No religion promotes conflicts —Kufuor

Former President of Ghana, John Kufuor, has said that no religion requires that adherents should engage in civil strife to endanger the security of the society.
Kufuor said no mainstream religion promotes conflict, saying such was only being perpetrated by dogmatists and extremists who are often a minority.
The former president said religion should be a communion between the individual and God, and not a tool for terror or conflict, stressing that major religions emphasised the brotherhood of mankind.
He spoke in a lecture he delivered at the 10th anniversary of the Sun Newspapers in Abuja on Tuesday. The lecture was titled, ‘Religion, Strife and the future of democracy in Africa’.
Kufuor explained that religion encouraged responsible citizenship within the society, noting that it should therefore reinforce democracy.
“This is a clear manifestation that when citizens handover their sovereign will to the state under a social contract called national constitution, for their will to be exercised on their behalf, as in a democracy, this is in line with religion,” he stated.
The guest lecturer said the media had huge influence in human affairs around the world, noting that some media outlets wield their influence ‘not too positively for the social good.’
Kufuor said it was part of media ethics to exercise a high sense of social responsibility so as not to become agents of destabilisation in the society.