Things Fall Apart Religion Analysis

The Effect of White Missionaries on an African Tribe in Things Fall Apart by Achebe

It may seem unintuitive that a large number of Africans willingly broke off from their native religion to follow Christianity. Why would someone willingly leave their own culture, something that was familiar to them, to join a completely new religion? As the growth of industrialized nations began to plateau, Western powers looked to other corners of the world for raw materials and to expand their markets. When these powers expanded across the globe, they brought with them their traditions and religion which they planned to spread to the native people. Chinua Achebe, an author who was a converted Christian as well as an African native, has experienced both Christian and Igbo traditions, putting him in an ideal position to describe both sides

At first, the British send in missionaries to peacefully instill the Christian religion and build a church. As an increasing number of tribe members convert to Christianity, the new religion begins to deconstruct the social construct of the Igbo society. The colonists slow gain power, creating a clear division between the converts and the tribe members who have remained faithful to the Igbo traditions. As the colonists continue to exert power, Achebe describes that “stories were already gaining ground that the white man had not only brought a religion but also a government” (Achebe 155). The British create a rift between the people of the Igbo tribe and once they have destabilized the social order to a certain extent, the colonists apply modernized Western political concepts.

In Thing Fall Apart there are several instances where the culture of the different African tribes, missionaries are trying to convert people over to Christianity, at first they mainly converted twins, outcasts, and lazy people from the tribes. Okonkwo did not like the idea of all his children abandoning the culture their family had been worshiping for many years. His first son Nwoye is converted to Christianity when Okonkwo found this out, he became angry at his son and rejected him from home, afterward, Okonkwo becomes worried that all of his other male children will turn away from ancestral worship and become

A major aspect of one’s society is religion. Without it, the way people hold themselves accountable would be nonexistent. In addition, many moral standards that exist today are values taken directly from religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Currently, there exists a feud between people who believe in a god, and of those who do not. Eventually those who believe in a higher power will fight against each other. In “Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe brings to light the differences and similarities of Christianity and Animism in order to demonstrate the effects of religion upon one’s society, which is exemplified by Okonkwo and his people. This is noticed in the lives of the Ibo, the missionaries, and

The laws that one society has may only support one type of religion as another may support a different one. When cultures intertwine and mix, varied feelings will be felt and unpleasant actions may be the outcome from them. Take the story of Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, for example. In the story, the Ibo people were living in harmony and went about their daily routines until the English men arrived and damaged everything. They brought a new religion, Christianity, which had completely different concepts than the one that the Ibo tribe had been following. Many converted and chose to join the world of the Christians while the others stayed loyal to their culture. “He went back to the church… He would return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters and convert them to the new faith” (Achebe152). Nwoye was allured to this new way of life showed to them, and as an outcome, he joined the English men. By the end of this story, the whole Ibo culture was obliterated and destroyed. Their way of life became but a memory in the history of the world. Culture cannot only change the views one has on religion, but it can also destroy that faith.

The fact that these missionaries have started to really make an impact was unprecedented by the Ibo people; their continuous misunderstandings of one another contribute to make this situation frustrating to both the Ibo clansmen and the Christians that view their religion as superior. Okonkwo returns back to his home village of Umuofia after his exile to Mbanta, and he arrives to see missionaries have overtaken the village, created a government, and many Umuofians have joined the church. As Okonkwo and his friend Obierika are talking, Obierika says of the missionaries and their impact, “He says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us?...He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (176). The white men and missionaries have been successful in coming in and gaining power. They believe the customs to be “bad”, showing their disregard of Ibo culture, and how their motives for infiltrating Ibo life is based off of selfish ideas- only to gain more followers to their religion. Furthermore, by actually being successful in drawing Umuofians into their religion, they have turned

Ultimately religion is the number one change through out the novel. When the white man first arrives he has little luck gaining converts, but the more he preaches his religion and the differences in Christianity to the Igbo people the more people convert. Most of these people have felt pain from this religion; such as the women who only birthed twins that were thrown into the dark forest would be able to safely deliver twins. “There is only one true God and he has the earth, the sky, you and me and all of us” (126). Religion is also relates to the destruction of the culture because the people are lead to believe their gods are only myths and fairytales and not the true god. Conversion to Christianity is also the reason for many distractions

As a Steeler fan, I found it enjoyable how the author wanted us to apprehend the “Common Features of Religion”. The comparison between a beloved football team and religion go hand in hand. They are both communities with people who believe in the same principles of life, understand the same rituals and the myths. These communities respect the sacred ground, feel the same emotions, and follow the same code of ethics. My dad’s side of the family is from Monroeville, PA, in which they are all Pittsburgh Steelers fan so I know how it feels to be born into the Steelers community. A lot of people are born into a religion and are raised knowing nothing more just like sports fans. You have something in common with one another, something to talk about,

In the novel “Things Fall Apart”, by Chinua Achebe, one of the main aspects of the Ibo community was religion, before the pre-colonization of Nigeria. After the White Man known as the British took over, it caused many people of the Ibo community to betray their religious beliefs, causing people to change to their religion, Christianity that is more acceptable in many aspects.

Before coming into this class, I viewed it as another as another religion class that I would pay no attention to and then forget. I assumed this because I come from a Christian household and grew up going to church and private school. However, it was never boring and much more interesting and informative than I thought it would be. Because of my background, I did not know anything about the other traditions, with the exception of a little understanding about Judaism, all I knew were stereotypes. The five most important and interesting things to me that we learned were how similar all of the traditions are to one another, the idea of syncretism, Thich Naht Hanh’s teachings of emptiness, interconnected, and the way of understanding, the

Throughout the story, there is a moment in which British colonizers arrive to this community bringing many changes in their beliefs. One of which was the influence of Christianity in the community. Like in any place being colonized, there was always some resistance from the people because of these new changes. Okonkwo who is the main character was really against of Christianity brought by the British. But a young kid who was like his son, Nwoye, was totally in favor of this peaceful religion.

For many people, religion is a very touchy subject. For most, it is a personal decision; people choose a faith that aligns with their beliefs, ideas, and faiths. Although people would like to think that religion is a personal decision, and they can adapt it to how they feel and what they believe, in practice, that is not the case. Religion represents a commitment to a set of principles that are not moldable, adaptable, or flexible. Religion, although it may be a personal belief, it is extremely defined, with little to no room for flexibility. If people try to modify their religion to their own beliefs or ideas, the pushback can be severe. The lines in religion and faith as to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable are clear, and

The preconceived European ideas about the African natives were unjust and unsubstantiated. The missionaries viewed the Africans as savages and that everything that they did was evil. Missionaries that were sent to spread the view of Christianity would have to change their beliefs and their social interactions to save them from the

Religion can both guide and destroy a society. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, this is the case with Christianity, that the white men promote to the people of Umuofia. Specifically, Christianity leads the society when it inspires people and reignites hope into their lives, but destroys the Umuofian society when the white men have disagreement with the clan men, and the tensions between the two groups is high. The promotion of Christianity, by the white men, caused various moments that resulted in Christianity leading the society.