Moral re-examination of indecent dressing in the Anglican Church in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper is a moral re-examination of indecent dressing among Christian churches with a specific focus on the Anglican Church in Nigeria (Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion). It explored a variety of indecent dressing that is typical among youths and young women in Anglican churches. As theoretical research, the critical review of literature, historical, descriptive and phenomenological methods were utilized to achieve its aim. The findings revealed that indecent dressing erodes believers' faith, dilutes the church's image and identity, and causes the church to lose its values in the eyes of secular society. The paper concluded that dressing indecently is an affront to the Anglican Church and the Christian church in general; as well as a gross violation of African cultural values and customs. The paper recommended, therefore; that different workable strategies should be explored and employed to curb the menace of indecent dressing in the Anglican Church including encouraging priests, parents, and the church as a whole to teach and educate the youths on positive religious and societal moral values that portray decency.