Conflict and Cohesion in Mission Communities in Africa: An X-Ray

Nmah Patrick,Benson Okechukwu Udezo

doi:10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2s1p35

Abstract

This paper aims to reveal issues involved in the conflict and cohesion between the missionaries and African communities. The objective of this research work is to investigate the issues such as polygamy, African religious beliefs and practices involved in the conflict and cohesion in the course of missionary enterprise in Africa. The significance of this research work is that it shows the reasons why African religion and culture continue to thrive in spite of the onslaught on them by the missionaries. The findings showed that it is better to apply religious dialogue in dealing with the conflict. Since the theme deals with Church history and elements of African traditional beliefs and practices, that is why it is imperative to adopt primary and secondary sources in data collection. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2s1p35

Highlights

Conflict and cohesion in mission communities during the missionary enterprise in Africa depicts the attitudes of the missionary activity towards the basics to certain time-honoured institutions such as family land, polygamous economy, traditional religion, the magic world-view, divination and the like was deplorable (Nmah, 2010)
The background causes advanced in the literature can be classified for convenience sake namely historical factors, political factors, issues bordering on polygyny, the earth-goddess, traditional African family, colonial factors, sociological factors, hankering after ancestor-worship, native love of pomp and colour, missionary ignorance of African psychology, language, avarice, ambition, imperiousness, and faulty biblical interpretation
There is no doubt that the missionaries that came to Africa to Christianize and civilize the African society had an ambivalent character in their quest to modernize Africa and better their own economy

Summary

Introduction

Conflict and cohesion in mission communities during the missionary enterprise in Africa depicts the attitudes of the missionary activity towards the basics to certain time-honoured institutions such as family land, polygamous economy, traditional religion, the magic world-view, divination and the like was deplorable (Nmah, 2010). The gospel was ascribed the miraculous power that produced conversion, unity, and the missionaries unwittingly interpreted Christianity to mean the same thing as Western civilization. Their common interests, their fears of African revolts, kept the missionaries, their converts, traders and colonial masters together. The research is to be focused on a critical examination of the conflict and cohesion in mission communities in Africa. That is those elements of conflict that existed between the European Christian missionaries with the African society and the seemingly cohesion that were establish or re-established in the mission communities

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion