Viewing Socialization And Religious Indoctrination From Christian Perspective In Nigeria
Dr T T Bello
Ekiti State University, Religious Studies Department, Ado-Ekiti
Keywords: Socialization, indoctrination harmony, religion, co-existence, tolerance, society
Abstract
Every religion serves as an agency of socialization and indoctrination. As long as a religion teaches its adherents ethics, it is socializing. In the same way, when a religion holds strictly to its beliefs and doctrinal practice, it is doctrinating. There is nothing wrong for any religion to socialize and indoctrinate its adherents but as soon as its doctrinal teaching shakes the basis of peaceful co-existence, harmony and religious tolerance in the society, indoctrination becomes dangerous and offensive.1 This paper will therefore focus on how Christianity could serve as an agency of socialization and indoctrination without hampering peaceful co-existence and religious tolerance in Nigerian society. This paper will also highlight the danger in a Christian being extremely indoctrinated to the extent of becoming fanatical in the practice of Christianity. A working definition will be given for socialization and indoctrination. Some Christian doctrines will be discussed and how such doctrine could be fanatically interpreted to breed indoctrination will be analysed