TENSIONS BETWEEN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY OF MARRIAGE AND AFRICAN CULTURE

Abstract

This paper explained what Christian marriage is as well as African marriage from a cultural context. It highlighted some strains encountered in African Christian marriages in contrast with Western notion of marriage from a qualitative standpoint using an analytic approach. It also posited some factors that have brought about the conflict in most African Christian understanding of marriage as: urbanization, modernization and their likes; especially when they play down on the myriads of good African cultural values. Conversely, polygamy was mentioned as one of the heated arguments among the early Christian missionaries who came to evangelize Africa. Their approach was not really engaging especially for the traditional Africans who saw it as a norm. The paper recommended a new social order that will harmonize the good values from both Christianity and African cultures for the sustainability of marriage in Africa among Christians.