MODULE 7: RELIGION AND GLOBAL ISSUES

TOPIC 1: RELIGION AND GLOBAL EPIDEMICS

Objective: Define epidemic – a large number of cases of a particular disease happening at the
same time in a particular community.

Global epidemics - a large number of cases of a particular disease happening at the

same time affecting the whole world.

Objective: Identify global epidemics : SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), Cancer,
H1N1 (Swine flu), Cholera, HIV/AIDS, Cholera, Malaria, Influenza, Ebola, Foot and Mouth,
Chicken Pox, Tuberculosis, Yellow Fever, Corona Virus/covid 19.

Objective: Discuss the effects of global epidemics in society

 Loss of life (mortality rate) - A lot of people have lost their lives through diseases such
as HIV and AIDS, Cancer, Tuberculosis, and many others.
 Poverty - Epidemics have brought a lot of poverty in the sense that a lot of people who
have been affected by these diseases have spent a lot of money in search of treatment
 Cripples the economic - Epidemics have hindered the development of many economies
as money is diverted to other things such as buying medicine. For example, in Botswana,
government is spending a lot of money in purchasing ARV’s for those who have been
affected by HIV/AIDS. Diseases such as foot and mouth affects the economy as the
country is not able to export meat to other countries and there are times when animals
affected by foot and mouth are killed in large numbers and the government has to spend
lots of money to compensate farmers.
 Family break downs - Epidemics have also led to many family breakdownsm, For
instance, in situations where a married couple is affected by HIV/AIDS, the two may start
to blame each other, and this may ultimately lead to divorce or separation. There is also
the issue of stigmatization and discrimination which may also lead to family breakdown.
 Loss of hope - When people are affected by such diseases as AIDS, which do not have a
cure, they may lose hope in life and some may even commit suicide.
 Loss of skilled personnel – as people die or are forced to stay home because they are sick
and weak to work, this may cause a decrease in skilled personnel
 Loss of breadwinners - Epidemics have bred a lot of orphaned children who have lost
their parents through diseases such as HIV/AIDS, corona, Cancer, and others.
 Stigma – in cases of diseases like HIV/AIDS, many people are left depressesd as they are
looked down upon by others. This may lead to some people not seeking medical or
professional help from the health personnel and this may result in death.

Objective: Discuss the views of ATR in Botswana and Christianity regarding global
epidemics

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ATR in Botswana

 Breaking of taboos – this displeases ancestral spirits and making them angry with people
hence epidemics are a punishment from ancestors

 Evil forces are causes of epidemics – in ATR evil forces( boloi) have the power to bring
sickness which disturbs social order
 Failure to observe certain rituals – in ATR in Botswana certain diseases are associated
with failure to observe certain rituals eg, boswagadi – a disease which happens to
someone who did not observe the cleansing rituals and taboos after he/she lost a partner.

 Falling moral standards: people are doing bad things and epidemics becomes a
punishment to people. They serve to bring them back to proper observance of their
morals.

Christianity

 Punishment from God - It is God’s punishment for Adam’s disobedience and sin, that is,
punishment for immoral behavior.

 Epidemics are caused by selfishness and self-centeredness which lead people away from
God.
 Evil forces - Some epidemics are believed to have been caused by supernatural evil force
known as the devil (Satan) over which humans have little or no control (Ephesians 6: 10-
13).
 Lack of faith in God – Christians view epidemics as a challenge for individuals to find
inner strength and faith in God, God is deliberately bringing epidemics so that people can
develop faith

Objective: Discuss how Christians and the followers of ATR in Botswana respond to
human suffering during epidemics

ATR in Botswana
 The use of sacred obects - They use talisman and amulets (objects with magical powers)
to protect themselves.
 Health rituals - Health can be restored through performing health rituals, for example,
communal health rituals can be performed, such as ‘sepheko’ or purification.
 Religious specialist - They use religious specialists to find out the cause of epidemics and
to find out the right cure. E.g diviners in Tswana society provide answers to inexplicable
occurrences and assist people in determining the right steps to be taken to bring a
doubtful issue to a successful conclusion and Consultation of traditional doctors
 When epidemics occur, followers of ATR establish harmonious relationship with
ancestors through prayer, purification rituals, sacrifices and providing hospitality to
those affected
 Consultation of traditional doctors

