#BTColumn – Is religion holding us back?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

By Lenrod Nzulu Baraka

It has been said, and perhaps with some justification, that behind every bush in the Caribbean, there is a church. Caribbean people are really into going to church and supporting the programmes of the plethora of churches we have in the region. The same could be said for the African continent where Christianity has exploded since the 1950s. In contrast, Christianity seems to be on life support in Europe, while people with no religious affiliation are the fastest growing demographic in America.

The community of the faithful in both the Caribbean and on the African continent is quick to remind the rest of us that righteousness exalts a nation. From this, we can extrapolate that Christians generally believe that an abundance of religion should translate into national prosperity and exaltation. The Jewish nation in the Old Testament had the promise that if they were faithful to the commandment of their deity, the Jewish nation would be the head and not the tail.

The super abundance of the Christian religion in Africa and the Caribbean should therefore be accompanied by super development, prosperity, and exaltation. Regrettably, none of these supposed by-products of affiliation with the Christian religion are observable in either Africa or the Caribbean. Paradoxically, it is the regions where Christianity seems to be on the decline, or not a factor at all, that are experiencing the greatest prosperity and exaltation.

The refugee crisis, which ranks as one of the leading crises of our times, also calls into question the notion that a superabundance of religion leads to national prosperity. One of the quirky details of the refugee crisis happens to be the fact that a large percentage of refugees originate in countries with a whole lot of religion. African and Caribbean refugees are risking life and limb to cross over into Europe and North America.

The average African and Caribbean citizen is drawn like a moth to a flame to destinations in Europe and North America when the opportunity to travel presents itself. Many African and Caribbean citizens simply disappear from the immigration radar once they land in Europe and North America. Many of these runaway tourists never make it back to their native homes in Africa and the Caribbean.

Much can be said about the ethics and morality of Europeans and Caucasian Americans that are most unflattering. One thing that can’t be said about Europeans and Caucasian Americans, however, is that they have not been undisputed rulers of the world for the past five centuries. European hegemony has also coincided with the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, which were two intellectual movements in Europe that deemphasized and downplayed the role of religion in society.

The great thinkers of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment challenged Europeans to think outside the box of Christian theology. Reason gained the ascendancy over superstition and science was exalted over blind faith. The zenith of the Enlightenment came during the French Revolution, which was a radical parting of the way between church and state. At the height of the revolution, the Christian religion was abolished and a new religion of reason was enthroned in place of Christianity. 

The Catholic Church that had played such a monumental role in European affairs for centuries, came in for some harsh treatment. The pope was captured by the revolutionary forces and the papacy was abolished. The Bible was thrashed and priests and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church were made to walk over symbolic hot coals. The revolution may have been violent and bloody, but it did succeed in breaking the hold of religion on French society. To this day, France still ranks as one of the most godless nations in Europe, with between 30 to 40 per cent of the population dissenting from belief in gods or spirits.

Another delicious religious irony is that 20 per cent of Jews in the state of Israel are atheists. Apparently, many of the founders and keepers of Judaism and Christianity have outgrown these two faiths and are now firmly planted on the rock of science, technology, and reason. African and Caribbean converts to the Judeo-Christian religion are clearly trying to out-Jew the Jews and be more Christian than the Europeans who brought them Christianity.

African and Caribbean people continue to proudly maintain much of the religious detritus that many Jews and Europeans have long since confined to the dustbin of history. Ridiculous outdated laws that were rooted in an outdated religious worldview are still being championed by African and Caribbean leaders. The recalcitrant attitude of leaders in both regions on matters related to the extension of human rights as defined by the United Nations to all citizens in Africa and the Caribbean has closed the door to developmental aid so badly needed in both regions.

Adherence to myths and superstitions is clearly more important to African and Caribbean politicians who are quite self-congratulatory over their own shortsightedness. Jews and Caucasians use religion as a servant to achieve their political and economic objectives. Africans and the people of the Caribbean, on the other hand, have allowed religion to become their master, thus preventing Africa and the Caribbean from embracing modernity and many of its benefits.

Lenrod Nzulu Baraka is the founder of Afro-Caribbean Spiritual Teaching Center and the author of Rebirth of Black Civilization: Making Africa and the Caribbean Great Again.