CONSECRATED TO CATECHIZE PEOPLE FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE

Bartholomew Chidili

Abstract


Catechizing in this work is understood as a deliberate effort to transmit religious knowledge, values, skills, attitudes, and sensibilities of a society to its progeny. Consequently, this work concerned itself with educating the people religiously to get rid of fear and estrangement transmitted by religious parochialism causing the incessant hostility among the people of Nigeria.  For it was obvious that while the individual religious adherents imbibed their religious tenets very well, they paid no heed to other people and their religions. As a result they developed tightly closed religious communities.  Therefore, while it was obvious that these religions were taught at home, in the places of worship or in the schools up to university level they made no difference on people, because, it was still the same domestication.  In effect, the religious teachings did nothing but increased wrangling and incessant squabbles among peoples. This work understood the squabbles as the phobia of tremendous dread of strangeness between the religions. The work therefore, suggested a dialogical process as a new teaching based on the work of the Brazilian philosopher and educator Paulo Freir to rewrite the narrative of religious education from being the harbinger of wars and distress to harbinger of peace and harmony; and to be the permanent process of teaching religion in Nigeria from cradle to the grave.

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References


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