YOUTH AND MORALITY IN KENYA: THE ROLE OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION

Abstract

Morality is said to be beliefs or ideas about what is right and wrong and
about how people shout behave. It refers to a system of beliefs and values
concerning how people should behave, which is accepted by a particular
person or a group. In short, it be seen as a standard of behaviour. Since it
has to do with right and wrong, it is evident that any group of people or
society would desire to follow or do what is morally right and avoid what
is morally wrong. In this context, every society would strive to inculcate
and nurture what it upholds as morally good to its members. The youth
are an important section of this membership as it is in them that the future
of any society and its morality abound. It thus follows that the morality
of the youths should be emphasized for a moral society tomorrow.
Nonetheless, it is claimed that today there are tangible and visible
changes in the realm of morals among the young people. There is an
outcry about the deterioration of moral values among the youth in Kenya.
This poses a great challenge as regards the future. Therefore, there is an
urgency to address this situation in order to rebuild the moral standard of
our youth, hence the nation of tomorrow. This paper analyzes the role of
religion and science in addressing the problem of youth and morality in
Kenya. The basic assumption in this paper is that both science and
religion are unique realities in our life, and that each can contribute
uniquely in combating societal problems, hence bringing about an upright
society. The paper further asserts that neither science nor religion can
solely address such societal problems without involving the other; they
are complimentary realities, hence the need for dialogue. The ideas
advanced in this paper will be significant and an addition to the already
established approaches to the problem of youth and morality in Kenya.
The paper also poses a challenge to the conflicting relationship between
science and religion, hence re-thinking the approach towards one another.