Exploring the concept of social change in the thought of Ibn Khaldun

Abstract

The concept of social change could be considered an ever-constant phenomenon in human society. This is because virtually nothing has ever remained static since the advent of man and his society. Thus, issues surrounding social change have occupied the mind of scholars for many centuries. Consequently, its applicability to social life issues has gained prominence among authors across cultures. In spite of this, however, it appears the contribution of Ibn Khaldun to social change as it relates to Christian religion has not been adequately addressed in academic and the Christian literature, mostly from tertiary institutions in Africa. This inadequacy may have prevented the enrichment of the literature on social change and the Christian religion. The present article intends to address this flaw in knowledge. It tries to compare the ideas of Western scholars on social change with that of Ibn Khaldun and highlighted similarities and differences which could be used to corroborate or negate the existing literature and further research. Data from a secondary source was used in this article while content analysis served as the methodology. Further to that, the article analyzed areas of food for thought in the change that occurred in the Christian religion, using the West and Africa as a point of reference The article in its concluding remarks argued that Africans may be in control of Christian religion currently, but the likelihood of losing it in the nearest future could be very bright, judging from the escalation of corruption in the faith which Ibn Khaldun argues is usually responsible for a decay of every civilised region. The escalation of corruption has been responsible for the underdevelopment of the continent and needs to be dealt with to advance the continent.