THE NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
ISSN: 0331-4111
Volume 12, No. 1, (2014)
DOI: 10.36108/NJSA/4102/12(0101)
Pentecostalism, Kinship Networks and the Elderly in Akanran, South-Western Nigeria
Olayinka Akanle1 & Adebola Odunayo Adeogun
Department of Sociology Faculty of the Social Sciences University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
1Corresponding author: yakanle@yahoo.com, yk.akanle@ui.edu.ng
Abstract
This article examined the nexus and trajectories of Pentecostalism, kinship and the elderly in Akanran, Ona-Ara Local government, Oyo State, Nigeria. The article is exploratory and heuristic to better understand a neglected area in gerontology particularly as interface of what we call The Sociology of social construction of evil within African contemporary religious systems. Data collection was undertaken through qualitative methods of non-participant observation, In-depth Interview (IDI), Key Informant Interview (KII) and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Data were content analysed. The article discussed the effects of Pentecostalism on kinship and the implications for the elderly. Generally, it explored the views of community members on Pentecostalism, its manifestations, influence on kinship, the family and the elderly. We examined the Christianity climates in Nigeria and Africa, the contemporary Pentecostal Christianity, the on-going Pentecostal manifestations, kinship networks among Pentecostals and their implications for the elderly. It was found that as variants of Pentecostalism emerge, care and support for the elderly is threatened and kinship networks are stressed in a number of ways.
Keywords: pentecostalism, kinship, elderly, Ona-ara, Nigeria