Ethnocentrism a Challenge to Evangelization in the World: Meaning and Implications to Religion

Ethnology is the scientific study of the origin and functioning of humans and their cultures. As a human universal reality, ethnocentrism is said to be more pronounced in modern nations than in pre-literature tribes. People in developed countries of Europe and America tend to despise other nations and their customs terming them as queer and foolish just because they are different from their own. The western church has not been spared from prejudices and biases about African religion as revealed by missionaries attitudes. It is believed that ethnocentrism is a major cause of problems in the world and the developing nations. Ethnic difference should never cause ethnic conflicts, genocide or ethnic cleansing. On the contrary ethnicity should be viewed as a gift of God meant for mutual enrichment. No one has had a choice on where to be born. Classifications of peoples have been ideologically created, in which other peoples' right to life was denied them simply because they were looked upon as different. Therefore, cases of ethnic cleansing and genocide emerge from situations that support the attitude of US and THEM. This book is good to all ethnic communities in the world. A must read.