Things Fall Apart: Christianity vs. Animism

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, presents the result of colonization of the Ibo people by the European missionaries. The Ibo culture is threatened to change by the European influence. Villagers are divided between resisting a new lifestyle or embracing it for better opportunities in society. The struggle to keep Ibo traditions alive is reflected in Okonkwo and Obierika’s relationship to one another. Okonkwo represents the resistance of change by keeping traditional values in high regard while, Obierika signifies the openness to opportunity by questioning the current Ibo values. The arrival of European missionaries persuades the exchange of traditional Ibo methods, customs, and community for Christianity, resulting in the community to fall apart.

Achebe’s text does indeed show how when cultures collide and there is refusal to change, there will be many negative consequences. First, one character, Okonkwo refuses to convert to the new religion of Christianity because the beliefs of Christians contradicted those of the Ibo culture and, as a consequence devastation follows him. Foremost, the Ibo people believed in many different gods and goddesses of the land, so when the white missionaries came to Umuofia and said that “they worshipped false gods”(pg.145), it caused some of the people like Okonkwo distrust them. An example of this is shown where Okonkwo believes very strongly that the white missionary "man was mad" (pg.147) as he told the Ibo people about the Holy Trinity. This is also shown where some of the new converts in Mbanta “boasted openly that all the gods were dead and impotent”(pg.154).

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe discusses two different religions and how both of them affect African tribes. The two religions differ immensely, as one is the native religion Ibo and the other, a new religion brought to Africa, Christianity. While the novel’s main theme of religion prepares the reader to think that Achebe will be suggesting that the Christians are extremely dangerous, later details in the text suggest that Achebe considers the reluctance of the tribe to accept Christianity to be an even more destructive issue.

Of Imperialism, English writer and composer Anthony Burgess once said, “Colonialism. The enforced spread of the rule of reason. But who is going to spread it among the colonizers?”. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe chronicles the life of underdog turned successful clansman Okonkwo, as well as the complexity of the Ibo culture in pre-colonial Africa. With the arrival of British missionaries, Okonkwo’s world crumbles as their cultures clash, and more African people begin to join the church. The Ibo people at first greatly underestimate the power of the colonizers, yet they make a deep and lasting impact on their culture. These missionaries completely change the lives of the Ibo people. Achebe’s main message is to communicate this clash of

Religion is the most sacred thing to a human. It’s the belief and worship of a superhuman controlling power. The soul of a human being is drawn to a religion that speaks to the mind. The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, includes worshipers of the ancient religion of the Igbo. All the civilians in the tribe believe in one supreme god as well as some minor gods. The Igbo people also worship spirits and ancestors, for which some are responsible for the fortune or misfortune of their everyday lives. The Igbo attitude toward their deities and spirits is not one of fear but of friendship. In the novel, Chinua Achebe shows the Igbo beliefs in gods, rituals of spirits and ancestors, and connecting families and communities by worshiping.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a critique of colonization by Christian imperialism through the interactions between the missionaries and natives. In chapter 16, the missionaries try to convince that the natives are worshiping false gods by telling them about their one true god. Some natives are convinced by this to convert but most of the community stays where they are. Achebe uses this chapter to enforce how the missionaries are trying to destroy their culture. To Achebe the culture is more important than a man so he stresses this interaction because for Achebe, it's the beginning of the destruction of native Ibo culture. In chapter 23 Achebe writes about the district commissioner imprisoning the Umuofia leaders and threatening

He claims that primitive and savage societies have an animistic view of the universe, where all objects in the universe possess a spiritual soul which animates them, and that ultimately the universe is also animated by a greater spiritual being. Freud believes that only savages believe in animism and its way to interpret events in the world around them, instead of the more socialized ways of interpreting the world such as, religion and science. Animism, religion, and science, make up the three stages in human intellectual development, based on their interpretations of how the world works.

