Mitigation strategies to the challenges of women singlehood in Kerith Churches of Kenya

Abstract

This study examines the challenges single women face in their singlehood status and the church mitigation strategies in addressing them. Singlehood has many challenges that the church has yet to address adequately. The scholarly work focuses on understanding singlehood from a sociological perspective, but comparatively less attention is paid to the mitigation strategies employed by the church. Although the church acknowledges the role played by single women, less attention is given to them compared to other social groups. This necessitated doing this study to discover the challenges of singlehood, examine the mitigation strategies, explore the programs' effectiveness, and investigate theological justification for the Kerith Church's involvement in addressing singlehood challenges in Kenya. The study used a descriptive research survey to collect and analyze qualitative data. The target population was 20000 members in 210 Kerith Churches nationwide. A sample of 250 members filled out the questionnaires while ten clergy, 20 single women and ten lay leaders were interviewed. The study established that women go through many challenges in their singlehood status despite being in church, yet the church is endowed with a godly mandate to address them. It was further established that various programs to mitigate the challenges of singlehood in Kerith Churches were ineffective. Thus, the church must rethink its mitigation strategies to alleviate women's challenges with singlehood. The study was significant in religion and society by espousing the church's role in addressing the challenges of women's singlehood in Kenya.