INDIGENOUS AGENTS AND SOCIO-RELIGIOUS CHANGES IN UKWUANILAND (DELTA STATE), 1841-1941
Abstract
attended with upheavals. While building on John Beattie’s (1964) first stage of
his theory on the four stages of social change the study refutes Idowu’s (1977)
assertion that the introduction of a new religion results in the extinction of a
former religion, as was the case of extinct religions of ancient Egypt, Greece and
Rome. Using the historical approach to the study of religion, this study reveals
that try as they could, there are certain customs in Ukwuaniland Anglican
converts were not able to replicate. It discloses that the early convert’s
relationships with the Church and with the non-Christian society were marked by
an informal debate on cultural and religious issues. The study recommends that
in between the acceptable and the unacceptable customs as defined by the Church
in indigenous societies, Christian converts should identify gray areas within
which to exercise their discretion.
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