society in Africa and for fostering political and economic activities.

Religious communities are creating an effective interface between religion and socioeconomic and political development. Christ Embassy and Redeemed Christian Church of God in Nigeria are prominent examples. Olutayo Adesina (2013:40) argues that, like many other churches, these churches have become platforms for business interests which include the banking, publishing, broadcasting, entertainment and hospitality industries. Adesina (2013:40) reports that in 2008 one of the business outfits of Christ Embassy had a monthly turnover of about 10 million naira. With regard to the political involvement of religion, the involvement of Pentecostal/charismatic Christianity in Africa has been felt in various sectors, including politics. It is on record that in the midst of the turmoil accompanying transitions to democracy in Africa through the 1990s, the Pentecostals rallied in prayer for their nations, and interceded in order to save their countries from bloodshed (Asamoah-Gyadu 2010:66). These religious interventions portray religion as a unifying factor in society.

In Africa, religious communities are serving as a unifying factor and as a vehicle for social, economic and political development on the African continent (Tsele 2001:215), which has suffered acute fragmentation as a result of colonialisation, economic globalisation and deepening pauperization. Even though religious fundamentalism represents an important contributing factor to such fragmentation in present-day African society, religious communities provide viable and crucial networks that are able to serve as glue for leverage collaboration and to harness resources for the social transformation of the continent. The role of churches in promoting social cohesion is indispensable. Lamle (2013) (cited in Mang 2014:102) argues that:

[t]hrough the [Pentecostal] church, people that had come together from different sociopolitical and socio-economic status are brought together into one family. They come together in one brotherhood that helps them to withstand the socio-political and economic chaos in Nigeria. This bond becomes the crutch upon which the people are able to come together into one single-family unit and domesticate their problems together.

Lamle's argument on the important role of churches in society captures the importance of religion in the socio-political and economic spheres of African societies. It shows the scope of religion as a uniting factor, as a source of empowerment in relation to socio-political and economic challenges and as a force for the recovery of collective consciousness from social crises. The role of religious communities such as churches in Africa (but also of other religious communities, including African traditional religious communities) shows how indispensable religion is to the development of Africa. Our view, however, is that religious communities could still play a more prominent role in the transformation of African societies, given the number of religious practitioners on the continent and religion's deep roots in the socio-political, cultural and economic lives of Africans. It is also our view that religion and religious practitioners could play a more transformative role in society - if they were liberated from certain limitations and practices that portray them in a bad light in society (TO BE CONTINUED) https://ayoogunjobi.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-role-of-religion-in-african.html

Harambee.

Shalom,.

God Bless Africa

God Bless Humanity.

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Very Truly Yours

Elder (Evan) Ayodeji Ogunjobi (Deja Vu)

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