Normative change in contemporary religious practice: a case of Africa inland and catholic churches in Morogoro municipality
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Date
2006
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Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
The changes of norms in our contemporary church practice have been subjected to social
changes which lead to loose spiritual conduct in and out of our churches. Based on the
church profile this was merely caused by the earliest split of the church from Roman
Catholic to Protestant churches, the consequences then to a major normative change that
was to come. The rituals have changed overtime for different denominations and at
different speeds. However no research has been undertaken to examine the change in
Morogoro Municipality. This study was conducted in Morogoro Municipality in 2006 to
determine the change of norms in our churches. It specifically focused on examining the
nature of normative changes in religious practices by identifying norms that guide religious
practices, establishing how and why these norms have changed over time and to compare
the nature and sources of this change between conservative Roman Catholic and liberal
Africa Inland Churches. The study employed a stratified sample of 40 respondents from
each church to make SO respondents. Stratified random sample structured questionnaires
were used to gather information from selected churches. Focus group discussion (FGDs)
was used to gather information on normative values. The Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) of the computer programme was used to analyze data generated by
questionnaire. These data from two denominations surveyed were analyzed descriptively
and presented in a form of means, frequencies and percentages to show the relationships
between independent and dependent variables. The results showed that there were great
changes in respect to church norms, thus norms have generally been manipulated to suit
interests of persons or particular groups.
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Contemporary religious practice, Africa inland, Catholic churches, Morogoro municipality