Christian Hegemony - a personal experience

Christian hegemony in Kenya

Hegemony is a sensitive subject to discuss especially if it is discussed among the elites in society. This is because the elites are usually on the wayward side of the effects of hegemony; they reap the benefits of hegemony and it is in their best interest to retain the status quo. Cultural hegemony is achieved through the subordination of other cultures to a dominant culture. The net effect is the manipulation of the thought processes of entire societies. In the event that the world decides to adopt a global culture, this dominant culture would seem an obvious choice.

To demonstrate how a dominant culture manipulates other cultures, I have chosen to discuss Christianity and its hegemonic treatment of Kenya’s traditional religious beliefs. This is not a research paper; it is an account of some of my personal experiences as a young Christian boy growing up in a Christian family and attending a church-sponsored school.

My first Christian lesson was about Jesus Christ, His father, God and their arch enemy, Satan. I learned that Jesus was a Jew, and I also learned about the history and tribulations of Jews from their original land to Egypt, and their final settlement in Canaan. I remember seeing a few pictures of Jesus in little booklets and for sure, He bore the physical features of a Jew. One would be forgiven if he or she mistook Him for an Arab.

Christianity was not brought to Kenya by the Jews but by Europeans from England. Beside the altar of my small church in Kenya were two pictures; One of Jesus Christ and the other of Satan. Jesus was a handsome blue-eyed Caucasian man and Satan was an ugly black man with 2 horns on his head. Every time I looked at this picture, I silently “knew” that I was a little devil and with time, I would grow into a big one.

At school, the studies carried embedded messages that seemed harmless at the time. There were lots of graphic content with beautiful pictures of England and the London Bridge. We knew that there was a better quality of life in England and that could only be achieved by doing well in the English language. We learned the English history and geography before we learnt our own, and we felt very proud about it. We learned how to write and speak English but not our own languages. I am not complaining, just explaining.

I celebrated Christmas with my family every December 25th in the full belief that it was the birthday of Jesus Christ. I had never associated Santa Klaus with Christ’s birthday. My first impression of Santa Klaus is another story; He had to be a very generous white male and no other culture could be trusted with that role. I am not accusing, just explaining.

Today, I look back at some of the teachings and experiences and wonder what the real effects are. I know for sure that I am not a product of negotiated hegemony; I am a product of dominant hegemony. I am also not a product of counter hegemony because my brainwashing did not allow me to view positively anyone who tried to derail my journey into the dominant culture. Now I am a member of the elite class and I can confess here that I am not very keen to oppose embedded things because I am on the greener side of the field. Was this probably the desired effect?

Victor Karanja