I want to walk with Jesus of Nazareth on the shores of Lake Galilee and the hillsides of Judea, through the gates of Jerusalem. Indigenous African religions are by nature plural, varied, and usually informed by ones ethnic identity, where ones family came from in Africa. In four countries, for instance, half or more of the population believes that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions I am not a historian, and I have not done careful thinking in this direction. (See the glossary for more information on the evil eye.). The recipient of many prestigious academic honors and research fellowships, Olupona also received the 20152016 Reimar Lust Award for International and Cultural Exchange, considered one of Germanys most prestigious academic honors. This is in sharp contrast with the religious composition . It is the southern two-thirds of Africa (including Madagascar) which we can rightly call Christian Africa, as the northern one-third is Muslim Africa. Consequently, people are discovering that the biblical faith is not harmful to their religious sensibilities. 817-820. Animism is a common feature of African religions, and misfortune is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery. This was an extremely liberating word in my theological thinking. 0000002264 00000 n Yet . It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and its essential characteristics is: God and humanity, sacrifices, afterlife and ancestors. In lieu of these traditional African ways of defining oneself, Christianity and Islam are gradually creating a social identity in Africa that cuts across these indigenous African religious and social identities. degree at Harvard Divinity School. When this happens, then a passage such as Hebrews 1:1-3 rolls down like mighty waters, full of exciting possibilities of theological reflection. 0000001586 00000 n In Cameroon, Ethiopia, Liberia and Mozambique, Muslims account for between 15% and 30% of survey respondents. Holding or maintaining to a uniform doctrine is not the essence of indigenous African religions. 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. The theological horizon continues to expand. I want to see his healing hand, to hear his word that exorcises evil spirits. There is no room to describe them, and I can mention only two or three of them briefly. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. A conference of mainly African theologians, held in Ghana in December 1977, said in its final communiqu: "The God of history speaks to all peoples in particular ways. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World, Chapter 3: Traditional African Religious Beliefs and Practices, Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa, Next: Chapter 4: Interreligious Harmony and Tensions, Chapter 2: Commitment to Christianity and Islam, Chapter 4: Interreligious Harmony and Tensions, In the U.S. and Western Europe, people say they accept Muslims, but opinions are divided on Islam, In Western Europe, familiarity with Muslims is linked to positive views of Muslims and Islam, Q&A: Measuring attitudes toward Muslims and Jews in Western Europe, Europes Muslim population will continue to grow but how much depends on migration, The Growth of Germanys Muslim Population, Size & Demographic Characteristics of Religious Groups, Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 60% of Americans Would Be Uncomfortable With Provider Relying on AI in Their Own Health Care, Gender pay gap in U.S. hasnt changed much in two decades. Abstract. One important task, then, is to see the nature, the method and the implications of Gods revelation among African peoples, in the light of the biblical record of the same revelation. He must have been active among African peoples as he was among the Jewish people. ancient Rome: Religious and cultural life in the 3rd century, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/religious-syncretism, Academia - Religious Syncretism as a Syncretistic Concept: The Inadequacy of the " World Religions " Paradigm in Cross-Cultural Encounter. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. These statements await further exploration by African theologians. 0000001019 00000 n Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer, By Anthony Chiorazzi Harvard Correspondent. Fewer say it is paramount to their faith to attend religious services (39%), avoid sex before marriage (30%) or oppose abortion . 0000003641 00000 n GAZETTE: What allows African indigenous religions to be so accommodating? Par contre, les croyances en la sorcellerie ont persist. As a resident fellow, Sherman will teach a study group on negotiation and diplomacy this semester. The continued influence of traditional African religion is also evident in some aspects of daily life. Then was he not there in other times and in such places as Mount Fuji and Mount Kenya, as well as Mount Sinai? For this reason, some African theologians take African religiosity to be one of the sources of theological reflection (besides the Bible, Christian heritage, etc.). 93 0 obj In the end, I believe that Africans can make room for a plurality of religious points of view without one religious point of view excluding or compromising the other. Indigenous African religions are pragmatic. Oral tradition says the first Muslims appeared while the prophet Mohammed was. The suppression of ancestor worship is the only area where mission Christianity has scored a triumph over the traditional religious life of the Bira. I completed my doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge in 1963, the year that Honest to God, by J.A.T. GAZETTE: In trying to understand African spirituality, is it helpful to refer to it as polytheistic or monotheistic? There are also secret societies, called Bizango or Sanpwl, that perform a religio-juridical function. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. 0 Indeed, ten years ago I had no significant theological position. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. It sensitized my thinking in many areas, one of these being the quest for Christian unity. OLUPONA: One of the basic reasons is that indigenous African spiritual beliefs are not bound by a written text, like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We have already noted that the overseas missionaries did not bring God to Africa. Amen. A magisterial historical synthesis of the formative period of African Christianity written by one of its foremost scholars. A belief in ancestors also testifies to the inclusive nature of traditional African spirituality by positing that deceased progenitors still play a role in the lives of their living descendants. While African Traditional religion (ATR) is paramount, it is the purpose of this article to suggest that Current articles and subscription information can be found at www.christiancentury.org. One read Honest to God and a variety of other works in an effort to understand the hot debate then raging in Europe and America. Revelation is given not in a vacuum but within particular historical experiences and reflections. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. Belief in the power of such objects is highest in Senegal (75%) and lowest in Rwanda (5%). For example, in 14 of the 19 countries surveyed, more than three-in-ten people say they sometimes consult traditional healers when someone in their household is sick. 0000003217 00000 n Since I myself had never heard any lectures on African religion, I set out to do research on the subject in order to teach the course adequately. In most of the 19 countries surveyed by the Pew Research Centers Forum on Religion & Public Life, 90% or more of the respondents say they belong to one of these faiths. The amount of devotees to indigenous practices has dwindled as Islam and Christianity have both spread and gained influence throughout the continent. In February 1974 a group of 120 anthropologists launched the Canadian Ethnology Society/socit canadienne d'ethnologie (CESCE), because they felt there was room for an association of anthropologists separate from the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association (CSAA) which was dominated by sociologists. 