IKUI: Religious leaders must preserve sanctity of the Church

Concerns are emerging that many churches, particularly the individual-run ones, are using their congregants as bait to lure politicians for personal interests.

This comes in the wake of reports that politicians from both sides of the political divide are finding solace in churches as they tear into each other, to the excitement of their fans.

The churches have become a political arena, a replica of the usually tense campaign period characterised by provoking and seemingly inciting innuendos as both the clergy and politicians care little about the political diversity of the faithful.

The verbal attacks aimed at political adversaries are loud and clear, right from the pulpit, inside the church, with the men of God garbed in their official religious attires listening, some nodding and others going the extra mile to heartily clap as the politicians whip up emotions.

Religious leaders are held in high esteem by society and they should strive to live up to the expectations. They provide leadership and are quite influential given that their members trust them. However, they need to be alive to the fact that the Church is patronised by people with different political orientations and it is only fair if they should be sensitive to the needs of all Christians.

Some worshippers have been forced to endure the painful experience of sitting in church for hours listening to their favourite political leaders being demeaned in a forum where they are not present to defend themselves.

Whereas the majority of the mainstream churches have tried to limit political rhetoric on the pulpit, many others are still embracing politicians who have mastered the art of using churches to spread love-hate messages to Kenyans.

The focus in some of the churches seems to be money as they are being run as business entities, with the congregants being the clients, who besides ‘paying’ for miracles, aggressively undertake marketing roles to win more followers.

The politicians come in the guise that they want to support the church’s development projects while others ask the religious leaders to host thanksgiving sessions that end up being political events.

Only a few hours are spent on the gospel as the politicians take a large chunk of the time quoting biblical texts that they interpret to suit the harsh messages targeting their opponents.

Religious leaders must wake up to the reality that it is not all about money, particularly when the mission of the church is being sent to the gallows. They must strike a balance between making money and their core mandate, which ideally should be transforming people’s attitudes to promote a society that loathes evil.

Politicians crave multitudes to address because they believe, rightly so, that their victory is hinged on numbers. This is all well and good but they should not be allowed unfettered access to the pulpit.

Religious leaders must have the courage to guide the politicians well in advance on how they are expected to behave while in church and step forward to stop them when they cross the red line.

This has happened in a few churches. However, the majority of the leaders in the church are still entertaining the prolonged campaigns that have continued unabated, way past the election date and are now becoming a threat to development.

In some churches, politicians and high-ranking officials attend service and leave unnoticed. They are never recognised or asked to sit at some special corner of the sanctuary. After all, the Bible says we are all equal before God.

Article 8 of the Constitution states that there is no state religion. Therefore, as we advance religion in a bid to raise a nation that respects God, we must cautiously walk the country down that righteous path.

Freelance journalist. [email protected]