Colonialism and Christianity in West Africa

The Igbo case, 1900–1915

Dados Bibliográficos

ID8976205
AutoresFelix K Ekechi (Kent State University, autor correspondente)
Ano1971
Volume12
Fascículo1
Páginas103-115
Data de publicação1971-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Journal of African History (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0021-8537 • E-ISSN: 1469-5138
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0021853700000098
OpenAlexW2097383131
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas21
Referências citadas8

A critical examination of the forces behind Igbo acceptance of Christianity during the first decade of this century reveals that British military imperialism and other forms of colonial exploitation were in fact basic to the decision of many Igbo communities to embrace Christianity. The adoption of the Christian religion, especially by the male adults, may be seen as a clear method of adjusting to the new colonial regime in which Christianity offered visible social advantages. Communities which embraced the new religion believed that by associating with the Christian missionaries, they would perhaps escape various forms of colonial over-rule. The expansion of British political authority in the Igbo country, therefore, widened the frontiers of missionary enterprise. And as the Christian missions found the Igbos remarkably receptive to missionary propaganda, each was more than anxious to exert its denominational influence on the people. Thus interdenominational rivalry, especially between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants, was acute. For various reasons, the Roman Catholic missionaries seem to have established a more preponderating influence than the other Protestant societies

Archaeology · Christianity · Colonialism · Igbo · Political science · Politics · Protestantism · Rivalry · Sociology · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Gender Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies