Religiosity in Vihiga District: Modernity and Expressions of Outward Forms

Abstract

From a cultural perspective, religion is a very diverse phenomenon. This is because culture influences people to behave in a certain way, affecting the way they express themselves, including their religiosity. The many African cultures can be argued to have caused religious and/or denominational diversity in African religiosity. For our purposes, a simple definition of religious diversity should be put forward: it is the assorted nature of the religions of the world as dictated by people’s needs/tastes and cultural milieus. In Vihiga District of Western Kenya, which was the survey area for this paper, the mushrooming of Christian groups can simply be explained through the cultures of tradition and modernity. This has led to a vibrant sprouting of both African Independent Churches (AICs) and New Religious Movements (NeReMos) amidst the mainline or mission-founded churches. The diversity is in reference to the different tastes and needs of people in the district. The study will take Christianity as the point of reference and draw examples of the diverse nature of the religion in Vihiga District. This will aid in explaining the outward forms of religiosity of various religious groups in the setting of the study. In order to properly historicize our observations, it should be noted that Christianity as brought to the Africans by the missionaries was thought to be an ‘eye-opener’to the ‘savage’Africans. It came along with goodies such as the ‘medicine of the white man’, and education and church for the backward, pagan Africans. In most missionary-founded churches, the system of worship was inflexible and the services followed a predetermined procedure as dictated by …