By Jerameel Kevins Owuor Odhiambo
In Kenya, where 91.5% of the population identifies as Christian according to the 2022 Demographic Survey, religion plays a significant role in the political landscape. Catholics make up 18.6%, while Protestants and other Christian denominations account for 72.9%, forming a powerful electoral constituency. Consequently, politicians often engage religious communities, recognizing their influence on both prayers and votes. This is not merely a story of faith meeting politics; it is a masterclass in what we might call “theocratic opportunism,” where the sacred becomes the servant of the secular with breathtaking efficiency. The numbers don’t lie, but as we shall see, those who interpret them from the pulpit often do. Kenya’s religious landscape has become a political chessboard where bishops move like queens and politicians genuflect not to God, but to vote banks. When nearly nine out of ten citizens identify with Christianity, the church becomes not just a house of worship, but a house of electoral influence that would make Machiavelli himself reach for his rosary.
The phenomenon of religious manipulation for political gain what we might term “pulpit puppetry” has reached such sophisticated heights in Kenya that it deserves its own academic discipline. Politicians have historically hijacked church services to sell their agendas or criticize opponents, some appearing with huge sums of money as offerings or funds for church projects, transforming sacred Sunday services into what could generously be called “political mass.” This brazen commercialization of the sacred would make even the money-changers Jesus expelled from the temple blush with embarrassment. The practice has become so endemic that most Kenyan churches have banned politicians from pulpits, except for the Methodist Church, which apparently still believes in the democratic principle of equal time for holy hypocrisy. One wonders if Christ’s famous declaration about rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s might need a Kenyan addendum: “unless Caesar comes bearing a briefcase full of development funds.” The irony is delicious churches banning politicians from their pulpits while simultaneously wielding enormous political influence, creating a kind of holy contradiction that would perplex even the most seasoned theologian.
Karl Marx’s declaration that “religion is the opium of the people” requires urgent revision in the Kenyan context, where religion has evolved into something far more potent than a mere narcotic. Here, faith functions as both sedative and stimulant, tranquilizer and energizer, depending on the political season and the ambitions of those who commandeer its narrative. Marx, writing in 1844 Germany, could hardly have envisioned a scenario where religious leaders would become kingmakers rather than mere comforters of the afflicted. The German philosopher’s critique assumed religion’s passive role in maintaining social order, but Kenyan Christianity has mutated into an active political force that shapes elections, topples governments, and creates presidents with the fervor of Old Testament prophets anointing kings. If Marx were alive today and observing the Kenyan political-religious complex, he might amend his famous phrase to read: “Religion is the Red Bull of the people it gives political wings to both the righteous and the corrupt.” The opium metaphor falls woefully short when describing a force that doesn’t merely pacify but actively mobilizes, organizes, and occasionally revolutionizes. Perhaps it’s time to retire Marx’s pharmacy metaphor and acknowledge that religion in Kenya functions more like political caffeine than spiritual morphine.
The architecture of religious-political manipulation in Kenya reveals itself most clearly in what scholars of political theology might call “strategic sanctification” the deliberate deployment of sacred symbols, spaces, and rhetoric to legitimize decidedly secular ambitions. Politicians have learned how to use religion to their advantage, transforming churches into campaign headquarters and religious services into focus groups for testing political messages. This phenomenon transcends mere opportunism; it represents a sophisticated understanding of what Antonio Gramsci termed “cultural hegemony,” where power is maintained not through force but through the manipulation of cultural and religious institutions. The Kenyan politician who masters the art of quoting scripture while simultaneously looting the treasury represents a new breed of what we might call “evangelical kleptocrats” leaders who sanctify their theft with biblical verses and justify their corruption through carefully crafted theological arguments. They understand intuitively what Max Weber theorized about the Protestant work ethic: that religious conviction can be harnessed to justify almost any material pursuit, including the pursuit of political power and its attendant financial rewards. The result is a political culture where moral authority and moral bankruptcy coexist with stunning seamlessness, creating leaders who can preach prosperity gospel on Sunday and practice poverty politics on Monday.
