Degree Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2004
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Human Development and Family Studies
First Advisor
Ron Werner-Wilson
Second Advisor
Harvey Joanning
Abstract
Research on African Christian marriage and family life has lacked a critical focus on the experience and meaning of marriage between husbands and wives as couples. The intention of this phenomenological investigation is to enrich the international family therapy field's understanding of the complexity and wider ecology (economic, religious, historical, feminist, educational) of African marriage and family life, specifically in the Christian population. Research took place at Makumira University College in Tanzania, a seminary of the Tumaini University system of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, interviewing students, faculty and their spouses in a variety of formats (couple, individual, and focus group interviews). Economic and educational changes and above all religious beliefs were detailed as powerful mechanisms for ordering and re-ordering of local ethnic traditions as well as respondents' self-understanding as wives and husbands and gender relations. Cultural practices such as parental choice of spouse, bridewealth customs, domestic abuse of women, and the legitimization of marriage through child-bearing are all undergoing transformation and in some cases rejection. The meaning of marriage as a relationship or "union in one flesh" between a husband and wife is taking priority over the expectations and obligations to the extended family, though duties and responsibilities to the wider family are still considered very important. Finally, this study identifies the feasibility and cultural relevancy of carrying out a marriage enrichment program tailored for Makumira University couples, with the intention of piloting such a program for use by Lutheran church leaders in the wider Tanzanian church.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-9876
Publisher
Digital Repository @ Iowa State University, http://lib.dr.iastate.edu
Copyright Owner
Wayne L. Nieminen
Copyright Date
2004
Language
en
Proquest ID
AAI3158361
File Format
application/pdf
File Size
255 pages
Recommended Citation
Nieminen, Wayne L., "The meaning, experience and ecology of African Christian marriages and familial relationships: a phenomenological study at Makumira University College, Tanzania " (2004). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 1187.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/1187
