Communication in Religion and Its Integrative Implications for Society

Abstract

Looking at religion from the lens of social theory system, one cannot but, postulate that religion is an expression of the relationship that exists between human beings and the divine. This religious expression by individuals accumulates into plethora of communication within a given society. This paper is solely concerned with communication in religion and religious communication and how they play integrative role in the social cohesion of human society. Methods adopted to achieve the above task are the phenomenological and evaluative methods with support of secondary sources. The research reveals that communication in religion and religious communication are strong and essential agents of social change in any human society; and that, they have also enhanced the lives of individuals in terms of social, moral, mental, spiritual, economic and cultural well-being. The paper concludes that the communicative power of religion should not be underrated by individuals, society and government. And that religion should be used to communicate effectively and positively for the integration and development of modern society.

Moral Assessment of Violations of Marital Vows Among Christian Couples In Urhoboland

“…When parties object to having sex, it is a violation of the marital oath. According to Ottuh and Jemegbe (2020) and Emina (2022), communication integrates human beings into their environment and brings about peaceful coexistence. Thus, when communication is absent among couples, they are bound to fall apart and have their marriage vows violated.…”

Islamic Missiology: The Rise of ‘Procreative Jihad’ and Islamophobia in Nigeria

“…Non-Muslims have to stay in an enclave and lead essentially segregated lifestyles in order to assimilate completely into northern society. On the other hand, accepting Islam opens the path to complete social integration, which according to Ottuh and Jemegbe (2020), is one of the positive functions of religion. People in the middle belt are more likely to convert to Islam, especially those with business or political ambitions.…”

Communication Barriers and Process of Feedback in Social Interactions

“…Whereas there is a need to understand the nature of feedback which can be of any condition as many nonverbal messages are susceptible to multiple interpretations" (Islam, Kirillova, 2020). There arise barriers in the communication process when language problems or jargon cause ambiguity and sometimes delay and lazy transfer of information result in frustration and loss of speakers' interest to continue (Ramlan et al, 2018). Sometimes there is fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication among people from different groups, especially cultural and ethnic groups" (King et al, 2013).…”

“…Ottuh, M.O. Jemegbe (Ottuh, Jemegbe, 2021) that "religious fundamentalism" implies that the religious bigots hold a particular truth; wherein there is no scope for dialogue. Communication is considered one of the critical social phenomena that impact the growth of public relations and dynamically help in the process of opinion-making (Kühne, Schemer, 2015).…”