Witchcraft: Static or Changing?: Analysis of the Church’s Understanding and Involvement in Nigeria Today

Witchcraft and superstitious beliefs are incidentally found throughout the history of all the ethnic groups in Nigeria. These beliefs, if not the religions of most Nigerians, were at the heart of their religion. In the pre- Christian era and among those who still practise the beliefs, everything revolves around it and every aspect of life is regulated, explained or connected to them. This paper examines the different approaches, practices and perceptions of witchcraft in Nigeria in order to see whether it has changed or remained static. The paper is divided into three dispensations and they are the pre-Christian, the missionary and post-missionary eras. Special attention is given to the Church’s approaches to witchcraft and superstitious beliefs in the missionary and post missionary eras. The paper looks at the general practices of witchcraft in Africa in order to ascertain the changing attitudes towards it. Reference is made to witchcraft in the history of the Church with a view of comparing what happened then and what is happening now. The missionary era serves as a reference point because when the missionaries came they worked towards stamping out witchcraft and they made Christians to disbelieve and regard witchcraft as superstition. What is happening in the Church today shows that missionaries failed in this project. There is resurgence of witchcraft in the Church today and the Nigerian society. Due to this, the reasons for the resurgence of witchcraft are briefly examined. This paper concludes that witchcraft is a practice that retards the Church and society, it should, therefore, be eliminated.