State’s other role is to regulate religion

The Government of Kenya has come up with rules that among other things, ban seed preaching. Other aspects of the regulations that have been gazetted by Attorney General Githu Muigai include a requirement that clerics submit certificates of good conduct and their theological training certificates.

Individually, I applaud the Kenyan government for coming up with these regulations, and I am in total support of what it is doing with regard to regulating religion.

As expected, this has generated a lot of debate in the country. We have those who feel that the Government is infringing on the constitutional freedom of worship.

I wish to remind those inclined to feel that what the Government is doing is wrong, that freedoms; all freedoms come with responsibilities. When you are accorded a right, you must use the right for the greater good.

When you use a right to cause harm to others, to rob others of their hard earned money, you must be denied that right. It is the role of the Government, any responsible government, to protect its citizens against any kind of fraud; be it fraud based on faith, miracles or a God that may lead to loss of money.

For a long time, Kenyans have been made to believe that matters to do with religion are sacred and should not be questioned. Religion must be questioned. Faith healers must be questioned. Seed preachers must be questioned.

There is nothing so unique about religion. In fact, there is everything wrong about religion. Miracles could be happening, we really do not know. Maybe someone was prayed for and got healed of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or cancer.

There are so many claims that are made by believers who were supposedly healed of incurable diseases. The question I keep asking myself is: Why can’t this healing be done to the many who are unwell in Kenyan hospitals? The problem with faith-based healing is that it is difficult to verify.

Secondly, faith healing is shrouded in mystery, making it prone to fraudsters. To the extent that fraudsters can take advantage of faith healing, then we should be careful about who uses mass media to purport to heal diseases.

The vulnerable Kenyan, the one who has no job, must not be further plunged into poverty by borrowing money to give to the likes of Pastor Kanyari. The sick patient, who can hardly pay for his medical fees, should not come on television and be told that healing will happen if he pays some cash via M-Pesa.

Mass media should be regulated, as it is a form of media that reaches a wide audience, and if you read the agenda setting theory, you may understand how dangerous mass media can be.

The Communications Authority is helping many Kenyans with this ban, and I fully support it. But, I must say that i do not have a problem with adherents of a church giving their 10 per cent to their church of choice.

I have no problem with those looking to be healed by going to some crusade by Prophet Owuor. But mass media should be regulated. We must ban seed preaching on television.