RECENT circulation of a recorded sex tape involving self-described “Pope Emmanuel” Philbert London continues to be met with varied public reactions. There exists no interest in speaking to the tape’s contents, save to say that the rectitude expected of religious leaders has been brought into question. With that being said, London’s conduct ought not to be seen and viewed only through moral lens, but spark conversations about the present role of religion.

Religion occupied a progressive role through the ages of this society’s evolution. While Guyana’s historical route has been that of the Christian faith, what is being said here does not absolve any religious denominations practising here.
The religious community is usually seen at society’s moral compass. This group is expected to set the standards for rectitude, love for fellow man, retributive justice and equality; and has framed human relations on the big tent approach of man’s capacity and capability to live in peace and harmony. These beliefs have undergirded international conventions, charters, time-honoured principles and laws.
In reflecting on our history, it has been seen that although religion has been used as a force to justify discrimination and oppression — as in slavery, indentureship and colonialism — it was also a major agent for positive social change.
Earlier religious leaders such as Sir Thomas Buxton, British Member of Parliament, abolitionist and social reformer, fought slavery on the ground of its inhumanity and practice, which ran contrary to Christian principles of equality and do unto others as you would like them to do unto you. This force played an important role in supporting the struggle of the enslaved for freedom, by standing up to the powers that be in Britain and petitioning the Crown for the abolition of the slave trade and slavery.

In recognition of the church’s liberation role, it is not un-surprising that in the Village Movement era, former slaves named villages, places, and their children in the honour of religious leaders who had supported their emancipation struggle.

Outside of the liberating role, the church was a key player on the empowerment stage. For instance, though it was felt that the oppressed were under-deserving to be educated; and whereas an argument can be made in regard to the benefit, or lack therefore, of the type and quality of education provided, the church’s role in this regard cannot be denied.

Fast forward to 21st century society, and it is not untrue to say that the religious community in Guyana has either departed, or some are staying true to the empowering and liberating aspects of its tradition. This is happening in the presence of a society where social ills are pervasive and avenues for upliftment are few or non-existent.
In our society, where poverty is pervasive and unemployment high, mental health cries for attention and the education system is not serving all, want is pervasive and values are under attack, corruption is debilitating and human rights are un-fulfilled, the voice and involvement of the religious leadership is silent and non-involved, or at best meek; when society saw London return to his church after an absence when the tape went viral, the congregation in standing ovation serenaded him with Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best.”  This display serves as a reminder of how much religious practices in some quarters have strayed from liberation theology to sometimes adulation and self-aggrandisement.