Introduction
Corruption, which can be conceptualized as a form of moral impurity from a philosophical perspective, is one of the evils that plague many countries in the world. It assumes many forms, including bribery and abuse of power on the part of officials. It is one of the major forms of organized crime that affects America (Dreher, Kotsogiannis & McCorriston, 2005).
Institutional corruption is a form of crime that takes place within public and private organizations, either through the acts of single individuals or through collusions by groups within the organization (Seumas, 2011). Institutions such as the media, schools and hospitals have been affected by this form of crime (Rosoff, 2009).
Corruption in Religion
Religion has not been spared from institutional corruption. The media is rife with stories of evangelists and preachers who mislead their flocks into making contributions aimed at getting miracles and other forms of blessings. A case in point is Jim Bakker’s trial in 1989, where the televangelist was found guilty of fraud and conspiracy (Evans & Formica, 2002). This was one of the first prosecutions of a televangelist charged with abusing the trust and loyalty of his flock.
In defending Bakker, one of his lawyers, George Davis, made one of the statements that this author finds not only controversial, but also a slap on the face of the loyal Christians who were just seeking spiritual nourishment. Davis tried to exonerate Bakker from any form of wrongdoing, arguing that his client was just a “creative, religious genius” (Evans & Formica, 2002: Martz & Ginny, 1988).
Jim Bakker: A Creative, Religious Genius?
According to this author, describing Bakker as a creative religious genius is like describing Osama as one of the world’s greatest liberators. While the latter position may be debatable depending on one’s standing on the terrorism debate, the fact that Bakker is anything but a creative religious genius is beyond doubt. Like all other corrupt and evil preachers out there, Bakker and his Praise the Lord Club is nothing but an arrogant, greedy preacher.
This attribute of Bakker is captured in a quote credited to him in Martz & Ginny (1988), where he says that “why should I apologize (if) God throws in crystal chandeliers, mahogany floors…….and the best (buildings) in the world” (p.34). This was his reaction to queries raised about him and his wife’s opulent lifestyle, considering that between 1984 and 1987, they received more than $800,000 in salaries (Martz & Ginny, 1988).
It is important to note that corruption as a form of crime involves more than one party. For example, in the case of bribery, the crime is fuelled both by the person who asks for the bribe and the one who pays it out. This is not different in the case of religious corruption. The corrupt preacher rarely acts alone; rather, there are several parties who make his actions possible. On one part there are the aides and other trusted individuals who are aware of what the preacher is doing. Even though others like David Taggart, Bakker’s aide, are plagued by guilt and confess their wrongdoings, their silence when the actual crime is taking place makes it possible for the preacher to carry out their evil schemes.
On the other hand we have the gullible members of the congregation. It is their fear, their spiritual emptiness and blind loyalty that “creative, religious genius(es)” like Bakker thrives on. These members of the congregation will blindly donate anything that the preacher asks for.
Conclusion
Corruption in our religious institutions has several consequences on the society. The major one is loss of trust on the part of the public as far as religion is concerned. Citizens are confused, not knowing which televangelist to believe or which one to doubt. The government finds it hard to effectively deal with religious corruption given the fact that it may be accused of violating the citizen’s constitutional right of freedom of worship. In conclusion, it is important to note that every member of the society has a role to play in fighting corruption in our country.
References
Dreher, A., Kotsogiannis, C., & McCorriston, S. (2005). How do institutions affect corruption and the shadow economy? International Tax and Public Finance, 16(6): 773-796.
Evans, C., & Formica, R. (2002). Great American trials: Jim Bakker trial, 1989. Web.
Martz, L., & Ginny, C. (1988). Ministry of greed. New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Rosoff, S. (2009). Profit without honor. 5th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Seumas, M. (2011). Corruption. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, spring 2011: 20-21.