OH MY BELOVED CHRISTIANS

I had originally planned on penning a different article this week but the events over the last week involving religion and education steered me in the direction of what I’m about to discuss.

Here’s some background on these two events: the Swazi Government championing the exclusion of all religions except Christianity in the curriculum reminds me of the Grace Bible Church and Somizi saga. Different situations but all the consequence of a hegemonic structure that refuses to change.

The notion that only Christianity can be taught in our schools is tragically flawed and depressingly regressive. Swaziland has a population which has a diverse demography that includes people who practice an array of religions and cultures that aren’t Christian or Swazi. I understand our country is one that values tradition and ours is a culture rooted in fervent religious views, but this idea is definitely anti-progress.

The rejection of other religions in our syllabus has other far-reaching deprecating effects on those who are excluded. Religious indoctrination functions to attach a large chunk of our identity to our religion.

This is very obvious in our country and as children grow up, religion is drilled into their heads so violently that sense of self is negotitated via the pidgeon holed views of whatever religion their upbringing has exposed them to. Banning other religions, is in fact government rejecting some people’s identity. In these times of a constantly changing world and globalisation, this is not sustainable.

The world, local and beyond our borders is diverse and we are failing our pupils by not exposing them to as much knowledge as possible. It’s always interesting to see how all the hegemonic constructs function to exclude in order to maintain its control in society, this is just another form of religious insecurity lashing out.

I am not sure how many Muslims or Buddhists etc are in Swaziland, but I know they are and they have offspring who will attend these classes where their religions are officially banned. Instead of using this platform of religious studies/education as one to teach love, tolerance and light, its become another tool of exclusion.

Social media was on fire on Sunday night after South Africa Somizi Mhlongo posted a video saying he walked out of a sermon at Grace Bible Church because the visiting pastor was on a homophobic rant. Many came to Mhlongo’s defence, others labelled Mhlongo as ‘dramatic’ and ofcourse it gave a chance for the homophobes to spew their vitriol out into the world. Whatever happened or was said, fact is the church is hypocritical in how it aggressively condemns some ‘sins’ and ignores or tolerates others.

The church continues to be selective about what Bible teachings they enforce to suit their obviously flawed moral compasses. This selective pursue of certain sins and tolerance of some sins exposes the church for their missing authenticity. Say what you want, but this selective memory some Christians have regarding the Bible is a form of discrimination and is totally anti-thesis to the teachings of Christ, is it not?

The Bible says we must not eat certain foods, wear a mixture of cloths/materials and we know how shockingly misognystic it is yet you don’t see Christians up in arms about that. Doesn’t God weigh every sin equally? Why are Christians then persecuting others for ‘sinning’ differently?
Get out. The myopic views of some of the churchgoers are detrimental to any semblance of evolution.

We must not forget that the Bible was brought here by missionaries and now we use it to oppress our own, the same words used to subjugate us, are now being used to subjugate our own. Religion seems to be a contentious topic for the many feelings it stirs up and opposing views it draws out. We are at a point where we can’t be quiet anymore, be it about homophobia, rape or racism. Neutrality is siding with the oppressor and discrimination.

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