Religious Prejudices, Conflict and Sub-Saharan African Women’s Conditions

Critical Thinking and Change Imperative

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa is characterised by religious pluralism, which serves as a fertile ground for religious prejudices and conflict among the faithful of the ever-contesting plural religions in the region. This study seeks to make and justify three arguments about religious conflict and women conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. First, it argues that religious intolerance arises from religious prejudices that lead to religious conflict. Next, it blames the pathetic conditions, arising from religious conflict, suffered by women of the region, on the Church and other religions that uphold, preach, spread and exhibit religious prejudices. Thirdly, it maintains that critical thinking is imperative to affect the needed change, as the panacea for religious prejudices, conflict and sub-Saharan African women’s conditions. The study relies on observation and relevant secondary data to drive home its arguments. To that end, qualitative approach, argumentative and analytic methods, and text-content analytical tools are employed. The study concludes that critical thinking is a pragmatic tool for changing the attitude and the practice of religious prejudices that lead to religious conflicts/wars and put women in pathetic conditions in the region. It recommends critical thinking to different religions, as a means of rethinking and changing religious views, doctrines and dogmas, towards doing away with religious prejudices, intolerance and conflicts. Also, expressing religious prejudices against others should be outlawed by all religious bodies and political authorities.