Religion's Influence on Society: Analyzing 'Things Fall Apart'

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Civilizations base their rules off of widely accepted morals and traditions. These morals and traditions tend to come from a religion that most if not all the people follow. This causes religion to be a major factor in how and why different people have different outlooks on how one should live his/her life. However, a new religion that is introduced can have many different effects on the people. Religion shapes how people live their lives and drives their culture. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, religion is the central focus. It develops Okonkwo’s culture and causes conflict later on. In fact, it is the people of Umuofia’s tradition to have a week of peace before they plant the seeds for the next harvest. This is to honor their earth goddess, but Okonkwo breaks this …show more content…

By changing one’s religion, that person tends to lose the culture of his/her people. There is now a disconnect between him/her and his/her family which can cause conflict. The reader can clearly see this happen between Okonkwo and his son Nwoye who converts to the Christian faith. When Okonkwo finds out that Nwoye has been going to the new church, he immediately begins to yell and demands to know where he has been before grabbing a heavy stick and beating him (151-152). Okonkwo does not even consider Nwoye to be his son anymore and completely disowns him. People becoming disconnected from one another is not happening only within families, but also with the entire tribe. Their religion and culture is what held the people together and created bonds between everyone. However, when the some convert to a new belief system and others do not, it creates a rift between the now two different groups of people, “He [Okonkwo] mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart…,” (183). While there are benefits to having missionaries come to a village and bring new ways of thinking, one cannot overlook the negative impacts as

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