PDF Christianity and the African traditional religion(s): The postcolonial African development. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions X0#J++?U;_3_gmx9[F\"{,Um1yu 9 ?ce%9EG`N: &U0EHC$p4=$'=DlX6M_7,--" And in Botswana, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia, the survey finds that 5% or less identify as Muslim. The Pew Forums survey finds a similar number of people in Guinea Bissau identifying themselves as Muslim (38%) but a much higher percentage identifying themselves as Christian (62%) and very few describing themselves mainly as practitioners of traditional African faiths. African spirituality simply acknowledges that beliefs and practices touch on and inform every facet of human life, and therefore African religion cannot be separated from the everyday or mundane.. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. For example, an African amulet might have inside of it a written verse from either the Koran or Christian Bible. The spirituality of Africa - Harvard Gazette Fewer say it is paramount to their faith to attend religious services (39%), avoid sex before marriage (30%) or oppose abortion . But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. For this reason, some African theologians take African religiosity to be one of the sources of theological reflection (besides the Bible, Christian heritage, etc.). This is not an empty coincidence. Important lwa are celebrated on saints days (for example: Ogou on St. Jamess Day, July 25; Ezili Danto on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16; Danbala on St. Patricks Day, March 17; and the spirits of the ancestors on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, November 1 and November 2). They will certainly be overwhelming, and I feel very excited about them. Some of these African diaspora religions include Cuban Regla de Ocha, Haitian Vodou, and Brazilian Candomble. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. African scholars degree at Harvard Divinity School. Current articles and subscription information can be found at www.christiancentury.org. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and . In most of the 19 countries surveyed by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, 90% or more of the respondents say they belong to one of these faiths. In Nigeria, the population in 1900 included 4.2 million Muslims and 180,000 Christians. Y.91sC@o9sJL9@XMw`7\`1%nRjBS %U=a{N>. This is, obviously, a general statement, one which needs detailed elaboration. Oral tradition says the first Muslims appeared while the prophet Mohammed was. I have seen the quest more sharply. ), In addition to expressing high levels of belief in the protective power of sacrificial offerings and sacred objects, upwards of one-in-five people in every country say they believe in the evil eye, or the ability of certain people to cast malevolent curses or spells. Some African diasporans are returning to the continent to reconnect with their ancestral traditions, and they are encouraging and organizing the local African communities to reclaim this heritage. Corrections? The Encounter of Christian Faith and African Religion As the map also shows, the ratio of Christians to Muslims increases the further south one goes in the continent. Yet consider that in 1900 most Africans in sub-Saharan Africa practiced a form of indigenous African religions. I am not a historian, and I have not done careful thinking in this direction. African diaspora religions, also described as Afro-American religions, are a number of related beliefs that developed in the Americas in various nations of the Caribbean, Latin America and the Southern United States. It will keep me chewing for a long time, and it will most certainly feed my theological development. This bitter conflict has led to wanton destruction of lives and property, and this has become a source of great worry to the writers. Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Religious pluralism serves peace | D+C - Development + Cooperation L'interdiction de pratiquer le culte des anctres est l'unique domaine dans lequel la mission chrtienne a triomph de la vie religieuse traditionnelle des Biras. Anthropologica For starters, the word religion is problematic for many Africans, because it suggests that religion is separate from the other aspects of ones culture, society, or environment. They depended on the labor of enslaved Africans who often constituted the majority of the population in these areas and developed their own forms of cultural and religious autonomy Examples: plantation agriculture, the Carolinas (rice), Barbados (sugar), tobacco Colonial government On returning home, the learned professor wrote an article using my brief answer as his title. All these spirits are believed to live in a mythic land called Ginen, a cosmic Africa. The God of the Christian Bible is understood to be the creator of both the universe and the spirits; the spirits were made by God to help him govern humanity and the natural world. I want to walk with Jesus of Nazareth on the shores of Lake Galilee and the hillsides of Judea, through the gates of Jerusalem. x\u}4`P}E#(9q"%LCl'KLb)Sfgdq N Much of Oluponas work is an attempt to provide a fuller understanding of the complexity and richness of African indigenous thought and practice by viewing it not as a foil or as a useful comparative to better understand Western religions, but as a system of thought and belief that should be valued and understood for its own ideas and contribution to global religions. Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. Wendy Sherman, who was the lead U.S. negotiator in the nuclear deal with Iran, was welcomed by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. There are also other parallels in social, political and cultural areas, just as there are some significant differences. This rapid spreading of the Christian faith where people have been predominantly followers of African religion provokes interesting questions. Anthony Chiorazzi, who has an M.Phil. They have also fostered a greater feeling of individual self-worth by acknowledging important milestones in ones life, including becoming an adult or an elder. trailer The beliefs and practices of the traditional religions in Africa can enrich Christian theology and spirituality." Indigenous African religion is primarily an oral tradition and has never been fully codified; thus, it allows itself to more easily be amended and influenced by other religious ideas, religious wisdom, and by modern development. We have already noted that the overseas missionaries did not bring God to Africa. In five countries (Tanzania, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal and Mali) majorities express this belief. OLUPONA: We would lose a worldview that has collectively sustained, enriched, and given meaning to a continent and numerous other societies for centuries through its epistemology, metaphysics, history, and practices. It is in this complex of religiosity that the preaching of the gospel makes sense; it is this preparedness that has undergirded the spreading of the gospel like wildfire among African societies which had hitherto followed and practiced traditional religion. A prominent European New Testament professor visited Makerere University and interviewed me on what I thought about the "death of God" discussion. This chapter includes information on: Download chapter 1 in full (6-page PDF, <1MB), 1 The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in the easternmost part of North East Africa, on the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Vodou, also spelled Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun, or French Vaudou, a traditional Afro-Haitian religion. The award allows Olupona a year of study and research in Germany; he is on leave this year (201516). This is in sharp contrast with the religious composition . I simply and honestly answered him that "for us in Africa, God is not dead." www.ej-theology.org Christianity and Indigenisation in Africa It may be, and needs to be, a qualified and critical Yes. Awolawu and Depamu (1979) Download chapter 3 in full (3-page PDF, <1MB), Photo credit: Sebastien Desarmaux/GODONG/Godong/Corbis, Part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 1615 L St. NW, Suite 800Washington, DC 20036USA First, the association of traditional African religion with an other-worldly orientation may appear problematic, given the "pragmatic" basis of this religion. Islam And Christianity Christianity came first to the continent of Africa in the 1st or early 2nd century AD. This article appeared in the Christian Century, August 27- September 3, 1980, pp. Its about getting tangible results. "For us in Africa, God is not dead" -- and that applies whether or not there is a written record of his relations with and concern for people. Religion Online is designed to assist teachers, scholars and general seekers who are interested in exploring religious issues. Islam has experienced a similar rapid growth. The primary goal and activity of Vodou is to sevi lwa (serve the spirits)to offer prayers and perform various devotional rites directed at God and particular spirits in return for health, protection, and favour. African Traditional Religion in the Context of Christian and Islamic One African theologian, Gabriel Setiloane, has even argued that the concept of God which the missionaries presented to the Sotho-Tswana peoples was a devaluation of the traditional currency of Modimo (God) among the Sotho-Tswana. God is not insensitive to the history of peoples other than Israel. GAZETTE: How have ancestors played a role in traditional societies? For six years I worked with the World Council of Churches in Geneva. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax Anthropologica, journal of the Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA) was created from the merger of the Society's former journal, Culture, with Canada's oldest anthropology journal, Anthropologica. %PDF-1.3 Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The editor of The Christian Century has given me an undeserved privilege in asking me to contribute some reflections on "How My Mind Has Changed" in the course of the past decade. Omissions? 1996 Canadian Anthropology Society 0000002264 00000 n African Christianity - African Studies - Oxford Bibliographies - obo It includes Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. Spiritual activities like prayer, thanksgiving, and the making of sacrifices were well-established facts of life for the existence and continuation of the community. 817-820. A follower of African diaspora religions has many choices in terms of seeking spiritual help or succor. I was like a snail shyly peeping out of its house after a heavy thunderstorm. We can list some obvious and often publicized factors. There are also secret societies, called Bizango or Sanpwl, that perform a religio-juridical function. Outline of the Curricular Framework: Anglicanization Atlantic slave trade "Atlantic World" Barbados (sugar) British-American system of slavery the Carolinas (rice) Caste system cereal crops Colonial resistance Dominion of New England Enlightenment Furs Great Awakening Indentured Servants Mercantilism Metis Models of colonization Molasses Act It sensitized my thinking in many areas, one of these being the quest for Christian unity. Their history has a theological meaning. But they used the names of the God who was and is already known by African peoples -- such as Mungu, Mulungu, Katonda, Ngai, Olodumare, Asis, Ruwa, Ruhanga, Jok, Modimo, Unkulunkulu and thousands more. Today most Zairians belong to either the Catholic or Protestant church, and the Bira themselves are predominantly Catholic. It is here that I have discovered the church in Burma, in the Pacific islands, the house church in China, the basic Christian communities in Latin America, the struggling church in South Africa, plus countless other endeavors of Christians all over the world. During religious rites, believers sometimes enter a trancelike state in which the devotee may eat and drink, perform stylized dances, give supernaturally inspired advice to people, or perform medical cures or special physical feats; these acts exhibit the incarnate presence of the lwa within the entranced devotee.