Real Men Love Jesus

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Religion is a very large part of life in Uganda. It is everywhere you look - from bumper stickers that declare the above “Real Men Love Jesus” to ones that state that the driver is “Covered in the Blood of Jesus” (a little creepy in my opinion) to the people who stand on road meridians yelling out Bible verses in Luanda, religion is constantly in your face and unapologetic about it. According to the 2002 census, 41.9% of Ugandans identify as Roman Catholic , followed by 42% Protestant (Anglican 35.9%, Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%) with a minority of 12.1% identifying as Muslims.

I am not at all saying that I am against religion, or the fact that the vast majority of people in the country practice organized religion. I do, however, find it very interesting the way in which most Ugandans automatically assume that everyone else holds the same beliefs as them. Almost every meeting is started with a Christian prayer. This included a meeting of Parliamentarians at the beginning of the month, many of whom where devout Muslims. Last week one of my co-workers looked at my identifiable badge with confusion and asked me what my Christian name was. My cousin plays basketball every week and before each game all the players gather together to say a prayer. Apparently my co-workers were also starting every meeting, training session etc with a Christian prayer - the Head of Mission had to remind them a number of times that the organization is non-denominational. The prayers have since stopped but I am not convinced that my Ugandan counterparts understand why it is inappropriate, only that it is against the organization’s policy.

Religion is also deeply ingrained in politics. The Catholic church plays a large role in supporting and funding candidates and the president and his wife are both pretty hard core. The issue of homosexuality and the drive for the Bill that would punish homosexual acts with the death penalty has also been widely supported by religious leaders throughout the country. I was sent a pretty shocking video last week of an educational session on homosexuality that took place in Uganda. You can watch it here . Pretty disturbing stuff. Perhaps the worst part though is how widespread support for the Bill has been. In general my coworkers are very well educated (law degrees, masters etc.) and at times quite open-minded on more controversial issues such as family planning, pre-martial sex and one even voiced support for abortion in certain cases. Not to mention the fact that we are an NGO that specializes in advocating for those whose who have suffered human rights abuses. However, when it comes to homosexuality, they are all pretty much convinced that it is “unnatural” and should be punishable by law. Thankfully, the Bill doesn’t look like its going to go through - although no thanks, might I mention, to a number of American Evangelical Christians who have come to Uganda to fight against the “whole hidden and dark agenda” which they, along with their Ugandan counterparts claim pose a irreconcilable threat to the Bible-based values and traditional African families. As it stands at the moment, homosexual acts remain criminalized under the Penal Act right alongside bestiality. The Ugandan judiciary has demonstrated itself to be progressive at times, abolishing corporal punishment and showing a reluctance to use the death sentence in some cases. One can only hope that this will continue into the future and those in power will not allow their personal religious beliefs to cloud their decisions.

In the end, I am all for personal spirituality and finding solace in religion and a religious community. I am not however comfortable with people imposing their personal beliefs on morality or their religion itself on others. It is for that reason that I often find it very hard to reconcile the good work (such as building schools, creating rehabilitation programs for child soldiers etc.) that faith based NGOs do in developing countries with the inevitable indoctrination that goes along with it.

Up next, part II in controversial topics at the forefront of my encounter with Ugandan society: Race and racism.

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