Factors Responsible for the occurrence of Themes of Illness and Healing in Selected Nigerian Gospel Songs

Abstract

Themes of illness and healing occur in the Nigerian gospel songs reflecting the gospel musician's concept and perception of illness and healing. The factors that generate these themes range from the musician's personal experience to social, economic, spiritual, and political. some of these factors are obvious in the song renditions and some can be inferred through a careful analysis of the song texts and context of the renditions. through participant-observation and analytical methods, foregrounding the research in Reflexivity Social Theory, this paper examines the concept of illness and healing and discusses the factors responsible for the occurence of these themes in selected Nigerian gospel songs.