Exploring Religious Experience in Nigerian Igbo Indigenous Religious Tradition: Toward a Christianity and Church with an Indigenous Face
Perspectiva Teológica April 30, 2025 Okechukwu Camillus Njoku, Caroline Mbonu
Religious experience, though deeply personal, is shaped by socially acquired beliefs and symbols from one's religious tradition. This article argues that in Igbo society, the indigenous religious tradition's emphasis on spirits and spirit possession has been creatively reworked within prophetic, Charismatic, and Pentecostal Christian movements into experiences of the Holy Spirit, used for healing and community edification. The dominance of spirit phenomena in Igbo indigenous religion thus influences how Christian faith is translated and experienced locally.