Impact of the Remnants of African Worldviews on Perception of Pastors Towards Ministering to Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria
Nigerian communities and the society at large are filled with diverse kinds of people who are hurting, such as the poor, the sick, the captives, the oppressed, and particularly, those with disabilities. Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are people with special needs. Although the church is saddled wi...
| Subtitles: | Disability, Religion and Theology: African Perspectives |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
[2016]
|
| In: |
Journal of disability & religion
Year: 2016, Volume: 20, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 103-118 |
| Further subjects: | B
Religion
B Pastoral Theology B Special education B Disability studies |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | Nigerian communities and the society at large are filled with diverse kinds of people who are hurting, such as the poor, the sick, the captives, the oppressed, and particularly, those with disabilities. Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are people with special needs. Although the church is saddled with the task of the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15-18) and the ministry to the disabled is very much included in this task, not too many people (Christians and the church included) are interested in considering ministering to these persons. Most times PWDs are neglected or isolated, likely because of ignorance, forgetfulness, the difficulties encountered by some individuals or persons ministering to them, or the differing perceptions towards PWDs in the African communities. Therefore, there was a keen interest to carry out a study on perception of pastors towards the ministry to PWDs. The study employed a descriptive survey research method. Postgraduate students of the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso, were used as the subjects of the study. A questionnaire was designed and used to collate data. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for descriptive statistics of frequencies and simple percentages. The findings from this research have proven that remnants of African worldviews on and attitude towards disability have a very minimal or almost insignificant affect on Pastors ministering to PWDs. African worldviews on disability are gradually fading away. Notwithstanding, the attitude of people towards PWDs in the church and society is still poor and not encouraging. Therefore, there is an increasing need for pastors and churches to improve on their ministerial responsibilities towards PWDs, and in situations where the ministry to PWDs has not received attention, concerted efforts should be pulled together to ensure that PWDs are reached for Christ and also impacted positively. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2331-253X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of disability & religion
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/23312521.2016.1152940 |