Corruption in Religion

Religion is based on belief in god, tradition and practices, where as spirituality refers to the way each individual experiences his or her connectedness to external forces and nature. Throughout my childhood I was very religious, which I inherited from my parents. Religious activities had a strong influence in shaping my personality, but somewhere in my youthful years, religion grew as a shadow obliterating righteousness. I was influenced by the famous song that human beings created various religions, which in turn made gods in the form of priests. Later both priests in the form of gods and religion shared the wealth and plotted to make human beings jealous and to fight each with other.

The founders of Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are Moses, Buddha, Christ and Mohammed. Their teachings were carried to us through scriptures and traditions. All of them originated in Asia and spread to other parts of the world . There are other religions such as Hinduism, Confucianism, Sikhism, Jainism and African paganism.Some of them have multiple gods like in Hinduism, Saraswathy the god for education and Shiva the god for destruction. But most religions have only one god to worship. In Christianity, the hierarchy of god and Jesus Christ is very confusing.

All the religions are said to be co-workers to achieve the blessings of god, but those who control the religion, brainwash the followers in all possible ways. In Christianity brainwashing is through charismatic retreat or evangelism, in Hinduism they do it through ‘human god’ who displays miracles to convince the followers. ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ movement, is a popular Hindu cult movement and a lot of westerners follow it blindly. Some of these followers traffik in drugs and indulge in illegal activities. The religious heads of such cults in Western countries like the US are known to enrich themselves, indulge in luxurious life, and commit extortion.  

 In Islamic religion, it is one’s duty to give 2.5% of one’s wealth as charity to deserving fellow Muslims. Most rich Arab countries hardly scratch the surface in fulfilling their duty on charity. Will there be any deprivation in Bangladesh or in countries where Muslim faith makes up a good part of the population, if wealthy Islamic countries make it mandatory that 2.5% of one’s wealth should be given to the needy.

  When we talk about religion, we assume that the religious authorities are pious and willing to help others. Of course this  is true up to a certain extend, but they are not so generous if one is critical of their religion. We have heard  the news of government machinery protecting those clergy who do illegal activities. Presently most democratic governments have enacted laws to prosecute religious authorities, if they knowingly hush up or support a sexual crime. Still the coffers of Christianity bankroll all legal expenses to support criminals in their religious order. In India, if a victim reports a perpetrator of sexual crime to the religious authorities or even to the government law enforcement agency the victim will be intimidated in all possible ways. These religious authorities control the political ‘vote bank’, and therefore most top politicians oblige to the religious leaders.  

This political influence is not only seen in Christianity, but also in other major religions like Hinduism and Islam. In India there is a supreme court ruling on allowing adult female devotees to climb Sabarimala, a shrine on top of a mountain, (Kerala, India), but it has not been implemented either by the Hindu religious heads or by the government authorities. They take the view that as per the tradition only male devotees are allowed by god to climb the mountain top! There are many other improper activities going on in religious retreat centres and in the religious communities, but the government is slow to make laws to curb them.   

The unaccountable wealth  of the religious institutions is the most intriguing issue and scandal of the present time . In the name of charity they collect a lot money in the country and from abroad. Through many years, religions like Hinduism have collected huge wealth donated by devotees to various shrines and  famous temples. Also it is regrettable that religious heads have been indicted on misappropriation of funds in land transactions. The income generated by the above sources are not properly accounted and governments of all colours do not stringently enforce laws on money laundering.   

 However a good section of religious institutions and hierarchies are law abiding, conscientious and philanthropic. We learn about Father Damien from Belgium who volunteered to go to Molokai in Hawaii to serve lepers and ultimately contracted the disease and died in the same remote island. History gives accounts of various Christian missionaries setting out on voyages to far flung areas and sacrificing their life in the pursuit of teaching or providing healthcare to hostile inhabitants. A lot of Hindu and Islamic religious philanthropists carry out a lot of humanitarian work all over the world. But the overall outlook of those who religious leaders should change as religion is one of the most powerful influences on human race. Yes, at present the religion is at the crossroads.