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Christianity
 All Christian churches show compassion, e.g. they provide food, clothing, and shelter.
 Main line churches built hospitals, e.g. Scottish Livingstone Hospital (LMS), Bamalete
Lutheran Hospital, and Deborah Retief Hospital.
 Pentecostal Churches provide faith healing.
 Zcc has built a clinic in mmopane
 When epidemics occur, Christians seek God’s intervention through prayers.
 African Independent Churches (AIC’s) use healing objects such as ‘sewacho’and others.
 Christians dedicate time to pray for a whole month for certain diseases eg, month of
prayer for HIV/AIDS and month of prayer for cancer, etc
 Christians visit homes and hospitals to pray for the sick to give them hope
 Chritians provide emotional support to the affected and their families by counseling them
so that they can cope with their situations.

Objective: Discuss ways in which religions in Botswana help during natural disasters

Natural disasters include floods, veld fires, drought, storms/lightening, etc

Support

 Religions help with donating clothes, food, clothing and shelter.

 They also contribute money to help those that had been affected.
 They provide medicines.
 They provide counselling for the victims
 The muslim society in Botswana had helped those who were affected, in 1988 the
muslim youth raised a flood fund of P30 000 and donated to flood victims in Mahalapye
and Fransistown.
 Christians through the BCC have built houses for victims of natural disasters in Gaborone
and other areas. They also donated food and clothing
 The bahais through the Bahai centre give out food and clothes to those affected by
natural disasters
 The Hindus also extends their hand to help during natural disasters, eg, they donated
mosquito nets to Chobe residents to curb malaria. They often give out food, clothes and
blankets to the victims.
 Religions in Botswana conduct national prayers during natural disasters. They also visit
homes of the victims to pray for them to give them hope
 Religions offer comfort and encouragement to those affected by natural disasters by
counseling them

TOPIC 2: RELIGION AND JUSTICE

Objective: Discuss different ways in which the value of justice is expressed and promoted in
Islam and Buddhism.

ISLAM

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  Teachings - Teachings from the Quaran teach that all are equal before Allah and therefore
people are encouraged to be kind and considerate of others. The protection of human
rights is important to Muslims. They believe that Allah created all humankind and that
everyone has the right to be treated fairly. “Stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to
fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and
depart from justice.” (Surah 5:8)

 Punishments - Shariah law punishments are intended to eliminate or denounce injustice in

Islam. The punishments are intended to punish the wrong doers and to deter potential
wrong doers so that justice for all can prevail hence peace and harmony.
 Practices - Practives such as zakat (almsgiving) are meant to show compassion and love.
When people give money to the poor they make their life bearable hence justice for all is
achieved because all people will have enough to survive
 Jihad ( muslim holy war) – fighting in the name of Allah show commitment to the
religion, jihad is meant to bring justice in the world which in turn bring peace and
harmony

BUDDHISM
Value of justice is expressed and promoted through:
 Observing the five precepts which are:
*Not to harm living things (ahimsa)
*Not to steal
*Not to tell lies
*Not to take alcohol
*Not to be involved in sexual misconducts
If people follow the precepts there will be justice for all because there will be no social
ills such as crime which disturbs peace and order in the society.

 Buddhists must follow the eight-fold path:

*Right view
*Right intention/thought
*Right speech – abstain from rude, impolite or abusive language
*Right action – keeping the precepts
*Right livelihood – making a living that does not harm others
*Right effort
*Right mindfulness
*Right concentration
 Workers must be respected and not exploited, being paid a fair wage. The worker must be
honest, respectful and work willingly.

Objective: Identify champions of justice in Islam and Buddhism

Islam – prophet Muhammed, the caliphates and Malcom X
Buddhism – The Buddha, Dalai Lama, Mrs Fuengsin Trafferd ( from Thailand)

Objective: Characteristics which qualify one to be a champion of justice in Isalm and

Buddhism

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Islam- love and compassion is shown through zakat
Buddhism - selfless – followers give away their material to become monks and nuns
- Perserverance – monks and nuns live a leave their comfort zones ( homes) to live in
monasteries
- Assertive – they can speak and act against oppression

Objective: Discuss how champions of justice contributed to justice in society ( Isalm and
Buddhsim)