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, there is a theme of religion present and these religions are viewed very differently. The religions I am alluding to are christianity and the ibo religion. These religions are very differently, and can be interpreted differently by opposing religious parties. In the novel Okonkwo a member of Umuofia clan which follows their religion blindly without question, however throughout the story Okonkwo is faced with many issues caused by his religion values and develops conflicts with christian values as well. Throughout this paper, I will talk a bit about the role of religion in Okonkwo's life and how it affected his life, I will conclude by discussing the differences

Animism is the belief that animals, plants, rivers, mountains, and other entities in nature contain an inner spiritual essence. Animism has many forms, which reflect the geographical environment, the religious or spiritual cultural history, and the distinct worldview of the people groups who practice its various expressions. It is found in expressions of shamanism and neo-paganism, as well as other spiritualities (more below).

Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” chronicles the life of Okonkwo, a strong man whose existence is dominated by fear and anger, and the Ibo tribe, a people deeply rooted in cultural belief and tradition. As events unfold, Okonkwo’s carefully constructed world and the Ibo way of life collapses. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected and feared leader of the Ibo tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace dramatizes his inability to evolve beyond his personal beliefs, affecting the entire Ibo tribe beyond measure. The “things” that fall apart in Achebe’s novel are Okonkwo’s life – his ambition, dreams, family unity and material wealth – and the Ibo way of life – their beliefs, culture and values.

Everyone all over the world is affected by religion. In 1958 Chinua Achebe wrote the novel Things Fall Apart. The novel took place in the Ibo village of Umofia, where the actions of the people were based on their animistic beliefs. When some Christian missionaries bring their religion to Umofia, nihilism occurs. This event causes Okonkwo, a great “hero” in Umofia, to make detrimental decisions throughout the novel.

The disintegration of Igbo society and culture is the central to Chinua Achebe’s novel- ‘Things Fall Apart’ and Okonkwo’s family is one of the first victims. As the christian missionaries started persuading people to join their god instead of gods made out of wood and stone, “Okonkwo’s latter son, Nwoye, was among the missionaries in Umuofia.” (p.119) As the missionaries came in, Nwoye decided to heal his parched soul by converting to christianity. This angered Okonkwo because it made him look weak and he hence disowned Nwoye, making things fall apart between them. But, Okonkwo wasn’t the only person for whom things weren’t going that well, traditional Igbo cultures were also threatened by the existence of the foreigners. Traditional Igbo practises

The book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe has many important sociological perspectives. Many of the characters in the book play important roles in order to create a society. Towards the end of the book, the “white men” begin to move into the village, bringing the religion of Christianity with them. Although the villagers have a current religion that believes in multiple gods, the white men begin to convince people to convert. This in result causes uproar in the village because some members convert, while others push the white men away and decide to be faithful to their current religion.

When religion is shown in this book, it is shown through the many gods that the African tribes praise. They make sacrifices to their gods to show loyalty and to receive a good year for the crops to grow. Ezeani a priest in the village tells Okonkwo “We live in peace with our fellows to honor our great goddess of the earth without whose blessing our crops will not grow” (Achebe 30). Ezeani tells Okonkwo this after he beats his wife during the week of peace. He is forced to make a sacrifice to show the god of the earth his respect. This passage shows how the people of this village and culture turn to their gods to give them good crops. They turn to religion to help them in times of adversity and hardship. The main reason for religion in this African culture is to give them good crops and good life. Another example of the village making a sacrifice to help with adversity is during the feast of the new yam. New yams could not be eaten until some had first been offered to these powers known as their gods. These people of the African villages in this book turn to religion to help them through times of adversity such as a drought or a bad growing season. Adversity is different for all and they ways people use religion to get past it change as well. This is shown greatly throughout the novel Things Fall Apart, and it goes to support my thesis on the best way to face adversity is through religion.

In our globalized world we live in today, people are getting more and more connected in all aspects of life. The internet enables us to exchange thoughts and ideas with people from different continents. From a Christian point of view, this globalization process also brings different religions closer together. The issue we are discussing in class is how Christianity interacts with other religions. On the following pages, I will take a closer look at Christianity and their encounter with Animism, Hinduism and Buddhism. By examining the following questions, one should have a better idea how these religions are really defined: Who or what is God, how does life after death look like, and how do these religions define evil?