Date of Award

6-1-1957

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Divinity (B.Div)

Department

Historical Theology

First Advisor

Arthur Klinck

Abstract

As the title of this thesis indicates, the problem under investigation is the effects of Christianization upon the religious structure of primitive society, especially in so far as these effects have been noted among the Ibo peoples of southeastern Nigeria. The emphasis is to be placed upon the word "society." We are interested in the religious beliefs of the African people because they profoundly influence the formation of the tribe. We are not interested in these beliefs from a theological point of view. This means that we shall not delve into the theological implications which are involved in mission activity among any primitive people. It is not our purpose in this paper to discuss or to challenge the validity of mission work. The Gospel imperative is taken to be self-evident. This is especially true for the writer since he has spent two years upon the African mission field. We wish only to analyze, as much as possible, the effects of mission work upon African society. In many cases, these effects will not appear entirely constructive. The Church will be brought to task wherever she has played a role in the process of African social disintegration. But this criticism may well serve as a stimulus toward the Church and toward individual missionaries to shoulder social responsibilities with greater courage and foresight. For though the missions have been one of the causes of social disruption in Africa, they also possess the power to provide the African people with a new basis for social integration.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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