IMPACT OF CHRISTIANITY ON IGBO CULTURE

ABSTRACT

Culture is a distinguishing element of the society, it is the totality of a people’s understanding of the universe, their perception of life and worldview. It can be said to be the immortality of a people, its presence ensures the recognition of the people in the universe. It is a phenomenon that transcends ethnicity, tribe and geographical tendencies. The Igbo culture is the entirety of the Igbo’s understanding of the universe, which includes their way of life, mode of dressing, choice of food and religious ideologies. It is the distinct feature of the Igbo people which is both socially and religiously imbued. The emergence of Christianity through colonization and its infiltration into the Igbo ideologies through missionaries have heavy effects, which over time has been argued to be detrimental by some and positive by others. Hence, this research work is design to critically examine the impact of Christianity on Igbo culture. The research method employed in this work is the historical and descriptive methods. In order to ensure reliable data, various methods of data collection were employed. These include oral interview and personal observation. Literatures were reviewed. Journal, articles and internet were consulted. This research work discovered the following: culture is a way of life that is peculiar to people. Christian religion has both positive and negative enormous impact on the Igbo culture. It has liquidated and Christianized many cultural practices in the Igbo land, however it end many obnoxious practice like killing of twins, human sacrifice and “Osu” caste