Commercialisation of Christianity in Nigeria: A Review (Published)
This review investigates the commercialization of Christianity in Nigeria, delving into its historical roots and modern expressions. A booming economy that includes mega-churches, televangelism, religious tourism, and a robust market for faith-based goods and services has resulted from the nexus of faith and commerce. Factors responsible for the commercialization of Christianity and the impacts of commercialization on religious practices, and the larger socio-cultural fabric are critically evaluated in this study. The article examines how some charismatic leaders have shaped the religious-business environment and considers how this has an impact on the genuineness of Christian teachingsin contemporary Nigeria. This review adds to the on-going conversation on how Nigerian religious practices are changing and highlights the intricate interactions that exist between faith and business within the framework of Christianity. This review recommends more investigation into viable ways to promote peaceful coexistence of religion and business in Nigeria’s Christian community.
Keywords: Christianity, Commercialization, Religion., Review, historical
Why Everybody Must Embrace Islam (Published)
People in terms of belief in God, can be divided into three groups, theism atheism and agnosticism. Theism is the belief in at least one deity.[1] Atheism is an absence of belief in the existence of deities.[2]. Agnosticism, is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable.[3] The majority of the people in the world are theists that are believers, and few are atheists that are nonbelievers. According to the Pew Research Center’s (2012) global study of 230 countries and territories, 16% of the world’s populations are not affiliated with any religion, while 84% are affiliated with a religion. [4] This paper will analyze critically the truth about theism and atheism. It will explain why we should believe in one deity, and the superiority of Islam over other Religions. The paper will make a comparative analysis between theism and atheism, Islam and Christianity, and conclude why everybody should be a Muslim. Islam is always viewed as a problem. (Edis. T 2007). Lewis B.E& Churchill B.E (2008) affirmed that the knowledge of Islam is essential and unfortunately the knowledge is rarely available. So the paper will add to the public the knowledge of Islam all people must accept Islam.
Keywords: Belief, Christianity, Islam, Religion., atheism, monotheism, polytheism, theism
Religious Affiliations and Political Leadership in Uganda: The Case of Iganga District (Published)
Religion has proved to be one the informal institutions around which politics is built in Uganda. This study examined the influence of religious affiliations on political leadership in Uganda; placing emphasis on Iganga District. The study used a cross sectional research design with both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study used 247 respondents selected using simple random, purposive and snow ball sampling techniques. The study analysed data using Chi-square test of goodness of fit. The study discovered that religious affiliations have a significant bearing on the political leadership of Iganga District. The study recommended that, politicians should not use religion as a stepping stone for political offices by exploiting the simple majority of followers of a certain religious sect over the other. They should instead reach to the masses irrespective of their religious affiliations and once in office, they should use their mandate to serve the whole community equally rather than favouring individuals of their religious faith. The criterion for granting leadership positions should be on basis of merit and not religion.
Keywords: Iganga district, Leadership, Politics, Religion., and Uganda
Philosophical Anthropology and The Concept of Human Nature in The Contemporary Society (Published)
The problem is that, in contemporary society in which we live, there seems to be a negligence in identifying what is in conformity with human nature than the contrary. The over-riding issue is “workability” whether good or bad, to the detriment of goodness (virtue). Analytically, this work sets out to underscore the fact that prior to the contemporary society, virtuous living thrived so much. It was observed that there was a shift from the ocentricism to secularism. Cultural infiltrations balked the long existing primordial cultures, diverting man’s attention to what is in vogue without any consideration to its incongruity to human nature. Therefore, for man to re-determine himself, there must be a counter-shift to virtuous living in tandem with his nature.
Keywords: Culture, Human nature, Morality, Religion., contemporary society
Religion and Nation Building in Nigeria: A Critique (Published)
From its etymological definition, religion connotes relationship, bond and reverence. Ipso facto, it ought to be fundamental and a veritable tool for nation building, if nation building implies a systematic process of making a people with cultural and ethnic differences become integrated as one and feel belonged under one nation. Unfortunately, religion as it is practiced in Nigeria by the adherents of the dominant religions: Christianity, Islam and African Traditional Religion, rather than integrate the peoples of Nigeria, turns out to be one of the major causes of conflict and division among Nigerians. What is the reason behind this paradox? The philosophical method of critical analysis is employed to dissect the historical cause of this in view of finding lasting solutions. On this, the nature and mode of propagation of these faiths in Nigeria is identified as the major cause of the seed of division witnessed among these religions. If only the government and the religious leaders would liaise to educate the populace on the need for religious tolerance and freedom of worship, religion would have assumed its natural role of bridge building among the peoples of Nigeria.
Citation: Igbokwe A.C. (2022) Religion and Nation Building in Nigeria: A Critique, Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol.10, No.11, pp.37-46
Keywords: Nation Building, Nigeria, Religion.
Religion and Nation Building in Nigeria: A Critique (Published)
From its etymological definition, religion connotes relationship, bond and reverence. Ipso facto, it ought to be fundamental and a veritable tool for nation building, if nation building implies a systematic process of making a people with cultural and ethnic differences become integrated as one and feel belonged under one nation. Unfortunately, religion as it is practiced in Nigeria by the adherents of the dominant religions: Christianity, Islam and African Traditional Religion, rather than integrate the peoples of Nigeria, turns out to be one of the major causes of conflict and division among Nigerians. What is the reason behind this paradox? The philosophical method of critical analysis is employed to dissect the historical cause of this in view of finding lasting solutions. On this, the nature and mode of propagation of these faiths in Nigeria is identified as the major cause of the seed of division witnessed among these religions. If only the government and the religious leaders would liaise to educate the populace on the need for religious tolerance and freedom of worship, religion would have assumed its natural role of bridge building among the peoples of Nigeria.
