ABSTRACT
Kenya is endowed with a rich diversity of people groups and cultures. This diversity, expressed in cultural and religious beliefs, music, art, celebrations, languages, values, and colours, has, unfortunately, been one of the causes of distrust, hostility, prejudice, and rivalry among the various ethnic communities. Broadly defined, ethnocentrism is “the tendency of every person to believe that their own cultural values and traditions are superior to those of other cultures.” This chapter attempts to address this problem in major areas: the potency of ethnocentrism in Kenya, the roots of ethnocentrism in Kenya, ethnocentrism and politics in Kenya, and the church and ethnocentrism in Kenya. The failure of the church to live above it has intensified the problem. The church is guilty of fostering ethnic animosity both by her failure to live beyond ethnic divisions corporately and by the support of political and ecclesial leaders on ethnic grounds.
