MASS MEDIA AS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR EVANGELIZATION AND RELIGIOUS UNITY IN NIGERIA

Aboreng Useni James

Wydział Teologiczny, Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie



Abstract

Since religion is of paramount importance to the human person, where there are religious
differences, there are also bound to be essential and overriding disagreements. Today, more than
ever and with uncommon ease, men and women can participate in a worldwide exchange of ideas
and information, having overcome the initial constraints of space and time. Owing to the effectiveness
and tremendous benefits in this information age, with the advancement and the increased availability
of the mass media at the disposal of the modern world, made it most accessible and most
effective means of reaching every man and woman. Therefore, the mass media qualifies in the opinion
of many as the chief means of information, education, and guidance in today’s world.
Experience, however, shows that there is indeed a growing cleavage between theory and practice,
between the overrun rhetoric and the reality as far as the Church’s use of the media for evangelization
is concerned. There is a sense, therefore, in which a constant habit and neglect of the means of
evangelization is alarming, as many tried to draw the attention of the Church to this neglect of the
media with its attendant consequences in the society today. This piece, therefore, intends to express
the effectiveness of the mass media for the Churches evangelization mission as well as religious
unity and ecumenism in Nigeria.


Keywords:

Denominations, Evangelization, Ecumenism, Religion Unity and Mass Media


Asambe J., Evangelization, challenges and prospects for the Church in Nigeria, „Koinonia” vol. 2,
2005, n. 2.
Blum S., The Ministry of Evangelization, Minnesota 1998.
Heam B., Seeds of Unity, Kenya 1976.
Hickey R., Modern Missionary Document and Africa, Dublin 1982.
John Paul II, Encyclical Letter “Redemptoris Missio”, Boston 1998.
John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation “Ecclesia in Africa”, Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1995.
John Paul II, Message for the 33rd World day of Social Communication 1999, in: The Holy See [online], access: 27.03.2018 <www.w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/message/communication>.
Lambert B., Ecumenism, Harder and Harder Publication 1966.
McCabe M., Mission in an Islamic Milieu. A Paper Presentation at the SMA Centenary Symposium on Mission, (unpublished) Jos: October 2006.
Miss World Riots, (Kaduna: 2002), in: Wikipedia [online], access: 22.04.2018, <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Wolrd_riots>.
Ndiokwere N., Inculturation in Practice: The African Church Today and Tomorrow, Enugu, Nigeria 1994.
Nigeria.pdf, in: Aiuto alla Chiesa che Soffre – Onlus [online], access: 24.04.2018, <http://acs-italia.org/wp-content/uploads/Nigeria.pdf>.
Nigerian Population (24.01.2018), in: World Population Review [online], access: 24.01.2018,<http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/nigeria-population>.
Obiora F.K., The Divine Deceit, Nigeria 1998.
Pius XI, Encyclical Letter on the Motion Picture “Vigilanti Cura” (29.06.1936), in: The Holy See[online], access: 27.04.2018, <http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_29061936_vigilanti-cura.html>.
Quinn R.J. et. al., New Evangelization in Africa, Kenya 2005.
Vatican Council II, Decree “Ad Gentes” (7.12.1965), in: Vatican II: Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, Mumbai: St. Pauls 2007.
Vatican Council II, Decree “Inter Mirifica” (4.12.1963), Mumbai: St. Pauls 2007.
Vatican Council II, Decree “Unitatis Redintegratio” (21.11.1964), Mumbai: St. Pauls 2007.
Vatican Council II, Declaration “Nosta Aetate” (28.10.1965), in. The Holy See [online], access: 27.03.2018, <http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html>.
The Telegraph, 100 Killed in Miss World Riot in Nigeria, in. The Telegraph [online], access:24.04.2018, <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1413995/100-killed-in-Miss-World-riots-in-Nigeria.html>.
Download


Published
2018-11-18

Cited by

Useni James, A. (2018). MASS MEDIA AS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR EVANGELIZATION AND RELIGIOUS UNITY IN NIGERIA. Forum Teologiczne, 19, 235–250. Retrieved from https://czasopisma.uwm.edu.pl/index.php/ft/article/view/3114

Aboreng Useni James 
Wydział Teologiczny, Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie