IGBO PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE VIS-À-VIS THE PROLIFERATION OF PRAYER HOUSES IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

Ejikemeuwa Ndubisi, KANU Ikechukwu Anthony

Abstract


A person or group of persons is known and identified by the philosophy of life the person or group treasures. Philosophy of life has to do with the general principles that guide an individual or group of individuals. It has to do with the ideology that helps individuals to understand  and  interpret  the  world.  Studies  have  shown  that  Igbo  philosophy  of  life  is summed  up  as  community  consciousness,  hard  work,  competiveness,  adaptability  to change, determination to success among other things. These are some of the qualities that characterize  Igbo  philosophy  of  life.  Today,  the  proliferation  of  prayer  houses  in  the southeast  Nigeria  is  growing  in  geometric  progression.  Most  of  these  prayer  houses  lay more  emphasis  on  miracles,  divine  intervention  and  devil  possession.  Employing  the philosophical  methodof  phenomenology,  this  study  observes  that  the  proliferation  of prayer  houses  in  Igboland –southeast  Nigeria –encourages  laziness,  disaster,  family division, etc.  and as such constitute a serious threat to the hard earned philosophy of life of  Igbo  people.  The  study  therefore  recommends  some  mechanisms  to  checkmate  the excesses and the negative influences of these prayer houses in Igboland.

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References


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