When God Became a Weapon: A History of Religion and the Death of Ubuntu

What happens when sacred texts are used to justify conquest? When compassion is replaced by creed? When God becomes a weapon?

In this bold and thought-provoking work, Kayumba David traces the arc of organized religion from its early emergence as a social glue to its transformation into a powerful instrument of empire, colonization, division, and violence. Drawing on history, philosophy, psychology, and African ethics, the book unveils how religion—once a source of meaning—became a tool for domination and the suppression of indigenous wisdom like Ubuntu.

Through rich analysis and vivid narrative, the book examines:

But this is also a book of hope. Kayumba David imagines a world reborn through Ubuntu—a philosophy of shared humanity, restorative justice, and spiritual inclusiveness. It calls not for the death of faith, but for its transformation into empathy, coexistence, and truth.

Timely, courageous, and visionary, When God Became a Weapon is both an unflinching critique and a luminous call for a post-religious humanity.

Let us not return to religion.
Let us return to each other.
Let us be human again.