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As a member of Ethiopian society, one could not fail
to notice the distinctive role that religion and all
the accoutrements that come with it play in the
daily lives of the people. The word “religion,”
which stems from Latin, meaning reverence or
obligation, has been so intertwined in our existence
that it does not appear our society would be able to
function without it. It has surpassed being a daily
routine and has reached the level of being a part of
the sustenance of the people and the nation.
No matter what part of the country you are in, rural
or urban; you are bound to run into a place of
worship. There are rarely communities that spring up
that do not offer a religious centre of some sort.
Whether it is a run-down old house that is used as a
chapel, or the expanse of a cathedral, or mosque
that use loudspeakers to reach their massive
audiences, religion is everywhere.
It has been an intricate part of the Ethiopian
existence since the beginning of history as we know
it. It is a source of pride for many as well as
instilling a sense of self-identity. Christians lay
claim to having one of the oldest Orthodox churches
in the world, while the Muslims know this to be the
place that the Prophet Mohammed deemed friendly and
safe for practitioners of Islam. Whatever the faith,
Ethiopians are vivacious and engrossed in their
faith, and have a strong spiritual connection to
their country and places of worship. This is an
enviable trait, as far as I am concerned, because it
manifests the ability of people to give themselves
over to their beliefs and convictions regardless of
the fact that they may not be able to have a
palpable justification for doing so.
Religion seems to be the X factor that is holding
the very fabric of our country together. Now let me
be clear, I am not particularly religious, but I do
believe that religion is a necessity, especially
in societies such as the one that we live in. If it
were not for the faith that is provided as a result
of religions, Ethiopians, who have had to deal with
recurrent political instability, drought, famine,
huge increases in the price of living, and general
decline of living standards would not have been able
to remain the docile and unassuming people that they
are.
Religion plays the role of moderator. If people
become disgruntled with the law and the state of the
nation that they find themselves in, then they have
one of two choices. The first would be to take
matters into their own hands and try and affect
change, whether within the system or working outside
of this, prime examples of this are Kenya and South
Africa. The other is to turn to their faith and live
their lives as best they can with the cards that
they have been dealt. This does not mean that they
simply passively pray that something better is going
to come along. On the contrary, they may even take
measures to effect that change, but they would not
do so in a manner that would go against their faith.
And as far as I know, there are no religions that
preach intolerance, anger, violence and hatred.
Although I appreciate the fact that many Ethiopians
are not given religious freedom from the time of
their youth, I do not believe that much harm has
come of this manner of child rearing.
Basically, children are given a set of moral values
that are practiced not by just their immediate
family, but more often than not extended versions as
well. Faith is something tangible, and religion is
the foundation on which many things are built,
sometimes it is a house of cards, but more often
than not it isn’t. Whatever school of thought one
may follow, it is imperative to appreciate and
understand the importance of the role of religion
especially when dealing with a traditional society
such as Ethiopia. Regardless of how far we have come
and how far we intend to go, the fact remains that
the faith of the people is something that is coming
along for the ride. The thing is, we have to be able
to recognize that it is not going away.
Understanding the depth of religious power will only
go towards strengthening the country as opposed to
weakening it. Trying to enter the rat race that is
globalization, we have somehow got it into out heads
that all things old need to be eliminated in order
to fit in with all things new. The thing is, faith
is buoyant and elastic and most importantly, it has
a response for any situation that it finds itself
in. Perhaps realizing this and trying to reconcile
the age old faith of Ethiopians to the new world
order would receive better results than the horrid
attempts of assimilation and copying of their
culture than we are doing now. |
