1 Phd Student Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST), Kenya
2 Senior Lecturer JOOUST, Department of History, Religion and Philosophy
3 Associate Professor JOOUST, Department of Linguistics, Languages and Literature
Abstract
This paper is on a study that was carried out in the year 2017 on an evaluation of how the SDA Christian faithful conceptualize the changing value of chastity in Nyamira County, Kenya. This study was guided by Utilitarian Ethical Theory. The pragmatic paradigm was adopted in the study. The study used mixed methods research approach. These involved integrating the qualitative and the quantitative approaches. Under this design both the qualitative and the quantitative data were collected concurrently, analyzed separately and merged for interpretation of overall results. This study targeted lay members, pastors, clan elders, chiefs, church elders and a market leader drawn from SDA faithful in Nyamira County. Purposeful and stratified random sampling methods were used to select the sample whereby three hundred and eighty five participants were selected for the study. These comprised of 375 lay members, 3 pastors, 2 clan elders, 2 chiefs, 2 church elders and 1 market leader of the SDA Nyamira churches. The research instruments used were lay members’ questionnaires and interview schedule for pastors, clan elders, chiefs, church elders and a market leader. Also FGDs and observations were used in facts collection. Data analysis was done by the use of descriptive statistics whereby frequencies and percentages were calculated using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The result of the study revealed that deviating from what is chaste by the SDA adherents has adversely affected the family with a number of upshots. Such outcomes as discovered in this investigation have destabilized the socioeconomic aspects of the church in particular and the society at large.