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A Theological Retrieval Of Communal Parenting As A Moral Response To Baby Stealing And Childlessness In Nigeria, Henry U. Omeike

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

This thesis proposes the practice of communal parenting in the Igbo culture as critical to strengthening the godparent/godchild bond by way of offering a moral response to baby stealing and childlessness in Nigeria. It examines how practices such as spiritual intercession, catastrophic fertility expenditure, extramarital conception, baby stealing, and baby factories are impacting Igbo Christian families. It exposes the Igbo beliefs about marriage and fertility; explores the meaning of Igbo marriage, marital fruitfulness, and progeny, as well as the Igbo tradition of co-parenting and how this practice has responded to childlessness. It highlights how the Igbo society's shift from "co-parenting" …