The Church is and has always been very influential in the formulation of laws and policies, purportedly for the good of society. Through its usual advocacy and campaigning, it has managed to put up striking defences for the buggery law, laws prohibiting abortion and against same-sex marriage. It has almost always had legislative influence in Jamaica and plays an active role in shaping policy frameworks that impact society.
Beyond legislative influence, roughly a third of all public educational institutions in Jamaica are church owned. Many students are therefore indoctrinated with value judgements on jewellery wearing and concepts relating to female modesty and chastity, among other socially controversial matters. Most children will grow up having daily devotions at school and some will even take part in school mass once per month. Despite the obvious existence of the church within our society, what has been its social impact?
Society seems to worsen in almost every moral aspect the more time progresses. In recent times, the murder rate has been increasing year by year and it seems we have become desensitised to crime, overall. Over the past five years, the ‘eat-a-food’ mentality would have resulted in almost 1,000 persons being arrested for fraud and our culture of violence would have resulted in reported cases of domestic violence doubling. The decline in the reported cases of rape and other sexual crimes, though still high in number, seems not to explain the general feeling in women and girls, walking on the streets, being unsafe. Jamaicans are more fearful than ever before because no longer do we trust each other or feel assured that those with whom we interact will abide by any moral code.
Besides major crime, many other antisocial behaviours have become normalised. Fatherlessness and parental neglect still abound, scamming is on the rise and bribery is now seen as the best way to avoid a ticket when pulled over by the police, many of whom also want to “eat some food”.
All these social ills have a genesis and therefore aren’t unfixable. But how will they be fixed and who will fix them? The most likely response is that the government which promises the fixes should fix them. But those paying attention know empty promises abound every election cycle and perhaps governments simply can’t do what they say they will. Some changes transcend the realm of public policy and legislation and extend to the social fabric that runs through society.
Where is the Church in all this? Why do so many of our church-indoctrinated students leave the fold of their church-owned schools only to become the malefactors of society? After all the forced devotions and psalm recitals in schools and after all the public crusades, it seems, unfortunately, that the Church has failed to sustain its influence.
Besides an evangelistic mission to spread the gospel, most churches were created with a social mandate. This is why the Church is so active in poverty alleviation efforts and so vocal about lifestyle issues. Notwithstanding its most ardent efforts to effect social change, however, the Church is losing its grip.
Objective persons will acknowledge that the Church does promote many objectively good values:
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
“Render not evil for evil.”
“Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
“Honour your father and mother.”
If these were adopted by society, crime would undoubtedly subside. Respect for human life would be restored and aggression would succumb to an eventual death. But, these values are clearly not being adopted by the many who spray bullets and rob ATM machines. The preaching continues, but seemingly to fall only on deaf ears. Persons walk by the outdoor crusades and seem to dismiss the moral and religious sentiments as old, useless, and inapplicable.
WHAT CAN CHURCH DO?
What can the Church do beyond increasing its numbers? After all, we are known for having the greatest density of churches in all the world, yet we are at the point of being overrun by gunmen and dog-hearted criminals. Furthermore, for every church, there is a neighbouring rum bar or nightclub. Somehow, the churches are always full and so are the rum bars. It seems many Jamaicans may be dual citizens.
Could it be that the Church has become not much more than a cultural emblem? Could it be that many attend services, week after week, but simply for the social benefit of finding community? Or to uphold long-held family traditions? Could it be that congregants have learnt the art of cognitive dissonance – professing one set of values, while living by another? The Church must find the answers if it will ever increase its social impact in a society crying out for help.
There must be a way for the Church to clarify its mission, and perhaps reimagine its strategy. One issue that has dimmed the Church’s influence is the “Do as I say, not as I do” mantra that many church leaders seem to live by. Pastors and church leaders must live above the social cesspool of dishonesty, domestic violence, sexual abuse and infidelity if the Church is to regain its impact.
Hopefully, we will learn to look beyond the frailty, fallibility, and even downright hypocrisy of two-faced church leaders, and start evaluating the values they promote. But until then, the Church must do a better job of weeding out leaders who cause harm to society and limit the already-dying influence of the Church.
Kristen Gyles is a free-thinking public affairs opinionator. Send feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com
Credit:Source link
