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The study, being a qualitative research, employs insights from the social-scientific method to the study of religion, considering that religions operate in society. This method is also called sociological criticism; it emerged in the early 70s and was pioneered by scholars such as the sociologist, Max Weber (1864-1920), historian Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923) and biblical scholar

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William Robertson Smith (1864-1924). The social-scientific method is broad and includes an assortment of other fields of study for example, history, anthropology, archaeology, psychology and sociology. The method analyses the social aspects of a community as well as its ideological and social dimensions. The social-scientific approach attempts to explore the original social and cultural settings of the phenomenon under study in this case the Varemba circumcision and initiation ritual.

John Elliott (1993) a Professor of Religious Studies applied the Social scientific method to the study of Biblical texts. According to Elliot, this method studies the social aspects of the form, content, the conditioning factors and the intended purpose of communication. It also studies the correlation of the text’s linguistic, literary, ideological and social dimensions. Lastly, Elliot notes that the method studies the manner in which this textual communication is both a reflection of and a response to a specific social and cultural context. The implication is how it was designed to serve as an effective vehicle of social interaction and an instrument of social, literary, and theological consequence. All these are aspects of the social scientific method which complement other methods of study. Its strength lies in the appreciation of the correlation between the different factors.

4.2.1.1 Rationale for Using the Social Scientific Method

Religions express themselves in a socio-cultural context as it involves a group of people who are engaged in some type of collective action and who are related to one another in various ways such as organizations, institutions and values (Elliot, 1993). The social-scientific approach presupposes an analysis of the social and cultural dimension of ritual and its environmental context as well as how these interrelate. The method could assist in demonstrating the correlation between belief, behaviour and notions on the Varemba ritual of circumcision and initiation.

Social scientific theories provide empirical frameworks of evidence, which this research could use to study and interpret the Varemba circumcision and initiation ritual.

The approaches also provide a platform for an exegetical analysis of the social-cultural dimension of the phenomena in their environmental context, the intended purpose, consequences and its effectiveness as a vehicle of social communication (Elliot, 1993). This research employs the method to understand the structure of the ritual and its ideological meaning and how the

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Varemba use the ritual as a vehicle to communicate the norms and values of the society. The social scientific method helps in comprehending the social dimensions of human experience (Elliot, 1993). This means that the study of the initiation ritual provides a possibility of understanding the value ascribed to the ritual by the society practicing it. For Elliot (1993) the social scientific method is a component of the historical critical method. This implies that studying the historical background of the ritual and the society practicing it may uncover useful information from time immemorial regarding the ideology of the initiation ritual which in turn will provide valuable information that could be utilised in this study.

Wayne Meeks, one of the contributors to the social-scientific method, in his book, The Social World of the First Christians, discourses on the morals, ethics, culture related to the early church and other religious activities (Esler, 1994). This research also supports the same notion of probing the morality, ethics and cultural issues related to the Varemba initiation ritual. The research extends to include the Jewish and Islamic history behind the Varemba initiation ritual in order to determine its original use and function in the early societies for a clearer understanding of the phenomenon. This research demonstrates how the beliefs, behaviour, ideas, material conditions, religious symbols and social relations surrounding the ritual of initiation generate new perspective, which Elliot refers to as pivotal values (Esler, 1994). These are cultural values which include concepts of honour and shame entrenched in males and females respectively:

dyadic rather than individual personality, perception of ‘limited good’, kinship and marriage structures, and the controlling codes of purity and pollution and how these are implied and expressed in the Varemba initiation and their relevance to the issues of HIV and AIDS.

4.2.1.2 Strengths and Limitations of the Social Scientific Method

The social scientific method is multifaceted; it consists of many domains that are useful in the understanding of the Varemba initiation ritual. This research explores cultural anthropology, a tool in the domain of social-scientific method. As a social science, it studies human societies and their social systems comparatively. It delves into cross-cultural comparative studies to show how certain cultures are different from others. In this case, the social scientific method helps us to understand how the culture of the Varemba people differs from other cultures. The central concern of anthropology is human behaviour, viewed from a critical perspective.

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The Social scientific method uses disciplines from other domains like psychology and sociology.

According to Theissen (1987), psychological exegesis seeks to describe and explain human behaviour and experience in a given social context, which is relevant to this study. Sociology describes typical social attitudes and behaviour towards the circumcision and initiation ritual. It also analyses how typical behaviour is attributed to society and considers behavioural patterns determined by society. The social-scientific method questions the practice of the circumcision and initiation ritual whilst seeking answers within the social structure.

However, the social scientific method was criticised for its overemphasis on the study of society at the expense of the divine, which is useful in this study to understand how and why people behave in a certain manner. Furthermore, the approach has a tendency of putting phenomena in historical contexts and views them in retrospect. Nevertheless, the social-scientific approach is useful in the study of the Varemba circumcision and initiation ritual. It helps to show the perceptions of the society practicing it and the value they ascribe to this rite as tool for moulding the personalities and behaviour of the initiates.