BY: DOMINIC E.B. ANYALAGBUNA
1.0.Prolegomenon:
In his monumental work entitled Introduction to African Philosophy, the renowned scholar, John S. Mbiti
vehemently submits that “Africans are
notoriously religious…. Religion permeates into all the department of
[their] life so fully that it is not possible to isolate it.” In furtherance of
this view, Mbiti still aptly adds further that “wherever the African is, there is his religion: he carries it to
the fields where he is sowing seeds or harvesting a new crop.” However, the
truth of these statements can sufficiently be expressed in the ever increasing
number of religious grounds in our time. In fact, multiplicity of churches is a
fact, a truth! This diversity is pioneered by different reasons which may range
from supernatural, financial, economic, or socio-political reasons. Moreover, man
has sought for avenues to express his worship of God. Unfortunately, this has
been done in questionable places. This has left man with a horrible phenomenon which
may be termed ‘irreligious religiosity.’ Irreligious religiosity is a
phenomenon exhibited by faithless, lazy and hollow spiritually-minded
individuals who are externally looked upon as holy people by others whereas
inside them is full of contradictory qualities. Consequent upon this, this work
will expose the concept of irreligious religiosity under the factors that encourage
the multiplicity of churches, causes and consequences, together with some
possible remedy.
In his classical definition of religion, his Eminence Francis
Cardinal Arinze, on one hand, tendered that religion is the consciousness in
man as depending on transcendental being for his survival and as such his
inclination or propensity to worship. In addition, one is said to be religious when one has, shows or
manifests faithful devotion to an ultimate being. In its narrowest sense, more
so, religiosity deals more with how
religious a person is in practicing certain rituals, revering certain symbols,
or accepting certain doctrines about God. For someone to be irreligious denotes that he or she is
feeling no sincere and deeply rooted religious qualities, impulses or emotions,
or that simply he or she is not religious.
3.0.Some Reasons for
the Multiplicity of Churches:
Today, multiplicity of churches is almost synonymous
with the human race. The reason for this enormous multiplicity of churches is
obvious. It could be engendered by a sincere and urgent yearning for the
kingdom of God. It can as well be spurred by the suffocating difficult economic
and financial situations facing mankind. High quest for fame is also a factor. Many
of these churches claim divine origin. Whatever may account for this diversity,
the negative effects of this phenomenon can never be done away with.
4.0.The
Self-Acclaimed Religious Christians:
Going further, many of the adherents of these
movements are acclaimed to be very religious. They are sentimentally and
affected seen as pious people. Their movements are often calculated and stylish
most at times before the public. The dress decently and would always like to
give advice to everyone within their reach who they perceive may be behaving in
a way that is anti-christian, inhumane, anti-social and the what have you. People
have a holy reverence for them wherever they are seen or pass. They attend
almost every church activity. They are registered members of virtually all
religious societies. Going to morning masses is for them something close to
hobby. Constantly they are found in the church, praying, reading the scriptures
or doing one corporal work of mercy the other.
5.0.Irreligious
Religiosity: An Expose
Nevertheless, inasmuch as some of these qualities are
very good in themselves, that they can have the benefit of making one move in
the direction of holiness or in fact that one who has these qualities appears
to be on the track to saintliness; there is also a strong string of glaring irreligiosity masking behind these
qualities. At this point, let us note that the most profound characteristic which
these ‘religious’ individuals possess is that generated by the multiplicity of
churches. These churches in question serve as second home to these acclaimed “religious
people.” As a result, they are mostly seen in all the praying ministries
around. They do not miss it. They move from one prayer house to the other, from
one pastor to the other. Here, they may be seen as prayer warriors. The most
touching part of this is that most at times, some of them do not consider what
sort of praying ministries they attend. Some of them argue that we all worship
the same God. For them, God is one and no particular religion has the monopoly
of God’s blessings. Some will say that God is not restricted to only one Church,
while some other will argue that ‘e jighi
anya oma eje uka ekpere.’
