Religion and Politics in Chin Society

Religion and Politics in Chin Society

(Just for reflection)> >Oct 2005.
Posted at chinland@yahoogroup s.com >

It has been an old hot debate and never ending argument among the western > >politicians, religious leaders, social activists, etc. whether the > >government and the religion sectors are over-entangled in dealing public > >issues? Should the Ten Commandments posted in public squares, such as at the court house, school, etc., be removed? Should the teaching of the evolution theory or the Bible in school be stopped? Should the government releases the > >public tax money to the religious organization for social and human > >services? Should the religious college student be allowed to use public tax money for their studies as student loans and grants? Should the religious leaders talk about who would be the best candidate to lead the nation? Should the government regulate the religious organizations' activities, such as fund raising, public gathering, the content of their messages, etc? But in the Chin society, as an immature society, so far, for the Chin social political and religious leaders it is not a hot issue yet. > > Now, we see around the world, the Islam believers are more and more dedicated to their secular and national cause, more young men and women engaged in nationalist activities in the name of their god. When any humiliating things happens, such as the Danish cartoon that portrays Muhammad bomb tied on his head ready to go for suicide bombing and in reacting the catholic Pope's quotation on a medieval quote, that all Muslim nations, both government as well as public, reacted in one voice. In any Muslim country, even where the most secular political system is practiced comparatively, the underlining political and social principles are rooted from the principles laid down in the Koran. Turning back to the Chin society, where are the moralist religious leaders, pastors, and teachers who would speak out to prevent the decaying moral derail of our people? Where is the pulpit where the gospel of social justice is preached? Where is the school where the naked moral truth is taught?> Where is the school where the truth aught, the truth that sets students free, free from fear, free to speak their minds, free to unveil the social truth in the society, free to exercise their freedom? > >> >> >> >Talking all these issues would take us forever, but for the sake of public > >awareness, let me pinpoint a few things, that could generate destructive > >social evils to the society due to the religious or political movement of > >the contemporary generation. In any public meeting and gathering, mostly, > >as far as my knowledge is concerned, the Chin people used to begin with > >word of prayer. That would be taken as the political and social actors' > >regard to our national religion. However, in the real world, many times, > >the political movement astray from the basic underlining principles > >of the Christianity. On the other hand, the segmentation of the religious > >organizations, the church politics and lack of moral inputs sometimes > >generated social disorder and fragmentation of the social units of the > >society, dividing loved ones and dearest and nearest, which obviously is contradictory to the biblical teaching.> >> >> >> >As a result of the influence of the modern Christianity, and as part of the > >Burmese military regime's rule, the Chin people's > >traditional value system had been left out without a proper replacement or > >transition to the modern Christian society that left many in the middle of > >wondering in search of the moral truth of the Chin people's moral identity. > >Hence, many, as granted, have taken foreign value and social norms trying to > >integrate with their own self impost rationalization. So now, we, the Chin > >people are in danger of loosing the intrinsic moral quality of our group > >moral trend. Speaking straight forward, we are in need of moral awakening > >to reframe and pre-condition our own moral path as a respectable and > >honorable group of people. Who will stand for that mission? > >> >> >> >If our religious leaders keep going neglecting the negative impact of their > >religious activities, many segments of the society would be fragmented into > >sets of cultists, anti social segments, and socially unproductive toward the > >solidarity and enhancement of the social and moral quality of our people. For people, without sound moral guidance are like a building without any guaranteed foundation that would swing along as the win blows. > >For example, while honoring the western life style, wearing of red-neck-tie > >and suit on every Sunday morning, if a preacher stands against or neglects > >his or her own people's tradition values and culture, he or she would be > >contributing toward the drowning of the Chin people's propriety, and > >diminishing the social capital in stead of promoting it. Compared to the > >Biblical Israelites, any religious leaders abandoning his or her own traditional and socio cultural heritages would be unbiblical, where the religion of the Israelites were always in support of the Israel people's national integrity and solidarity.> >> >> >> >On the other hand, the politicians and social actors are to be aware of > >going astray from the moral trend of our people while hunting and exploring > >the world's social and political opportunity to promote the cause of the > >Chin people. Traditionally, the Chin people had high quality of moral > >principles when promoting one's self interest and in dealing with others' interest and property. Its amazing that the jungle warriors of our people, since long centuries ago, have had a unique war principles which is comparable to the international human rights norms declared as a set of war rules: 1) not to kill women and children, not to kill disabled, not to kill prisoner of war, etc. In this modern age, many politicians and social actors might not have a chance to meet and talk and learn from our elderly ones who had been trained in such manner of moral dignity. However, while calming to promote the Chin national interest, if one immorally acts against the Chin people's collective and commonly accepted underlining moral principles, at the end, he or she will find out that he or she is destroying the foundation of our people, not building, whether he or she works in the field of religion (Christian) or politics. > > Therefore, for the politicians, relisous leaders, and social activists, it is important to follow the underlining moral principles of our national religion, Christianity, as well as our secular collective moral norms, and give respect and place for such values and protect it as an essential nerve the foundation of our society. So that, without moral contradiction, all segments of the society work together for the collective good of the society, promoting the happiness of every individual in the society, and collectively preventing the great disruption to the Chin society. > >