Illness and Healing in Gospel Music in Southwestern Nigeria

This book discusses the concepts of illness and healing and also identifies factors responsible for the regular occurrence of the themes of illness and healing in the Nigerian gospel music recordings. The book further assess the relevance of the gospel musicians' perception of illness and healing to contemporary Nigerian socio-economic and political realities with a view to understanding the concepts and representations of illness and healing in Nigerian gospel music. Adopting the contextual, cultural-hermeneutical, musicological and discographical approaches, this book reveals that gospel musicians in Southwestern Nigeria which is representative of the whole country perceives illness not only as a state of physical disorder but also as any form of social disorder, dysfunction, failure or limitation. The prevailing socio-economic upheaval in Nigeria continues to make gospel music socially relevant as Nigerian music has not only become a tool for social commentary, but also helps to create an agenda for the perceived social reconstruction. This book is a study in Sociology of Religion; and relevant for students in the fields of sociology, music, history and religion.