ISLAM

Prophet Muhammad
 He fought wars of justice.
 He defended the poor and the underprivileged.
 He united the tribes in Medina.
 Muhammad was against ill-treatment of workers and slaves by masters. Some merchants
who had slaves and workers were harsh and unfair to them. He encouraged the masters to
treat their slaves fairly and justly and do away with inhuman practices but treat workers
as stipulated in the Quran. He taught that Islam is a religion of Brotherhoodand therefore
all Muslims had to treat each other with dignity and respect.
 He showed great distaste of the way the poor people were being oppressed. The poor in
Mecca were made to pay heavy taxes though they did not have enough money. They
were also not given fair judgement because they did not have money to give bribes to the
judges. They did not even have enough food, clothes and shelter. Muhammad therefore
instituted ZAKAT or almsgiving as a way of helping the poor. It became an obligation to
all to give 2.5% of their earnings to the poor. Also during Aquiqah (head shaving of a
baby), seven days after the hair was weighed and gold and silver equivalent to the weight
of the hair of the baby was given to the poor.
 He was against gambling
 He was against oppression of women and a girl child.
 He condemned alcohol abuse, though to some it was a way of making a living.

The caliphates
The Caliph is the head of the state in a caliphate, and the title of a ruler of the Islamic Ummah,
an Islamic community ruled by the Shariah.
The four Caliphs include:
 Abu Bakr (632-634)
 Umar (634-644)
 Athman (644-656)
 Ali (656-661)

Abu Bakr (632-634)

 He was able to calm down the divisions that emerged after the death of prophet
Muhammad by calling all believers together after which he established his political
authority

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  He collected and preserved the texts of the Quran (teachings about justice in the Holy
Quran)
 He opposed false prophets and movements not based on religious morality.
 He ensured that Islam and its moral teachings remained the same (preservation of Islamic
teachings and faith)
 He helped the poor and those experiencing hardships.
 He freed Muslim slaves by paying their owners.

Umar (634-644)

 He used consultation as a method of making sure that all believers had a say in the affairs
of the religion.
 He facilitated the adoption of the Muslim calendar
 He laid the foundation for an institutional Islamic state based on moral teachings of the
Quran; teachings on dress code, etc.

Athman (644-656)
 He ensured that all copies of the Quran were duplicated and sent to various Islamic
centers.

Ali (656-661)
 He was against all kinds of exploitation all people and tried hard to eradicate it.
 He refused to give a larger share of public treasury to Arab nobles because he believed
that was unjust and equivalent to ill-treatment of the poor, weak Arabs and non-Arabs.
 When he ascended to power, he denounced favoritism and put an end to unequal
economic status between Arabs and non-Arabs.

Malcom X
 He spoke up for African American human rights
 He founded the muslim mosque and the organization of Afro American unity. He wss an
inspiration of many black people by putting the spotlight of the equalities that was going
on

BUDDHISM

Dalai Lama
 Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhist and the most widely accepted
Buddhist leader, whose teachings are influenced by the teachings of the Buddha.
 Dalai Lama teaches against social ills such as war, racism, political inequality eg. He is
fighting for Tibet to independent from China.
 Dalai Lama emphasized that all human beings are equal. In his words he said ‘Human
beings are all fundamentally the same. We are made of human flesh, human bones, and
human blood
BUDDHA
 Through his teachings, the budhha aimed to promote enlightment which in the end
brought justice in society eg, four noble truths, eightfold path, the ten precepts.

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  In his words, Buddha said: “Do not harm others. Just as you feel affection on seeing a
dearly beloved person, so you should extend loving kindness to all creatures,”

 When the Buddha began to teach, many more women chose spiritual paths because,
unlike other spiritual teachers, the Buddha taught that women were as capable as men of
reaching enlightenment.
 The Buddha protected nuns from exploitation by monks by saying that the nuns should
not be called upon to sew, dye, or weave for the monks. Neither could the monks take for
themselves donations made to the nuns.

MRS FUENGSIN TRAFFERD ( from Thailand)

 She was a Buddhist who greatly influenced dialogue between people of different
faiths in the midlands
 She was a harmonious and a great person of fun who enabled a great range of
Christians to understand Buddhism
 She taught in a multi faith centre
 She got married to a Christian

TOPIC 3: RELIGIOUS PREJUDICE AND FUNDAMENTALISM

Religious prejudice

Objective: what is prejudice?

Prejudice is preconceived judgement or opinion about something, someone, a group of people or
a custom. It is an adverse judgement or opinion formed without knowledge or examination of the
facts.

Objective: what is religious prejudice?

