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NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COURSE CODE: CTH 842 COURSE TITLE: RELIGION, POWER AND POLITICS IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN SOCIETY 1 Course Code: CTH 842 Course Title: Religion, Power and Politics in Contemporary Nigerian Society Course Developer: Rev. Fr. Dr. Michael .N. Ushe Department of Christian Theology School of Arts and Social Sciences National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos Course Writer: Rev. Fr. Dr. Michael .N. Ushe Department of Christian Theology School of Arts and Social Sciences National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos Programme Leader: Rev. Fr. Dr. Michael .N. Ushe Department of Christian Theology School of Arts and Social Sciences National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos 2 Course Title: CTH 842 RELIGION, POWER AND POLITICS IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN SOCIETY COURSE DEVELOPER/WRITER: Rev. Fr. Dr. Ushe .N. Michael National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos PROGRAMME LEADER: Rev. Fr. Dr. Ushe .N. Michael National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos 3 4 Contents Pages Introduction ……………………………………………….……………………….....................i-ii What you will learn in this course …………………………………………………......................ii Course Aims …………………………………………………………………………………...ii-iii Course Objectives …………………………………………………………….…………...….iii-iv Working through the Course ………………………………………………….........................ii-iii Course Materials ………………………………………………………………………………iv-v Study Units …………………………………………………………………………………….iii-v Set Textbooks…………………………………………………………………….………...…..v-vi Assignment File……………………………………………………………………………..…...vii Assessment…………………………………………………………………………………..…..vii Tutor Marked Assignments …………………………………......................................................vii Final Examination and Grading ……………………………………………………………...…viii Course Marking Scheme ………………….…………………………………………………....viii Course Overview …………………………………………….................................................viii-ix How to get the most from this course ……………………….....................................................ix-x Tutors and Tutorials ………………………………………………………….………………..x-xi Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………xii 5 Introduction CTH 842: Religion, Power and Politics in Contemporary Nigerian Society is a one semester, three credit foundation level course. It will be available to all students to take towards the core module of a certificate in Christian Theology. This course is suitable for any foundation level student in the School of Arts and Social Sciences. The course which consists of twenty-one study units which examines the concept of religion, Islam, theories and perspectives of religion, major religions in Nigeria, new Religious Movements, religion and Nigerian Society, theories on functions of religion in Nigerian society, forms of religious organizations, religion and culture, religion and secularization, religion and politics, religion and science, religion and stratification and religion and democracy. Others include: the concept of politics, the nature and scope of politics, the development of politics, colonialism and nationalism, contending explanatory models of instability, neo- colonialism and Nigerian economy, religious politics in Nigeria and state politics and citizenship. The course guide tells you briefly what the course is about, what you are expected to know in each unit, what course materials you will be using and how you can work your way through these materials. It emphasizes the need for tutor-marked assignments. Detailed information on tutor- marked assignments is found in the separate file, which will be sent to you later. There are periodic tutorial classes that are linked to the course. What you will learn in this course The overall aim of CTH 842: Religion, Power and Politics in Contemporary Nigerian Society is to introduce you to the concept of religion, Islam, theories and perspectives of religion, major religions in Nigeria, new Religious Movements, religion and Nigerian Society, theories on functions of religion in Nigerian society, the concept of power, sources of power, religious leadership, political leadership and social change, religion and politics, religion and stratification and religion and democracy. 6 Others include: the concept of politics, the nature and scope of politics, the development of politics, colonialism and nationalism, contending explanatory models of instability, neo- colonialism and Nigerian economy, religious politics in Nigeria and state politics and citizenship. The material has been developed for the African and Nigerian context. The course guide tells you briefly what the course is about, what you are expected to know in each unit, what course materials you will be using and how you can work your way through these materials. It emphasizes the need for tutor-marked assignments. Detailed information on tutor- marked assignments is found in the separate file, which will be sent to you later. There are periodic tutorial classes that are linked to the course. Course Aims The aim of the course can be summarized as follows: this course aims at introducing you to the concept of religion, Islam, theories and perspectives of religion, major religions in Nigeria, new Religious Movements, religion and Nigerian Society, theories on functions of religion in Nigerian society, the concept of power, sources of power, religious leadership, political leadership and social change, religion and politics, religion and stratification and religion and democracy. The concept of politics, the nature and scope of politics, the development of politics, colonialism and nationalism, contending explanatory models of instability, neo-colonialism and Nigerian economy, religious politics in Nigeria and state politics and citizenship. Course Objectives To achieve the aims set above, there are set overall objectives. In addition, each unit also has specific objectives. The unit objects are always included at the beginning of a unit; you should read them before you start working through the unit. You may want to refer to them during your study of the unit to check on your progress. You should always look at the unit objectives after completing a unit. In this way, definitely, you can be sure that you have done what was required 7 of you by the unit. The wider objectives of this course are stated below. By meeting these objectives, you should definitely know that you have achieved the aims of the course as a whole. On successful completion of the course, you should be able to: Define religion with reference to its sociological, theological, psychological, phenomenological, anthropological, and philosophical definitions. Does religion have any function(s) in human society? Explain. What is African traditional religion? What are the sources for African traditional religion? What is Sharia? Discuss the sources division and the importance of Sharia in the Muslim Community. The five pillars of Islam are the essential ingredient of faith in Islam-Discuss. What is Jihad? Why it is necessary for a Muslim t be involved in jihad? Discuss the theories of the origin of African religious mythology Mention and discuss the different perspectives which scholars have used in analyzing religion. Does citizenship imply duties and responsibilities? Why? Evaluate the practice of citizenship in a concrete political system like Nigeria. Working through this Course To complete this course, you are required to read the study units, and read other materials provided by the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Each unit contains some self- assessment exercises, and at points in the course, you are required to submit assignments for assessment purposes. There is a final examination at the end of this course. The components of the course and what you have to do are stated below. Course Materials Major components of the course are: 8 1. Course Guide 2. Study Units 3. Textbooks 4. Assignment File 5. Presentation Study Units There are three modules and fourteen study units in this course as follows: Module 1 Unit 1: Concept of Religion Unit 2: Islam Unit 3: Theories and Perspectives of Religion Unit 4: Major Religions in Nigeria Unit 5: New Religious Movements Unit 6: Religion and Nigerian Society Unit 7: Theories on Functions of Religion in Nigerian Society Module 2 Unit 1: The Concept of Power Unit 2: Sources of Power Unit 3: Religious Leadership Unit 4: Political Leadership and social Change Unit 5: Religion and Politics, Religion Unit 6: Religion and Stratification Unit 7: Religion and Democracy 9 Module 3 Unit 1: The Concept of Politics Unit 2: The Nature and Scope of Politics Unit 3: The Development of Politics Unit 4: Colonialism and Nationalism Unit 5: Contending Explanatory Models of Instability Unit 6: Neo-Colonialism and Nigerian Economy Unit 7: State Politics and Citizenship Each unit contains a number of self-tests. In general, these self-tests question you on the materials you have just covered or require you to apply it in some ways and, thereby, help you to gauge your progress and to reinforce your understanding of the material. Together with tutor- marked assignments, these exercises will assist you in achieving the stated learning objectives of the individual units and of the course. References / Further Readings Mascionis, J. J. (1999). Sociology. 7th edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Omoregbe, J. I. (1993). A Philosophical Look at Religion. Lagos: J.E.R.P Ahmad (ed) Lancaster: Islamic Foundation. Ginllaume, A (1955). The Life of Muhammad Oxford University Press Hughes, Thomas P. (1988). Dictionary