MIGRATION AS A FACTOR OF URBANIZATION AND ITS IMPACT ON CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE; A STUDY OF SUNYANI WEST IN THE BRONG-AHAFO REGION OF GHANA
FRANCIS OWUSU SARFO *
Department of Religious Studies, Catholic University College of Ghana, P.O.BOX 363, Sunyani, Ghana
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Cross border internal migration by married couples in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana is creating a new international migration flow of marriage migrants in the region. This Paper aims to get a better understanding of how family types, marriage patterns and family formation have changed through time and space as a result of migration which is a major factor of urbanization. Major findings emerging from the research indicated that migration is as much a social process as it is an economic and territorial process. It transforms societal organizations, the role of the family, demography structures, the nature of work and the way we choose to live and with whom. Migration also modifies domestic roles and relations within the family, and redefines concepts of individual and social responsibility. Prominent among the factors that affect spouses as a result of migration include Fertility rates, Families and living arrangements and Links to labour market. The study recognized the specific circumstances under which only monogamous marriages are considered as Christian marriages in the Bible and how the extended and stem families are losing their influence on the nuclear families. The qualitative research method was employed. Personal Interviews, questionnaires, and observation were the tools employed to elicit responses from respondents. The researcher used open-ended and close-ended questions. The close-ended type of questions were adopted to seek definite answers to specific questions the study wanted to uncover; while the open-ended questions were meant to obtain any additional relevant information respondents might have about this study. Hundred (100) questionnaires were distributed among respondents. Apart from the respondents who answered the questionnaires, twenty (20) people were selectively set aside and interviewed. The researcher’s choice for these selected few was based on the fact that, they matter most in this area of study and have the requisite knowledge and expertise in their chosen fields of endeavour. The selection of respondents for the questionnaire was based on random sampling and cluster sampling.
In all this, the researcher assured the respondents of the confidentiality of their views.
The study concluded that migration involves major shifts in the ways People work and live, and offers unprecedented opportunities for the improved standards of living, higher life expectancy and higher literacy levels, as well as better environmental sustainability and a more efficient use of increasingly scarce natural resources. It is worthy to note that Marriage is shown to be part and parcel of God’s overarching salvation-historical purpose of bringing all things together under one head, even Christ. The lesson to be drawn from this is that marriage in Christian teaching, rather than being an end in itself, is to be subsumed under Christ’s rule.
The marriage relationship should also be viewed in the context of Christian witness in an unbelieving environment, both directly by the husband’s and the wife’s living out God’s purposes for the Christian couple, and indirectly by being part of a biblical church that actively propagates the gospel message. In the light of the above discussions, it is worthy to note that the appreciation of these factors of urbanization by married couples is inevitable in so far as the maintenance and sustenance of the marriage is concerned.
Keywords: Migration, nuclear family, urban, rural, marriage, urbanization