Having a preconceived judgement or opinion about a religion which is usually negative. It occurs
when religious groups discriminate other religions based on their beliefs.

Objective: Discuss prejudice in relation to Islam and Christianity

CHRISTIANITY
 Some Christians view Islam as a religion of fundamentalists who kill in the name the
name of religion
 Some Christians do not agree with the practice of polygamy in Islam
 Christianity says the true messenger of God is Jesus not Muhammed

ISLAM
 Some muslims question the following about Jesus his:
← - divinity
← - birth
← -crucifixion
← -resurrection
← - ascension

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  Islam advocate for the Quran as the actual words of Allah that can guide a person’s life as
opposed to the Bible
 Islam says the true messenger of Allah is Muhammad not Jesus Christ

Objective: Analyse the effects of religious prejudice

Negative effects
 Loss of lives
 Religious intolerance
 No dialogue between religions
 Wars, hatred e.g. jihads in Islam

Positive effects
 Preservation of one’s religion
 Deepens one’s faith in his religion.

Objective: Discuss religious fundamentalism

It is the practice of strictly following the basic rules and teachings of a religion.
Objective: Ways of resolving religious fundamentalism
 Inter-faith dialogue - conversing with other religions, all burning issues to be solved by
dialogue. The use of power should be confined in the light of universal law and justice.
 Religious tolerance – accepting and appreciating other religions
 Honoring internal religious pluralism – within congregations people should understand
that the identity of faith is rooted in the free expression of varied religious beliefs. Every
nation has the right to preserve its own culture and the value system

TOPIC 4: RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE

Objective: Explain religious tolerance

 It refers to accepting, respecting and appreciating other religions which are different from
our own, learning to live with other religions.
 Allowing others to hold religious beliefs that are different from yours and not imposing
your religious beliefs on other people.

Objective: Discuss the contribution of world religions towards religious tolerance

 ALL RELIGIONS TEACH THE ETHIC OF RECIPROCITY WHICH IS OFTEN

REFERRED TO AS THE GOLDEN RULE IN CHRISTIANITY :
* Bahá'í Faith: •"Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to
thee, and say not that which thou doest not."
* Buddhism: •"...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that
upon another?"
* Hinduism: •This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done
to yo u. Mahabharata 5:1517

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 * Islam: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for
himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 5
* Sikhism:•"Don't create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone." Guru Arjan
Devji 259
* Taoism: •"Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as
your own loss." T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien
* Christianity – “ Do unto others as woule like them do unto you” Matthew 7:12

BAHAI FAITH
 Bahai Faith promotes inter-religious marriages
 They appreciate sacred literature of other religions.
 Their teachings show commitment to religious tolerance, e.g. the teaching of The Three
Onenesses.

CHRISTIANITY
 Christian teachings show tolerance. For example, in Galatians 3:28 Paul says, “there is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for
you are all one in Christ Jesus.” “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” “ All are
made in the image of God
 Christianity allows for religious ecumenical movements, e.g. World Council of Churches.
ISLAM
 All people are equal in the sight of Allah
 Islam acknowledges that Jesus is the servant of God

SIKHISM
 Even non-Sikhs are welcome for worship in the Gudwara and can share the langar meal.
BUDDHISM
 Non Buddhists are allowed to attend worship and yoga at the Buddhist temple

Objective: Discuss the challenges of religious tolerance

 It can compromise one’s values as one tries to meet the other people’s beliefs.
 Competition for membership or followers
 It might lead to conflicts due to power struggle
 It may also lead to arise of fundamentalism
 Erosion of belief systems – people tend to copy and implement that which they have seen
in other religions

Objective: Assess the impact of religious intolerance on social harmony

 It may lead to conflicts and wars
 There will be no religious growth
 Divisions of religions in society
 It may lead to fundamentalism
 No religious pluralism.

Objective: Explain the advantages and disadvantages of interaction between people of

different religions.

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ADVANTAGES
 Promotes peace and stability – if religious people interact they will be able to live well
with each other hence stability in the society
 Leads to religious tolerance – when people of different religions interact they exchange
knowledge, this could help them to be able to make reasoned and informed judgements
about things that they previously did not know and this can lead to a better understaning
of religions
 Edification – improvement of one’s character through what they learn from other
religions
 Breaks down stereotypes and prejudice by changing how we feel about religion
 Wider choice of religion – if there is interaction between people of different religions,
they will learn a lot about other religions hence the chance to make informed decisions if
they want to join another religion

DISADVANTAGES
 Competition for adherents – if followers of religions interact with other religions, they
may get interested in these religions and thereforte leave their religions
 Conflict between religions which may lead to wars as some may want to dominate
 Erosion of belief systems – people tend to copy and implement that which they have seen
in other religions.

Topic: RELIGION AND THE ENVIROMENT

Objective: Discuss teachings and beliefs of Christianity, ATR in Botswana and Baha’i faith
about the relationship between humanity and the environment

African Traditional Religion in Botswana

 They believe that Modimo is the creator of everything on earth - this belief encourages
humanity to respect and care for the environment
 Taboos - There are certain taboos that people are taught to observe e.g. animals such as
(tlhware,) elephant (phofu), gemsbok (kukama leopard (nkwe) are not to be killed in
everyday life and can only be killed during specials occasions, this is associated with the
ancestors and royalty.
 Sacred places - They teach that some natural environments are sacred places, there are
the meeting places for the invisibles and visible world. They teach that certain trees are
used when certain rituals are performed. For example during healing rituals, death ritual
agricultural rite.

Christianity
 Christians are taught that they are God’s stewards on earth. They have a duty to make
sure that natural resources are share equally and are preserved. They have certain
responsibilities towards all living things because they believe God place them in the

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 position of stewards for his creation. The Bible says, “The Lord God took man and put
him in the Garden of Eden to work in it and take care of it. “ (Genesis 2:15) and (Genesis
1:26-30) Then God said,” Let us make humankind in our image…

 Christians are taught that although they have been given the authority to rule over the
environment, the earth was made by God and still belongs to God not to humans. The
Bible says, ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in
it…” (Psalm 24:1; 104; 1Corinthians 10:26)
 Christians are taught they have no liberty to do what they like with their natural
environment, it is not theirs to treat as they like, and ‘Dominion’ is not synonymous
with ‘Domination’ or ‘Destruction’

Baha’i faith
 Baha’i faith followers are taught to respect and protect the environment they live in
 Baha’u’llah taught that all of God’s creation in inter-related. He said because other forms
of life cannot think or reason it is upon people to protect them.
 Followers of the Baha’i faith are taught that kindness to the environment is good for
spiritual development. Spiritual development requires that people should love and respect
all forms of living and non living things.
 Followers are also encouraged to teach or train their children at a young age on how to
protect the environment

Objective: How religious practices and beliefs affect the environment (ATR in Botswana,
Christianity and Baha’i faith)

Negative
 Pilgrimage - During pilgrimages, followers of religions visit their sacred places and they
go in large numbers as a result they pollute the enviroment. (Christianity and Bahai faith).
During pilgrimages Christians and Baha’i’s visit holy places in large numbers and
because they are many they cause soil erosion.
 Sacrifices- in ATR in Botswana, animals are killed for sacrifices and rituals and trees are
cut when these sacrifices are done and these reduces animals and trees.
 Burial of the dead - Some practices affects land usage, e.g. burying of the dead ATR in
Botswana, Baha’i faith and christianity). In Christianity and Bahai faith coffins and
caskets are used to bury the dead. Coffins are often made out of wood and therefore a lot
of trees are needed to make coffins. This results in a lot of trees being cut which impacts
negatively on the enviroment as it could lead to an increase in the rate of global warming.
 Baptising in rivers – when religions such as Christianity baptize in rivers, they polute the
water and this lead to death of creatures that live in water.

Positive
 Totemism – in ATR in Botswana there are animals and plants which have a special
connection with certain tribes so those animals are not supposed to be killed and plants
are not supposed to be cut by those particular tribes as a sign of respect
 Baptising in swimming pools – the use of swimming pools for baptism instead of rivers
protects the environment.

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 Objective: Suggest ways in which religious communities can contribute in the
protection of the environment.

 Religious communities should be involved in litter picking campaigns and tree planting
 Christian dinominations should baptize in swimming pools to avoid contaminate water in
rivers and dams
 Religious communities should emphasize environmental issues within their teachings
 To promote environmental education within their religious communities
 All religious communities to commit themselves to sustainable practices and encourage
community use of their land
 Religious leaders to recognize the need for ongoing environmental education and training
for themselves and all those engaged in religious instruction
 Religious leaders should teach against violence/war because they destry the environment
 Religious communities should provide financial support to organizations that deal with
the protection of the environment

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