Religion and Politics in a Mediated Society: Critical Analyses and Spheres of Interinfluence in Nigeria and Beyond edited by Bellarmine A. Ezumah, Charles A. Ebelebe, and Olunifesi A. Suraj contextualizes the hegemonic relationship of religion and politics in Nigeria and beyond as well as the role media plays as the vehicle which distributes, imbibes meaning, and shapes the interpretation of religion and politics. The dynamics of religion and religious practices are examined using various communication theories and paradigms to extrapolate how religion is designed, packaged, disseminated, and interpreted among Nigerians. Contributors trace the evolution and development of this problem to colonialism. Other causal factors are explored and solutions to this social and cultural menace are proposed. The contributorsmeasure the impact of religious media messages from three perspectives: the impact of the messages themselves; the impact of the medium used in transmitting the message as in the McLuhan philosophy, “the medium is the message”; and the impact from the power of the source – the religious or political leaders (Opinion Leader) who exert influence on opinion followers. In this book, the contributors examine how religion is considered a propagandistic venture whereby capitalism and monetary gain are the norms, and this minimizes, and in some cases, thwarts the core religious values and traditional teachings and methods of worship. Ultimately, they recommend media literacy as a tool and skill to ameliorate the negative impact of political and religious misinformation disseminated via the media.

In Africa and the New Face of Mission, Ebelebe argues that the mission theory and practice of the Irish Spiritans in Igboland (1905-1970) was forged in the socio-political and faith environment of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Ireland; an environment that produced a Church that was sacramentized, devotional, conservative, and clerical. It was this Church that the Irish Spiritans took to Igboland, and the Church that has largely endured there until now. The author considers this regrettable and calls for inculturation as the only way forward. He highlights the significant contribution of the Igbo Catholic Church to the growing pool of missionaries from the South and argues that for this Church to be truly Igbo, it must be selective in what it reclaims from its Irish Heritage and must draw from the resources of Igbo traditional culture and religion. In this way, the Church can better equip its growing number of missionaries to other nations.