Citation: Igbokwe A.C. (2022) Religion and Nation Building in Nigeria: A Critique, Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol.10, No.11, pp.37-46
Keywords: Nation Building, Nigeria, Religion.
The influence of religion and marriage on women’s leadership in Ashanti region of Ghana (Published)
Citation: Simon Kyei (2022) The influence of religion and marriage on women’s leadership in Ashanti region of Ghana, Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol.10, No.1, pp.21-38
Abstract: This paper focuses on how religion and marriage cultures in Ghana influence women to be ruled by men. As a descriptive research, it used qualitative research approach and adopted descriptive statistics as it used basic tables and graphs to explain the findings. The major finding was that marriage and religion have potential to prevent women from become leaders as women are likely to obey the marriage and religious principles that group women and men into subordinates and leaders respectively. The conclusion made was that as religion and marriage cultures coerce women to accept that men are to lead them in all spheres of life, the radical feminists who see men as enemies and call for emancipation as means to address the situation are likely to fail in their approach. On the other hand, social and liberal feminists who call for education as means to address the man and women status disparities problem are likely to be comfortable in marriage and religion and succeed in becoming leaders in the society as well
Keywords: Feminism, Leadership, Marriage, Religion., gender othering
The Relationship between Religion and Morality: On Whether the Multiplicity of Religious Denominations Have Impacted Positively On Socio-Ethical Behavior (Published)
Morality until recently has been seen as a brainchild of religion and thus an essential part of religion from which it is inseparable. This assumption has even led some scholars to hold that there can be no morality without religion since morality is intrinsically a part of religion. It is therefore assumed that a religious person is essentially a moral person and that a moral life may not be possible without religion. If this assumption is upheld it will mean that with the multiplicity of major religious denominations the world will be a better place. Whether this is so is an issue that elicits fierce divergent views among scholars and people of various orientations. This works critically examines the relationship between religion and morality to determine whether the above claims and expectations are justified. Employing the philosophical tools of critical analysis, exposition and evaluation of facts experientially acquired as well as information from the works of researchers on the issues of religion and morality, the work examines whether there is a definitional relationship or connection between religion and morality and whether they are related through their concerns, preoccupations or constituent elements. This connection was not seen. The work further examined the opinions of scholars with regard to their relationship as well as what the consequences will be if ethics depends on religion. In trying to find out the root of the assumption the work critically examined the contentious issue of the impact of the multiplicity of religious denominations on socio-ethical behavior. In conclusion the work decried the lack of synergy between morality and religion, holding that though there may be no definitional connection between them and their concerns, preoccupations and constituent elements may differ, morality and religion are complimentary in forging a better society. If they synergize their efforts the world will be a better place.
Keywords: Morality, Religion., Religious Denominations, Socio-Ethical Behavior
Demographic Factors Influencing Adult Participation In Christian Education Programs Among Episcopal Churches In Southern California (Published)
The capability of a free, mature faith response to the Gospel is more in Adult Christians than in the young Christians. It is thus imperative that the opportunities of Christian education are by extension made available to adults. This paper is an investigation into the reasons why adults participate in congregationally sponsored Christian education learning events in the church. Adult participation in Christian education is examined in relation to selected demographic variables and the religious motivation of adults. Understanding the motivational orientations of adults serves as a beginning point for church leaders and directors of Christian education to develop and organize educational programs that meet the needs of adult learners. Motivation to participate was measured using an adaptation of the Education Participation Scale (EPS) (Boshier, 1991). The factors include; Spiritual Growth, Cognitive Interest, Church and Community Service, Education Preparation, Social Contact, Family Togetherness and Social Stimulation. A sample size of 454 Episcopalian adults that constituted 63% females and 37% males, averaging 50 years participated in the study undertaken in Southern California. Statistical procedures used to analyze data in this study included Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). All hypotheses were tested at an alpha level of .05. In relation to demographic variables, intrinsically motivated respondents who had a higher level of education attended more programs. Singles tended to be extrinsically motivated in their participation of educational activities. Nonetheless, no correlations were found between age and the Religious Orientation
Keywords: Adult Education, Christian Education, Episcopal churches, Religion., South California
The Complexion in the Theology Concept of Moslem Batak Toba Lecturers in University: Case Study in Indonesia (Published)
This study is aimed at describing the theology concept of Moslem Batak Toba lecturers in Universitas Negeri Medan (UNIMED), Indonesia. Therefore, he methodology used in this study was ethnography approach, which is part of the qualitative method. The techniques used in collecting the data were observation, interview and documentation. From this study, it can be found that there are three (3) tendencies of Moslem Batak Toba lecturers’ theology concepts. They are naqliyah, ‘aqliyah and “new theology”. In conclusion, Moslem Batak Toba lecturers in UNIMED have complexion in theology concept but the complexion always relates to their culture, religion and ideology even though in the “new theology” they can separate the area of culture and religion.
Keywords: Indonesia, Moslem Batak Taba, Religion., Theology