Should the Church meddle in politics?

Can religion be divorced from politics? There are number of people who don’t believe so. And there are others, some of them staunch Christians who say that religion and politics are birds of the same feather, and thus cannot be separated. Every country has its history. I remember as a young boy in Secondary school, Form Three to be precise, some 20 years back, every bishop and pastor, more so Anglican and Catholic ones wanted to be involved in politics. And they created names for themselves. That’s why when you go to Kenya, the names of Bishop Henry Okullu, Bishop Alexander Muge, Bishop Zaccheus Okoth and a host of others will never disappear from the annals of Kenya history. Some were persecuted and some even lost their lives. But can we divorce politics from church? And what does the bible talk about religion and politics? Do religion and politics mix? In the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Pope Benedict said, “You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated.” That was a powerful statement from the church. It was like an admission that the church failed in its duty to protect its faithful. However belated this apology was, it was powerful indictment that the church should have done something different during that infamous period. But what could the church have done, depending on the circumstances at that time, considering that politicians themselves were involved in the genocide? Voice. That’s what it lacked, voice. But what does the Bible say about religion and politics? When things are going bad in the society, people normally rely on religious personages to give them direction. This is partly due to the fact that authorities believe that religious persons are untouchable. Or are they? According to Pastor James Kalinda of Kicukiro Evangelical Church, religion and politics can never be divorced from each other. “We are the voices of the people as pastors and bishops. We will be failing in our duties if we cannot defend those who rely on us. Even Jesus himself was somehow involved in politics, and that’s the major reason he was crucified. As religious persons, politics and religion goes hands in gloves.” However, there are also some people who believe that Christians shouldn’t meddle in politics. “No. Politics and religion should not be linked. Since there is never one religion in an area over political power. How fair would it be if Jewish beliefs reigned over a Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist,in a political setting? Politics should stay politics,” says Bahati Karuhanga, from Remera. But Tiberius Gasana, who describes himself a staunch Catholic, says “church leaders can be involved in politics as long as they don’t tell their followers how they should believe when it comes to politics. Politics should never be preached.” He adds: “They are free to voice their own opinion in political affairs. They are free to personally be members of political advocacy groups.”