THE SOCIO-RELIGIOUS IMPACT OF SINGLE PARENTHOOD ON CHILDREN IN TIV SOCIETY OF BENUE STATE

Abstract

A preliminary investigation shows that the incidence of single parenthood in Benue State is estimated to be higher than the national average, with many single mothers struggling to raise their children without the support of a partner. This rising trend of single parenthood has farreaching social and religious impacts for the Tiv people of Benue State. This paper therefore
examines the socio-religious impact of single parenthood on the Tiv of Benue State. The paper adopted a qualitative research design. Data was obtained from secondary sources such as books, research documents, and the internet. Descriptive and analytical methods were used for appraisal. The descriptive method describes the phenomenon of single parenthood, while the analytical method examines the various socio-religious impacts of single parenthood among the Tiv of Benue State. Findings revealed that single parenthood has social and religious implications. Socially, single parenthood denies parents the social orientation of their children
due to the inability of some parents to impart social skills to their children. It also denies the needed educational, psychological, and economic values to be imparted to the children. Religiously, a single parent denies most parents the opportunity to impart moral and religious values into children. The study recommends, among other things, that single parents should strive to live up to their responsibilities through good moral upbringing of children in order to have good moral values in society, churches, and religious bodies should exhort their members through sermons to live moral lifestyles as Christians and also help in inculcating moral values
through various church or religious programs. The government, on its part, should make laws to guide against social insecurity. The society should also work out modalities of sensitization to the public on the implication of single parenting with the aim of dissuading members to avoid all acts that are capable of leading them into single parenting.