DEBATE :- Christianity, another opium PART 2: CHRISTIANITY - Time for a wake-up call By Norman Francis, Contributor THAT RELIGION is regarded by some as another opium of the mind is no doubt reminiscent of Karl Marxis's famous pronouncement that religion "is the opium of the people". Thus, Otto Maduro, himself a Marxist, correctly admits that religion has served as "one of the main (and sometimes the only) available channels to bring about a social revolution." But just how does religion function as an instrument of social change? It does so by evoking a new awareness among the people, thereby providing them with an alternative consciousness to that of the dominant culture. This counter-consciousness is rooted in an understanding of God as the supreme Ruler, who, contrary to the god of the dominant culture, is not a mere instrument in the hands of the 'haves', but is free to act according to his own purposes of righteousness and justice. The process of dismantling the oppressive structures in any society must necessarily begin by bringing to public expression, the pain of the suffering masses. In so doing, religion is able to lead persons to an understanding of why things are the way they are, to empower them to take responsibility for their own lives and to initiate the process of change. This is the most fundamental level of change the liberation of the mind! It is precisely at this point that those who are exploited, marginalised and without hope are energised by a new spirituality that leads to the discovery of new possibilities and of hope, based on God's freedom to act with justice. Again, it is religion that brings to public expression these new possibilities, and contrasts them with the existing powerlessness of the present order to deliver the quality of life expected of it. And, as the process expands, similar changes will inevitably engulf communities, institutions, and ultimately entire nations. Sounds far-fetched? History is replete with evidence of religionís role as a catalyst for change. Almost thirty-five centuries ago, for example, an estimated two million Jews, under the leadership of Moses, the great lawgiver marched to freedom from four hundred years of brutal enslavement in Egypt, and who later became an independent people. More recently, Ghandi successfully galvanized Indiaís peasantry in that countyís struggle for independence from British colonial rule, using the Hindu idea of Sarvodaya ñ the welfare of all. Then there is Reverend Martin Luther King Jnr., renowned for his leading role in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, which resulted in the enactment of legislation to reduce racial injustice in the United States of America. Space does not permit me to enumerate the impact of religion in the dismantling of oppressive conditions in Latin America, Poland and in South Africa, and, by way of the Reformation of the sixteenth century, in the inaugurating of sweeping changes all across Europe. But the power of religion as a means of spiritual, political and economic transformation, finds its climax in the life and work of Jesus Christ who, in his crucifixion embodied the dismantling of the dominant world order, and who, in his triumphant resurrection, embodied a new future with God! We may therefore conclude that religion isnít just an opiate that dulls the minds of people to the reality of injustice and oppression, leading them simply to accept life as it is. Rather, religion is a radical force for change, not only in our individual, private lives, but also in our corporate, public existence. Norman O. Francis is a graduate intern of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. He can be contacted at religion@gleanewrjm.com
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