The role of Catholic Church in controlling “Second generation” alcohol abuse in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

Alcohol abuse is a global phenomenon which has elicited responses from governments, organizations, institutions, religious organizations and scholarly debate due to its adverse effects on individuals and various dimensions of society at large. In Kenya, new emerging brands of alcohol termed ‘second generation’ or ‘surrogate' alcohol have adversely affected among other things, health, socio-cultural and economic well-being of the society across all the counties. This study sought to examine the role of the Catholic Church (CC) specifically Eldoret diocese in controlling the “SGA” abuse in Uasin Gishu County. It covered mostly Eldoret Municipality with some outlying areas of the county. The study was guided by the following objectives: to examine contextual factors influencing alcohol abuse among some CC believers in Uasin Gishu County; to explore the activities of the CC in the control of SGA alcohol abuse and to investigate the teachings of the CC in addressing ‘second generation’ alcohol abuse. Uasin Gishu County was selected because of a baseline survey by National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) which revealed increased abuse of SGA, especially ‘Busaa’ and ‘Changaa’ in the county. The Structural Functional Theory by Emile Durkheim and Symbolic Interaction Theory by George Herbert Mead were used to guide the study. According to Emile Durkheim theory, religion plays a useful role in promoting social solidarity and upholding social norms, while symbolic Interaction Theory holds that people learn more from their interactions with others than from the truth on its own. The philosophical paradigm of the study was social constructivism. The study's design and methodology were qualitative research and phenomenology, which captured the informants’ experiences and perspectives. Purposive sampling was used to select 16 informants who had valuable information, while others were brewers, alcoholics and reformed addicts in CC. The informants were identified by other informants who knew them. The researcher interviewed informants that deal with policy at the diocese level, priests at the grass root level, alcohol addicts, brewers, reformed addicts in RCC, rehabilitation officials, Uasin Gishu alcoholic drinks control secretariat, addiction counselor and lay leaders in CC. Data was collected using an in depth interview guide and observation schedule. Data was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis and presented in descriptive form. The study found out that there are contextual factors such as peer influence, stress, economic constraints and unemployment that influenced alcohol consumption among some CC believers. Secondly, the study found out that the CC has been involved to some extent in activities such as abstinence to alcohol by the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association (PTAA) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) movements to assist some believers who were addicted to alcohol but lacking rehabilitation facilities for treatment. Thirdly, the study also revealed that CC has not adequately addressed issues of controlling the “second generation” alcohol abuse in her teachings because of some controversial scriptural texts, certain world views and some compromised drinking behaviors exhibited by some priests. It can be concluded that though the church has somewhat addressed the problem of alcohol abuse, there are still many gaps in dealing with the problem as well as understanding the emerging phenomenon of SGA. This is compounded by the lack of rehabilitation centers by CC. It is therefore recommended that NACADA in conjunction with county governments should from time to time partner with religious organizations among other stakeholders to foster debating engagements and create understanding on the emerging substance abuse and SGA in order to build their capacity of preparedness through national and regional conferences; the CC should cooperate with other stakeholders to deal with contextual factors which influence ‘SGA’ consumption through relevant teachings and advocacy. The CC should also give more support to PTAA in advocating for abstinence from SGA and other alcohol abuse while empowering the addicts and their families to live productive and healthy lives. Finally, the CC should address controversial scriptural texts and contextualize some of their world views to cater for the local believers.