An Evaluation of Catholic Diocese of Bomadi Bayelsa State, and Community Development

Religious groups traditionally have played a major role in shaping communities. In modern civil societies, religious beliefs are still among the key factors that bond people together to form communities, both large and small. In other words, the church is often regarded as an institution itself, and this attitude is frequently passed onto the social institutions that the church creates and maintains. In many societies the church has a special place among the state’s institutional partners, as a key provider of a long range of social services. As such, the role of Christian churches in fighting poverty through development activities cannot be overlooked. Churches have come of age and collaborate with different organizations to improve the well-being of communities around their vicinity through social and economic community development programs. However, with the advancement of the welfare state, the continuing secularization of modern societies and the further separation between church and state, the institutional role of the church decreases. This study examines the history of Catholic Diocese of Bomadias well as its contribution to community development in Bayelsa state. The study employs the descriptive method. The study discovered that the contribution of Catholic Diocese of Bomadito community development could be seen in the establishment of hospitals, and sustained schools, provision food and shelter for the less fortunate and cared for the oppressed and the abandoned, it also manifests infamily life, community empowerment and livelihood. of great concern however, is how sustainable these development activities are. The study therefore, calls on Christian church to seek more collaboration with other faith based organizations in community development activities.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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The datasets used in this study are openly available at [repository link] and the source code is available on GitHub at [GitHub link].