African religious leaders exclaimed before the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Caucus Tuesday evening that it is not possible to separate church from state in Africa. U.S. Congressional Human Rights Caucus
“In the African tradition, religion is a very integral part of our culture. So it is not easy to simply place things in compartments; ‘this is the religious part [and] this is the secular part,’” said South Africa’s Professor Maake Jonathan S. Masango.“Some scholars have said that Africans are incurably religious. You cannot separate him from his religion; he carries it in his heart, he carries it in his walkman, he carries it even to his examination room.”
As part of The Interfaith Summit on Africa hosted by Church World Service (CWS), more than 45 high-level African faith leaders convened in Washington for dialogue on how U.S. government policies can best meet the major challenges facing the continent. The congressional briefing was held ahead of a three-day conference that includes workshops and presentations by well-known pastors, heads of NGOs (non-governmental organisations), and U.N. and U.S. officials.
Masango, who represents the United Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa, continued to explain the intricate history of the importance of faith in African history and culture.
“In traditional African society, the village traditional ruler is also the chief priest of the community and leads the village in religious ceremony,” said the professor. “For us, it is difficult to talk about a separation between the secular man and the religious person.
“Religion is used to bring the community together; religion becomes the judicial system of the people; and religion becomes the basis instilling discipline in the community. That was the structure even before modern civilisation came in...and so for us, [we think it is] quite a disservice to the growth and development of the community when we hear about these very strict separations.”
Mohammed Mahdi Shehu, national secretary of the Bridge Builders Association of Nigeria, voiced his support of the South African professor’s response to a question posed by a member of the Human Rights Caucus.“In Africa, there is a direct nexus between government and religion and that cannot be wished away,” proclaimed Shehu. “Anybody wishing that away should go and read the history of religion and read the history of Africa and read the history of humanity.”
