Rights and Responsibilities When Sharing Our Religion in Purple Hibiscus

Religion is an ideal that everyone has a different take on. The many diverse religions found in the world differentiate between groups of people. Even in one specific culture there can be different religions playing a part in that culture’s society. This is evident in the book, Purple Hibiscus, in which there is Christianity and another pagan religion in Nigeria. What affects the people the most is how the religion is expressed. For some religions it is the responsibility of the follower to share the religion with others. Many people take it upon themselves to convert others to their religion. As a human being you have the right to believe what you want but you can still be influenced into joining someone else’s belief. That does not mean that a religion can be forced upon you. Anyone can share their beliefs but they should not try to pressure people into converting. Believing in a religion should be something a person actually has faith in but when outside influences are brought in, that personal belief is lost.
In the novel, there are two contrasting images of Christianity that are shown. One pushed by Papa and another that is offered rationally by Father Amadi. For Papa it was either follow Christianity or be ignored. “Papa-Nnukwu had told the umunna how Papa had offered to build him a house, buy him a car, and hire him a driver, as long as he converted and threw away the chi in the thatch shrine in his yard” (Adichi 61). Papa would only provide for his elderly father if he converted to the religion Papa believed was right. Without that conversion of faith, he would not interact with his father at all. This put Papa-Nnukwu in a position in which he either would be forced to change religions or stay with his religion. Using force as a way of converting does not work in this case. This is not an ideal method of trying to convert someone because the faith is not pure when influenced by material possessions. The wives of the umunna say to Jaja, “Nekene, see the...