Ethnicity and identity has been blamed for increasing tensions in the Church in Kenya.

Delegates to the Annual School of theological lectures heard that the Church had succumbed to tribalism, with leaders showing open hostility towards members of other ethnic communities.

A Kenyan university don Mrs Constance Shisanya regretted that violence in churches had become the trend of the present church leadership, which seemed interested not in spreading the gospel but in having special dealings with certain members of the congregation it served.

"Such fights among Christians in God's household demonstrate that the ethnic affiliation among people in Kenyan churches is so entrenched that it supersedes the Christian call for brotherhood and non-violence," she said.

Citing the 1992 and 1997 ethnic clashes in Kenya's Rift Valley Province, Shisanya, who is a lecturer in cultural and religious studies at Kenyatta University, pointed out an interesting dimension of the Church, saying some offered support to members based on ethnicity. For this reason, she said, some Christians who attended the same church were unattended to simply because of their ethnic backgrounds.

She noted that ethnicity was deeply entrenched in the lives of many Kenyans and came into play in determining actions of adherents even when the actions contradicted Christian teachings of love and unity.

The don also pointed out the phenomenon had caused some Kenyan tribes and sub-tribes to feel superior to others, leading to injustices among the marginalised groups.

"There have been omissions and deliberate denial of justice of the minority ethnic identities. As a result, there has been denial of opportunities for employment, marriage, education and political leadership including the presidency".

Shisanya underlined that ethnicity gave birth to stereotypes and negative attitudes that reflected the manner in which different ethnic communities perceived others. She pointed out that certain tribes were seen as untrustworthy in business and prone to crime, and this hindered people from other ethnic tribes from doing business with them.

"Others were looked at as lazy, others giants in witchcraft and others as temperamental, making it very difficult for interaction," she added.

She called on the government to address stereotypes of beliefs, attitudes and suspicion existing between people of different ethnic communities, through civic education, whereby people should be taught to respect one another and to co-exist to achieve harmony.

Shisanya underscored the need for the church to create a theology of inclusiveness and break barriers that tend to separate humanity.