| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of cultural practices of
marriage traditions and the impact that these traditions may have on Christian marriage
among the members of Mityana Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church in Uganda. This
study was embarked upon because marriage is one of the foundations of the church and
society. Therefore, if marriage is not built on strong foundations, the individual, church,
and society may suffer. Mityana SDA Church is primarily made up of three tribal
groups—the Baganda, Banyarwanda, and the Bakonzo. While there are other small tribes
in the church, these three major tribes have distinct cultural marriage traditions and are
the focus of this study.
The researcher used a set of questionnaires to collect quantitative data related to
the marital status and perspectives toward marriage among Mityana members. It was found that of the 500 Mityana Church members, 39.4% (197) were married. Of that
group, 42.1% (83) of respondents were in marriages that they described as having been
approved by the Church, and 57.8% (114) were in marriages that they described as not
approved by the Church. Respondents in all age groups expressed that they had
challenges with marriage and how to live within Christian standards. Additionally,
respondents indicated that following the biblical teachings on marriage was a challenge
due to their tribal cultural marriage traditions; that they desired to more closely follow the
biblical standards for marriage as practiced by the SDA Church; and that they wanted to
learn ways to improve their marriage.
In order to promote a positive impact and assessment, a seminar program was
conducted in the Mityana Church based on Christian marriage principles. It was designed
to raise awareness among the members. Visitation of married members was done by the
pastor and elders, who received special training for visitation to discuss marriage. At the
end of the training and visitation program, seventeen couples (14.9%) registered to be
married with church approval.
The study concluded that the biblical standard for marriage was desired among
the church members in Mityana. It also showed that adequate education could help
church members to make better decisions for marriage and provide ways for marriages to
be closer to the biblical standard. The study offered recommendations for future study at
the end of the paper. | en_US |
