Thuggish pastors deserve a kick in the butt

If religious leaders were not doing anything they already know is wrong, why would they be so uncomfortable with suggestions to regulate their trade?

The guilty are afraid. Like those who brew and sell or consume illicit liquor who break into a run at the slightest sighting of police officers who might just be minding their business.

They would not wait to find out what the mission is or to demand that the officers properly identify themselves. Neither would they relax when they see people running. This is because they also know very well that they are breaking the law.

That is exactly the same feeling one gets from this discomfort of clergy and the faithful about suggestions that it is necessary to check the bad apples amongst them. If anything, one would expect that such an idea would be embraced, considering the scarlet paint that some rogue characters have smeared on church and religion.

It is time to dialogue and take appropriate action towards having a clear mechanism for keeping leaders of faith in check. Leaving it all at their discretion in this day and age when an individual can, whether called or not, put together a sect, register it and get on with it, is dangerous. It is akin to handing them the knife and the yam.

The news is littered with gaffes by these individuals who we all hold in high esteem. Clearly, some of them no longer fear the wrath of the higher power who should have called them to serve. Since they have chosen to abdicate, it requires structures of the world to keep them on the straight and narrow. That way, the doctrine they propagate will be monitored as not intend harm or lead astray or even radicalise?

Bestowing such huge, unfettered power in the hands of individuals as the ultimate custodians of morality in society yet leaving themselves unchecked is a huge risk. Forget the elders and other supposed structures that in many cases are made to look like they hold the leader accountable but are only meant to tick a box and have no say over the owner of the establishment. Oft times, these accountability structures have been found complicit with the wayward religious leader. That is how many faithful are lured into pyramid schemes and dodgy land buying arrangements before being fleeced ruthlessly.

It is because of the unflinching loyalty and belief in this one individual, who unfortunately takes advantage, with his cronies.

But matters of the faith are baffling. High on the so-called opium of the masses, people have been known to do crazy, self-destructive things while under the sanction of selfish, manipulative religious leaders.

Yet, it is these same faithful, as if under a spell, who will rush to the defence of the leaders when they are criticised, and calls made for them to be put under check.

While such suggestions are bound to cause jitters and discomfort for the leaders and followers alike, they are necessary and worth pushing forward. Some will claim that this is a symptom of controlling and dictatorial tendencies creeping in, especially if such suggestions are uttered by a close family member of a presidential hopeful. Of course, conveniently ignoring the rationale.

The devout followers of the religious leaders will quickly claim that calls for regulation are another case of ‘forces of darkness' attacking the ‘holy’ ones. This is always the default response when a member of the clergy finds themselves in the wrong, even for a criminal offence.

Resisting any attempts to have them pay for their misbehaviour will be treated as a religious cause, with defiant worshippers filling up the pews to make a solidarity point of sorts. Unfortunately, this emboldens the wayward preachers and many of their ilk to lead innocent flock astray even more.

The push to regulate religious bodies is not to disrespect religion but to protect the faith.

Let us deal with the criminal elements humanly, right here on earth before they eventually face their Maker in the afterlife.

— butunyi@gmail.com

@butunyi