EUROCENTRIC INDIVIDUALISM AND THE EROSION OF AFRICAN EXTENDED FAMILY BONDS: A THEOLOGICAL AND EXEGETICAL CRITIQUE

Abstract

The African extended family once represented the nucleus of communal identity, moral formation, and social support. Kinship ties created networks of belonging in which every individual was accountable to the other. However, the infiltration of Eurocentric individualism, reinforced by missionary Christianity and global modernity, has significantly eroded these bonds. In contemporary African societies, especially among urban populations, the nuclear family has replaced the extended household, while Christian theology has often adopted Western categories that prioritize personal salvation and private spirituality over communal responsibility. This paper undertakes a theological and exegetical critique of this phenomenon. Through a close reading of selected biblical texts—Genesis 4:9 (“Am I my brother’s keeper?”), Acts 2:42–47, and Galatians 6:2—this study argues that Scripture itself upholds communal ethics that resonate deeply with traditional African kinship values. By juxtaposing Eurocentric theological individualism with the biblical notion of koinonia (fellowship) and African communitarian anthropology, the paper demonstrates that authentic Christian life is inherently relational. The study calls for a contextual theological renewal that reclaims the African sense of family, hospitality, and collective responsibility as essential dimensions of the Christian faith. It concludes that the recovery of extended family consciousness within African Christianity is not a regression to the past, but a rediscovery of biblical relationality and ecclesial identity rooted in the triune God.