OPINION: Church and State, separating God and Caesar 

Last Updated on Thursday, 13 February 2025, 22:24 by Writer

By GHK Lall

President Ali may think that he is inspirational. He is not. His Valentine usually has the smell of turpentine. It was what I picked up in that announcement from Excellency Ali: “Development of religious leaders on the cards -Ali” (Demerara Waves, Feb 12, 2025). I hear Excellency Ali clearly, but could he say that again, please? Here’s the gist: “We’re currently discussing ways in which we can support the development of pastors, pandit, and imams in our country, even if it means that we have to collaborate with the religious leaders…” I respectfully question the levelheadedness of President Ali. How did he get there? Why even go there?

I read that sentence from the president, and visions of the Russian Orthodox Church flashed. Church and state molded into one. Religious leaders have their role, and political leaders have their own separate territory. Unfortunately, in Guyana, and for Guyanese, it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between religious leaders and political leaders, meaning, the government. Though few political leaders, even Dr. Vindya Persaud and Super Bishop Juan Edghill, rarely deign to dabble in the spiritual realms, it has relevance to them. Or have use for the timeless, priceless teachings. Same conclusion. There is godless communism and there is rapacious capitalism comfortably existing side by side here. The Chinese are higher up the religious food chain, since their celestial priorities are settled. Here in good, golden Guyana, religious leaders often sound more like political leaders than the politicians themselves.

Try some mandirs on Sundays. Extend the visits to some Christian denominations. I am not exempt, for I have publicly prayed for the wellbeing of brothers Ali, Jagdeo, Norton, and Hughes from the heights of the biggest religious house in Guyana. No bias. No favorites. No yielding. Merely recognizing the place of Caesar in local life. But the PPP Government does not engage in anything that doesn’t have ulterior motives enshrined. Its principals are ungodly enough to deal in the political (and commercial) right in the houses of God. Some religious leaders and establishments have compiled an impressive record of being welcoming recipients for such bartering. Locally, few places are sacred and nothing is sacred anymore, as in off-limits. So, when President Ali speaks of “even if we have to collaborate with religious leaders” he freed the cat and made it official. He knows what I am talking about.

For there are religious leaders who have suppressed God and subverted the teachings to cozy up to politicians in the hope that they will be seen as allies, the generosity flow. Both have occurred. Ever listen to some pastors, pandits, and imams in full flight? One could be excused for thinking that they are hearing a political campaign speech right inside religious houses. Some gatherings are upset, the ardor of some worshippers cool. Overseas, the Roman Catholic Church has labored with the challenge of sexual predations by its priests; in Guyana, some of the religious leaders—known and unknown—submit to the overtures and lures of political men, and make them into their masters. The religious leaders forget God and worship money, prominence and personal prestige. President Ali also let that part slip out, with him not even knowing that he did.

Further, I thank the president for that phrase that he used, with one particular word spotlighted. First, the phrase: “even if it means that we have to collaborate with religious leaders…” Thanks again, sir, for the indication and confirmation. Now, for the word itself: it is “collaborate.” It is a dirty word that gained universal currency during the last Great War. Collaborator was the worst of slurs, encircling betrayal, in the Scandinavian bloc. In Guyana, I can say with conviction that some religious leaders have abandoned their flocks to be close to the political fleshpots. They are in the high offices, they are in high assemblies, they are in the high business of helping with laws. Laws, I inform, that hurt citizens. Oil money is one example. In sum, there has been collaboration between some religious leaders and venal politicians long before President Ali went public. Too many religious in the religious realm have drifted from the side of their Lord and God to that of largesse and Guyana’s gold coast. I know some who counsel brethren not to speak to truth for fear of upsetting the political powers.

I think that this is the kind of collaborative religious leaders that Excellency Ali has in mind. Those who upend their flocks to maintain good standing with politicians. It should be clear to all Guyanese that this is what President Ali and his PPP Government (apologies, Brother Bharrat) mean by “support the development of pastors, pandits, and imams.” Once they can proclaim the Word of God in Hindi, English, Spanish, and Urdu, they don’t need any support from cheap pols. They get their support from heaven. Clearly, this development from President Ali and the PPP Government is intended to harness the spiritual to the political bridle. The vision is sinister, the implications ominous. Extending dominance. Formalizing total control. In politics, there’s no free lunch. There is quid pro quo. In Guyanese: hand wash hand. Or more crudely, religious leaders scratch political leaders’ backs, and political leaders scratch the backs of (or “support”) those who “collaborate.” Good one, Cde Irfaan. There is only one set of losers: Guyanese. Even the inviolable spiritual is invaded.