Most of these people who call themselves religious or
better still, pious people do not pay adequate and equal attention to their
legitimate family responsibilities. They are found wanting in this regard. They
will leave in the morning for mass, returning almost at the time when everyone
has gone. In the case of wives, they leave their husbands and kids hungry for
work and school respectively. These women take religion to dodge their family
responsibilities. They are the lazy ones. They live under the camouflage of
being religious whereas their homes are in shambles. How can we reconcile the
two. In fact, they are better termed ‘irreligious
religious’ people.
6.0.Causes and
Consequences:
Theologically, nothing happens in this world by
accident or co-incidence. Everything unfolds according to God’s saving plan. Philosophically,
the German thinker Hans-Georg Gadamer would add that ‘no one speaks from
nowhere.’ In other words, there must be a reason for everything. Therefore,
standing on this ground, one will note that there are many causes and
consequences of irreligious religiosity, the major of which appears to be the
ever increasing number of churches in our time. The multiplicity of churches
has incensed the problem of man. Its effect is like what is described as a ‘chain-reaction’
in chemistry. It has denied man the singleness of purpose. It has made man not
to focus on any particular religion or church. It has created competition and
rivalry between different churches. In like manner, it has ripped man of his
faith. And so, it leads to lack of faith.
The diversity of churches as an aid to lack of faith
is made manifest in the lives of so many faithful who see themselves as
religious. This is due to the fact that when they are beseeched by pains and
difficulties, they run from one prayer house or the other seeking for help,
forgetting that their faith is at test at that time. They tend to spiritualise
every problem they encounter in life.
At this juncture, the question of whether religion
promotes violence or conflict arises. When these ‘religious’ people meet with the
self-proclaimed men of God for solution to their problems, they are often ‘prophesied’
that they are under attack by their immediate relation. This generates conflict
instead of presenting proper solution to the problem at hand This harbours
acrimony, hatred and conflict which often time culminate in untold violence. It
is not that praying for one’s problems is wrong, but the emphasis is that these
people lack the faith to accept every situation of their lives as God’s will.
7.0.The Way Out:
Is there a way of salvaging this horrible consequence
created by existence of numerous churches? The answer to this question is
obvious, but the issue is that proliferation of church is a fact and its
effects will continue to live among men as far human race is in existence to be
stopped only by Divine intervention. But, inasmuch as these consequences are
with us, we must continue to make every possible effort to extricate ourselves
from it. This is a continuous struggle. This can take the shape of going back
to our inner selves. There, we raise some fundamental questions surrounding our
existence on earth. Why are we here on earth? Are we here by our own making?
What is the purpose of our being created? Is it to fulfilled our selfish and
destructive plans or to bring God’s design for to completion although through
his grace? If this is to be done, it is not to be done by angels but human
beings. In that case, we first of all realise that we are human beings and not
angels. Then, and only then are we to begin to see God in every event of our
loves. As family person, you begin to see God’s call in the daily events of
your family responsibilities. You begin to see your dependence on God’s grace
and stop seeing others as bad or spiritually backward. In this sense also, we
begin to see divine imprint in every event of our life. We begin to accept as
divinely approved, every difficulty, suffering, pain, sickness that visit us in
life. When we do this, our quest for men of God will be short-circuited, and
the question of the increasing multiplicity of churches will be a thing long
forgotten and then we shall live far away from irreligious religiosity!
8.0.The Finale:
All this while, this paper has been examining the
ripple effects of the ever increasing number of churches in our time, the
highest of which is the awful phenomenon of irreligious religiosity. These
pious people are externally looked upon as ‘holy people’ whereas they are full
of camouflage and laziness. This has led many of them to different prayer
houses. There, most at times, their problems are accelerated sometimes ending
in conflicts which by implication, label religion as a source of violence. To
deliver ourselves from this, this paper recommends that we have to reflect on
the fundamental reason of our existence. When this is resolved, then shall we be
able to extricate ourselves from the shackles of irreligious religiosity which
is in a sense cause caused by the presence of different churches and religions.
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