The manipulation of religious sentiment for political gain reaches its most cynical expression in what might be termed “denominational gerrymandering” the careful cultivation of different religious constituencies to create winning electoral coalitions. Kenyan politicians have perfected the art of code-switching between Catholic masses, Protestant prayer meetings, and interfaith gatherings, tailoring their message and even their theology to match their audience’s expectations. This religious shape-shifting would impress even the most versatile method actor; our politicians don’t just play to the crowd, they become the crowd’s idealized version of faithful leadership. The practice reveals a disturbing truth about the commodification of faith: when religion becomes a tool for political mobilization, theological consistency becomes a luxury that ambitious politicians can ill afford. They must be simultaneously Catholic enough for the coastal Catholics, Protestant enough for the highland Presbyterians, and charismatic enough for the Pentecostal prosperity prophets. The result is a kind of theological schizophrenia where politicians maintain multiple religious personalities, each crafted for maximum electoral utility. This religious code-switching represents perhaps the ultimate corruption of faith not its denial, but its weaponization for purposes that would make the biblical merchants of the temple look like amateur pickpockets.
The symbiotic relationship between political power and religious authority in Kenya has created what sociologists might identify as a “mutual dependency syndrome,” where neither institution can function effectively without the other’s legitimizing presence. Religious checks on the state are a vital cog in the institutionalization of moral politics in Kenya, but this supposed moral oversight often functions more like moral camouflage, providing ethical cover for decidedly unethical practices. The arrangement benefits both parties: politicians gain moral legitimacy and access to organized constituencies, while religious leaders gain political influence and, often, material benefits that would make their vows of poverty seem like suggestions rather than commitments. This creates a feedback loop of moral compromise where religious leaders become reluctant to criticize political benefactors, and politicians become expert at using religious language to deflect criticism of their governance failures. The prophet Nathan’s willingness to confront King David with his sins seems quaint compared to the modern Kenyan religious leader’s tendency to offer prayers for leaders rather than prophetic challenges to their behavior. Perhaps we need a new theological concept: “blessed corruption,” where moral failures are not condemned but consecrated, sanctified by the very institutions meant to oppose them.
The historical precedent for using religion as a political tool stretches back through centuries of human civilization, from Constantine’s conversion securing his empire to Henry VIII’s reformation serving his matrimonial ambitions, but Kenya’s contemporary politicians have refined this ancient art to near-scientific precision. They understand what Émile Durkheim observed about religion’s social function that it creates and maintains social cohesion but they’ve perverted this insight into a manual for social manipulation. Unlike their historical predecessors who often had to choose between religious authenticity and political expediency, modern Kenyan politicians have discovered they can have both simultaneously by carefully compartmentalizing their public and private moral lives. The Kenyan political class has mastered what we might call “performative piety” a theatrical version of faith that serves electoral purposes while requiring no actual spiritual transformation or moral consistency. They can attend three different religious services in a single Sunday, pray in three different languages, and promise three different sets of divine blessings to three different constituencies without experiencing the slightest theological vertigo. This represents an evolution in political cynicism: from the ancient art of using religion to the modern science of abusing it.
The theological implications of this political manipulation of faith raise profound questions about the nature of authentic religious practice in a heavily politicized environment. When every prayer becomes a political statement and every sermon might contain electoral implications, the sacred space becomes contaminated by secular calculations that transform worship into performance and faith into strategy. The congregation becomes an audience, the altar becomes a stage, and the Word of God becomes talking points in an electoral campaign that never truly ends. This constant politicization of the sacred creates what theologians might call “spiritual cognitive dissonance,” where believers must simultaneously maintain genuine faith while navigating a religious landscape heavily influenced by political manipulation. The result is a kind of compartmentalized Christianity where the same individuals who seek authentic spiritual experience on Sunday morning might enthusiastically participate in ethically questionable political activities on Monday afternoon, justified by carefully crafted theological rationalizations. Perhaps most troubling is how this manipulation corrupts the prophetic tradition that should challenge political power; instead of speaking truth to power, too many religious leaders find themselves speaking power to truth, inverting the fundamental relationship between moral authority and political authority. The ancient Hebrew prophets who challenged kings and kingdoms would be bewildered by contemporary religious leaders who seem more interested in blessing political kingdoms than challenging their moral foundations.
The international dimensions of Kenya’s religious-political complex reveal how local manipulation tactics connect to global patterns of using faith for political mobilization, from the Religious Right in America to Hindu nationalism in India to Islamic political movements across the Middle East. These movements share a common strategy: the appropriation of religious symbols, narratives, and institutions to advance political agendas that often contradict the fundamental ethical teachings of the faiths they claim to represent. Kenyan politicians have been apt students of these global trends, borrowing techniques from American televangelists, adopting strategies from liberation theology movements, and incorporating prosperity gospel messaging that transforms political success into divine blessing. The result is a hybrid political theology that combines the worst aspects of religious manipulation from multiple traditions while maintaining a veneer of indigenous African spirituality that makes the imported manipulation techniques seem authentically local. This represents a kind of “theological colonialism” where foreign models of religious-political manipulation are imported and adapted to local conditions, creating new forms of spiritual exploitation that serve political ends. The global nature of this phenomenon suggests that the manipulation of religion for political purposes represents not just a Kenyan problem, but a universal human tendency that requires constant vigilance and resistance from genuine religious communities.
