On paper, it is claimed that Namibia is a Christian nation, over 90 percent of the population are believed to follow the Christian faith. This is a great because we have a dominant religion and its principles should be felt and taught countrywide.

Religious education used to be taught in schools, specifically the Christian religion. I know for a fact that the majority of youth, especially the older ones had Bible Studies and other Christian-related education in primary school. It was a subject, just like mathematics and other subjects and the Bible was its textbook.

I am aware that in Namibia it is a fundamental freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice, so it wouldn’t be out of line to reintroduce religious education in schools, preferably the Christian religion.
Slowly our country is falling into moral decay, as some of the crimes and incidents being committed are too ungodly. Things like femicide seem to be getting more as the years go by and no matter how hard the law punishes the perpetrators, the people are not letting up. The sad part is that most of these crimes are being committed by the youth. And with little remorse.

Prevention will always be better than cure, reintroduce religious education in pre- and primary schools and influence a whole upcoming generation differently. In some instances, children are not brought up at their homes but spend a good amount of their developing years in hostels and boarding schools, where even the supervisors have their own different views on life. In most cases, it leads to confusion as children are bombarded with all kinds of guidance, life lessons, and views.

The only thing they have in common is education and it is well known that education extends beyond the classroom. Having religious education which in its very essence is a grounding subject, could possibly help children later in life and serve as a guidance of sort. As they learn and grow, they will develop their own views, which can’t be taught in class or by any religion, but be guided by the principle of the whole education system as a whole.

Obviously, the results of having religious education in schools will mostly be visible and realised when children reach a certain level of maturity, mostly in their youth years and beyond. 

We claim to be a Christian nation, but sometimes that seems to be just on paper and not in principle. Let us give the nation an identity that will be beneficial to the youth of tomorrow.

*Olavi Popyeinawa has a diploma in Alternative Dispute Resolution and is currently studying law, LLB at the University of Namibia. He writes on youth matters. Find him on Instagram: olavi_popyeinawa, Facebook: Olavi Popyeinawa and Twitter: @ OlaviPopyeinawa