Religion

That’s me in the corner / That’s me in the spotlight, losing my religion.
-REM

Some of the students/workers dressed for a reenactment of Jesus's crucifixion

Today I had an interesting conversation with one of my nuns. She’s older, exceptionally nice, and particularly astute. We were waiting for the afternoon’s service to commence; as the students were still adjusting their stools on the chapel lawn, I took the seat beside her on the veranda, where all the nuns were seated. (I never know exactly where to sit. I’m not a student, not a worker, not a nun…I usually sit with the nuns, though.) She was reading a small book while waiting- it was light blue and had a cross on it- I think it was titled “Revelation.” I asked her about it. The particular part she was reading dealt with native religion in Africa, she said. This, of course, prompted many more questions from me, which she willingly answered. She told me, “It’s so interesting- when Africa had native religions, they occupied every corner of life. Everything that you did or didn’t do had to do with religion- they way you spoke to people, the way you behaved- everything. Religious beliefs permeated everything. In every corner of life, the reason was religion. Now, it’s completely different. Religion is not as much a focus.”

And she’s right, it is completely different. Uganda is now a predominately Christian nation, although there are a significant number of Muslims as well. Regardless of classification, everyone has a religion; you will not find a single person who would say they don’t believe in God. Those still holding “native” beliefs are few and very far between.

It’s interesting that something that was once such a shaping factor in how a life was lived would no longer have such influence. But, with older faiths, she seemed to say, justice was more inherent. There were direct consequences for your actions; ill-treat someone and your cow might die, be disrespectful and your crops would dry up. Thus, as she put it, “every corner of life” was involved- every deed was duly considered with regards to faith. In the Uganda of today, being religious means attending church and reciting prayers.

I asked if she thought Ugandans are less religious now than they used to be when native religions were predominant. She said, “It depends on what you mean by ‘less religious.’ With native religions, people were very religious, but the beliefs were so much on the mind that it was a source of fear- fear of retribution for your wrongs. Now, for people who really understand Christianity, everything is not so fearful. But, for many people, Christianity is still a foreign religion- it’s still the white foreigner’s God. It’s hard to incorporate that into life here. You have to start from the beginning- from Genesis- and realize that we all- black, white- were made the same. You have to start with the things we have in common.”

As the priests started their walk to the altar and our conversation came to a close, she said, “Thank you, my dear, for all of your challenging questions.” It was a simple statement, but in a place where people seem to dislike questioning… well, I could have hugged her. I didn’t. I just said, “Thank you for answering all of my challenging questions.”

And the service for Good Friday began.