The psychology of religious manipulation in politics reveals itself most clearly in the way political leaders exploit the deep human need for meaning, purpose, and transcendence to serve decidedly mundane electoral objectives. They understand intuitively what Carl Jung identified as the collective unconscious and its religious archetypes, tapping into profound psychological patterns that connect political authority with divine sanction. The Kenyan politician who presents himself as a chosen instrument of God’s will for the nation exploits psychological mechanisms that operate below the level of rational political analysis, appealing to voters’ spiritual aspirations while pursuing material political goals. This psychological manipulation represents perhaps the most insidious aspect of religious-political corruption because it exploits people’s most sacred beliefs and deepest spiritual needs for purposes that often directly contradict those beliefs and needs. The voter who supports a corrupt politician because he quotes scripture effectively becomes complicit in their own spiritual exploitation, creating a tragic irony where faith becomes the vehicle for faithlessness. The manipulation succeeds because it operates at the intersection of spiritual hunger and political desperation, creating a toxic combination where people seek divine solutions to earthly problems through leaders who promise heavenly rewards while delivering hellish governance. This psychological exploitation of religious sentiment represents a form of emotional terrorism that weaponizes faith against the very people who hold it most dearly.
The resistance to religious-political manipulation has emerged most powerfully from younger generations of Kenyans who have witnessed the corrupt fruits of theocratic opportunism and refuse to accept spiritual justifications for political failures. Gen-Z drove the Church back to God by demanding that religious institutions return to their prophetic calling rather than serving as political enablers, challenging the comfortable alliance between corrupt politicians and complicit religious leaders. This generational rebellion against the manipulation of faith for political purposes represents a healthy immune response from a society that has been infected by the virus of religious-political corruption for too long. The young people who reject politicians’ attempts to use religious rhetoric to justify their failures understand intuitively what their elders seem to have forgotten: that authentic faith should challenge political power, not serve it. Their resistance has forced some religious institutions to reconsider their cozy relationships with political leaders and return to the uncomfortable but necessary role of moral critics rather than political cheerleaders. This generational shift suggests hope for a future where religion might reclaim its prophetic voice and politicians might be forced to find secular justifications for their actions rather than hiding behind sacred rhetoric. The youth who refuse to be manipulated by political piety represent perhaps the most authentic expression of religious faith in contemporary Kenya, a faith strong enough to resist exploitation and mature enough to distinguish between genuine spiritual leadership and sophisticated spiritual manipulation.
The path forward requires what we might call “theological literacy” the development of critical thinking skills that allow believers to distinguish between authentic religious teaching and political manipulation disguised as spiritual guidance. This involves understanding the difference between prophetic religion that challenges injustice and priestly religion that blesses the status quo, between liberation theology that empowers the oppressed and prosperity theology that enriches the already powerful. Religious communities must develop their own forms of quality control, creating mechanisms to identify and resist leaders who exploit faith for political gain while supporting those who maintain the integrity of prophetic tradition. The task requires both theological sophistication and political awareness, understanding how religious language can be manipulated while maintaining openness to genuine spiritual guidance that might indeed have political implications. Perhaps most importantly, it requires the courage to admit that religious communities have been complicit in their own manipulation and must take responsibility for creating more resilient forms of faith that cannot be easily weaponized by ambitious politicians. The development of such theological literacy represents not just a religious necessity but a democratic imperative, because societies that cannot distinguish between authentic spiritual leadership and political manipulation disguised as religion will inevitably suffer from both corrupt governance and corrupted faith. The challenge is enormous, but the alternative continued subjugation to holy puppeteers who manipulate sacred strings to make entire populations dance to their political tune is simply unacceptable for any society that aspires to both genuine democracy and authentic faith.
In the end, the question is not whether religion should influence politics, but whether politics should be allowed to corrupt religion so thoroughly that faith becomes just another commodity in the marketplace of electoral manipulation, leaving believers with neither genuine spiritual guidance nor effective political representation a double impoverishment that serves only those clever enough to profit from both sacred and secular forms of human desperation.
The writer is a legal writer and researcher
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