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	Society Should Worry about Crisis in Christianity By Peter Nyanzi Daily Monitor June 1, 2009 http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/opinions/Society_should_worry_about_crisis_in_Christianity_85754.shtml In Catholics, Anglicans laugh loudly as Pentecostals ‘sodom’ things up (Daily Monitor, May 23), columnist Bernard Tabaire argued that the crisis in the Pentecostal churches “only makes the local Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Uganda look attractive again.” I think Mr Tabaire’s assertion can only be described as idealistic at best because it is not the Pentecostal faith that is in crisis but Christianity as a whole. In all this, there are certainly a lot more losers than winners and the biggest of them all is society - Mr Tabaire and all those of his kin inclusive. The whole of Christianity as an institution faces the risk of losing its essence (saltness) in the eyes of society but given the social importance of religion, there is a legitimate concern that the community should be worried and afraid. First, it is not just the Pentecostals as Mr Tabaire seems to insinuate that have been in the news for the bad reasons. In recent months, the local and international media have been awash with raving stories about the misdeeds of religious leaders from the various faiths. At first, it was the Catholic clergy who came under the international spotlight after they were implicated in the sexual abuse of boys in the US and Europe. Then followed the embattled Mufti Ramadan Mubajje over the controversial sale of Muslim properties, then former Namirembe Diocese Bishop Balagadde Ssekadde over the alleged misuse of Church funds and more recently the Pentecostal pastors over allegations of sodomy. Apparently, no religion has been immune. Indeed, it is old time religion that is in dire straights and this spells real doom for everyone given the social, cultural, political and economic importance of religious institutions in society. For centuries, religion and the fear of God have historically been known to bring sanity, stability and order to society. Now, if these scandals make society lose trust in religion as a divine institution, society is indeed bound to suffer great harm. As a matter of fact, most of the legal systems and laws worldwide were premised on the principles and norms that are articulated in the Holy Scriptures. For example, a recent study that tracked urban adolescents through the various levels of school in the US, showed that when young people perceive religion as important in their lives, it may lower rates of involvement in alcoholism, drug abuse and other vices. The adolescents who viewed religion as a meaningful part of their lives were half less likely to use drugs and other forms of delinquency. Also, they had a more positive attitude and strong values, and of course, more healthy relationships. Over the last two decades, hordes of young people and former criminals have turned to God and are now active members in hundreds of Pentecostal churches countrywide. Though there is still high crime rate in society, one could only imagine what the situation would be like if people were to abandon Christianity. I mean the level of crime and social disorder would simply be unbearable even to people who have nothing to do with God. And would anyone quit Pentecostal churches and return to the “attractive” main stream churches? Of course the answer is an emphatic No! Lastly, the Christianity - Anglican, Catholic or Pentecostal, etc has historically been an influential power base that plays a key role in keeping the other power blocs under check by speaking out against political oppression and bad governance as well as other social evils. So anything whether internal or external that would undermine the Church’s ability to play its role effectively would be absolutely undesirable to society. There is therefore every reason for society to be concerned and to hope and pray that the crisis in the Church will be over sooner rather than later. Contact: peternyanzi@yahoo.co.uk
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