LOVE AS CHRISTIAN IDENTITY AND THE PERSISTENCE OF SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION IN IGBO SOCIETY

Abstract

This study investigates love as the defining marker of Christian identity in John 13:34-35 and examines its implications for persistent social discrimination in Igbo society. Situated within Biblical Studies rather than sociology of religion, the paper adopts a hermeneutical approach as its primary methodology, offering a theological and literary analysis of the Johannine commandment of love within its narrative context. The study argues that Jesus’ injunction, “love one another as I have loved you” functions as the constitutive criterion of discipleship and communal identity. Following the exegetical analysis, the paper develops a hermeneutical application of the text to selected discriminatory practices in Igbo land, including the Osu caste system, harmful widowhood practices, gender-based moral asymmetries and certain inheritance structures. Drawing from oral interviews, archival materials, and relevant historical scholarship, the study demonstrates that despite the longstanding presence of Christianity in Igbo society, tensions remain between professed Christian identity and entrenched cultural patterns of exclusion. The findings reveal that the Johannine ethic of self-giving love challenges all systems that institutionalize hierarchy, stigma or inherited social inferiority. The persistence of such structures exposes a disjunction between theological confession and lived ecclesial practice. The paper concludes that authentic Christian identity, grounded in Johannine agapē, demands a transformative engagement with culture, calling Igbo Christian communities toward a radical reconfiguration of social relationships in light of Christ’s self-emptying love.