“Unmasking” the Authenticity of the Values of Communality Post the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nomiya Church- Eastleigh

Abstract

In Nomiya Church, African values of commuality were refined and reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. The advent and subsequent growth of the internet prompted computer-mediated communication in all spheres of humanlife, including religion, where religious rituals and behaviors were transferred and practiced online. This paper unpacks the move from physical church to online church and how that redefined African values in religious practices and worship, especially in an African-instituted church, Nomiya Church Eastleigh. Nomiya is the first independent church in Kenya. The paper utilizes African Communalism theory to make sense of the shifts and postures in African value systems. African communalism theory upholds togetherness and the common good while exhibiting the values of justice, care, and mutual existence. The study found that African communality values are authentically meaningful in physical church gatherings, with virtual spaces acting as fitting substitutes in times of turmoil. Physical presence drives activeness in forming collective identity, an enhanced sense of belonging and interrelational solidarity, enhanced by language exemplified with values. African communality is thus not an inborn static philosophy/trait common to all Africans. However, it is a salient and transient value and framework of ethical decision making worth cultivating for the common good of all.