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. startxref Vodou is an oral tradition practiced by extended families that inherit familial spirits, along with the necessary devotional practices, from their elders. Reuben Kigame, the Kenyan Christian musician and apologist, has rightly suggested that considering the fact that Christianity existed in Africa for a good eighteen centuries before the. A follower of African diaspora religions has many choices in terms of seeking spiritual help or succor. For example, followers can seek spiritual direction and relief from healers, medicine men and women, charms [adornments often worn to incur good luck], amulets [adornments often used to ward off evil], and diviners [spiritual advisers]. (I myself have consulted with several diviners for my research on specific academic topics regarding African culture and history; consequently, if we were to lose Africas diviners, we would also lose one of Africas best keepers and sources of African history and culture. I have been greatly enriched by working at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, 1974-1980. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. OLUPONA: Yes, and the pluralistic nature of African-tradition religion is one of the reasons for its success in the diaspora. And in Botswana, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia, the survey finds that 5% or less identify as Muslim. In these congregations, knowledge is passed on through a ritual of initiation (kanzo) in which the body becomes the site of spiritual transformation. They derive from traditional African religions with some influence from other religious traditions, notably Christianity and Islam . This re-ligion is found in almost all the activities of the African man. Some of these African diaspora religions include Cuban Regla de Ocha, Haitian Vodou, and Brazilian Candomble. That book was followed by a flurry of literature on the so-called "death of God" theology (if "theology" it was, for I would call it "atheology"). The word Vodou means spirit or deity in the Fon language of the African kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin). In Nigeria, the population in 1900 included 4.2 million Muslims and 180,000 Christians. In four countries (Chad, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria and Tanzania), the number of Christians and Muslims is more equally divided, with a ratio of less than two-to-one in either direction.2 The other countries surveyed are predominantly Christian with Muslim minorities of varying sizes. African spirituality is truly holistic. For six years I worked with the World Council of Churches in Geneva. The Church in Africa, 1450-1950. In most countries surveyed, at least three-in-ten people believe in reincarnation, which may be related to traditional beliefs in ancestral spirits. These initiation rituals are already not as common in Africa as they were only 50 years ago, yet age-grade initiations have always helped young Africans feel connected to their community and their past. And this witness deserves ones support through service and prayer. 75 19 As discussed elsewhere in this report, many Christians and Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa retain beliefs and rituals that are characteristic of traditional African religions. Did he then reveal himself only in the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel and other personalities of the Bible? Christianity in Africa dates to the very inception of the church. When we identify the God of the Bible as the same God who is known through African religion (whatever its limitations), we must also take it that God has had a historical relationship with African peoples. This approach is intended to shed further light on the problem of African cultural influence and . 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. The WCCs very existence as a council of churches is a living hope. 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. 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. Their culture, history, world views and spiritual aspirations cannot be taken away from them. But Gods dealings with the African people are recorded, nevertheless, in living form -- oral communication, rituals, symbols, ceremonies, community faith. endobj African religion has equipped people to listen to the gospel, to discover meaningful passages in the Bible, and to avoid unhealthy religious conflict. He went on to conduct some of the most significant research on African religions in decades. I told my father that I was coming home, he recalled. This article appeared in the Christian Century, August 27- September 3, 1980, pp. The more I peeped into African religious insights about God, the more I felt utterly unable to use the word "only" in this case. For instance, in a few years time, I pray that I will be participating in an age-grade festival for men around 70 years of age called Ero in my native Nigerian community in Ute, in Ondo state. There are other areas of exploration in which I continue to be engaged. 0000005714 00000 n The award allows Olupona a year of study and research in Germany; he is on leave this year (201516). National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Vodou's role in Haitian mental health, Learn Religions - An Introduction to the Basic Beliefs of the Vodou (Voodoo) Religion, Ancient Origins - The Origins of Voodoo, the Misunderstood Religion, LiveScience - Voodoo: Facts About Misunderstood Religion, Vodou - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Vodou - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Many other familial feasts (for the sacred children, for the poor, for particular ancestors) as well as initiations and funerary rituals occur throughout the year. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in postcolonial Africa have made inter-religious dialogue an urgent necessity. The previous year I had published African Religions and Philosophy (Doubleday, 1969). Read our research on: Congress | Economy | Gender. My findings were used in teaching, but eventually I put them together in a book, Concepts of God in Africa, published by the British publisher SPCK (1970). Ancestors also serve as intermediaries (see ancestor worship). This includes five countries (Cameroon, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal) where more than half the population uses traditional healers. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. Indigenous African practices tend to be strongest in the central states of Africa, but some form of their practices and beliefs can be found almost anywhere in Africa. It is a way of life, and it can never be separated from the public sphere. OLUPONA: My father, a faithful Anglican priest, was a good example. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. Later, my theological studies in America and England did not challenge this position, since that was not a living issue for my professors and fellow students. v6 -j>,>Or%I&!To !{vgrh7xxDs}d[!$8k1zX+@}~ Anthropologica is published for CASCA by University of Toronto Press. Corrections? Moreover, the religions developed in the Americas impact Africa in that devotees of the African diaspora have significant influence on practices in Africa. 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. OLUPONA: Yes, its a mixed bag because in the African diaspora mostly due to the slave trade starting in the 15th century indigenous African religions have spread and taken root all over the world, including in the United States and Europe. Didnt our Lord let it be clearly known that "before Abraham was I am" (John 8:58)?