CHRISTIANITY AND INDIGENOUS RELIGION: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON POVERTY, CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP IN ZANGON-KATAF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examines the intersection of religious worldviews, poverty alleviation strategies, cultural practices, and environmental management in Zangon-Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria, utilizing Stan Burkey’s (1993) participatory development framework from “People First: A Guide to Self-Reliant Participatory Rural Development.” The research explores how Christianity and traditional African religion shape community-driven approaches to economic empowerment and environmental sustainability, analyzing the theological and cosmological foundations that inform each tradition’s understanding of poverty, wealth, human-nature relationships, and collective agency. Burkey’s emphasis on people-centered development, self-reliance, and participatory processes provides a theoretical lens for examining how religious communities mobilize internal resources and indigenous knowledge to drive sustainable transformation. Through comparative ethnographic analysis employing semi-structured interviews with Christian leaders, indigenous religious practitioners, and community members, alongside focus group discussions and participant observation, the study reveals significant divergences and convergences between Christian and indigenous perspectives on resource management and communal welfare. Findings indicate that Christianity emphasizes stewardship theology and individual transformation within collective frameworks, while indigenous religious systems prioritize ancestral obligations, communal harmony, and sacred ecological relationships. The research demonstrates how religious syncretism in Zangon-Kataf has produced hybrid participatory practices that blend biblical principles with traditional ecological knowledge, creating locally-owned models for sustainable development. This study contributes to African development discourse by illustrating how Burkey’s participatory approach aligns with indigenous and Christian values, offering practical implications for faith-based development interventions that prioritize community empowerment over external dependency in religiously plural contexts.