Vodou is an oral tradition practiced by extended families that inherit familial spirits, along with the necessary devotional practices, from their elders. In five countries (Tanzania, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal and Mali) majorities express this belief. Animism is a common feature of African religions, and misfortune is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery. Instead, God brought them, for the God described in the Bible is none other than the God who was already known in the framework of our traditional African religiosity. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. 0000000016 00000 n Its fundamental principle is that everything is spirit. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Dr. Mbiti is on the staff of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland. God is not insensitive to the history of peoples other than Israel. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. A follower of African diaspora religions has many choices in terms of seeking spiritual help or succor. 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. Most people in sub-Saharan Africa now identify with either Christianity or Islam. A prominent European New Testament professor visited Makerere University and interviewed me on what I thought about the "death of God" discussion. This article appeared in the Christian Century, August 27- September 3, 1980, pp. This approach is intended to shed further light on the problem of African cultural influence and . Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. For instance, if we were to lose indigenous African religions in Africa, then diviners would disappear, and if diviners disappeared, we would not only lose an important spiritual specialist for many Africans, but also an institution that for centuries has been the repository of African history, wisdom, and knowledge. But, it has been a sorrowful, disappointment to me to experience the fact that some individuals who exercise great power in the council are not angels: they sometimes practice the exact contrary of those values and goals to which the council is committed. (a) The Structures of African Traditional Religions: Sometimes it is a difficult task among scholars to choose a unanimous name for the religious traditions and beliefs of the African people. For example, sickness in the indigenous African worldview is not only an imbalance of the body, but also an imbalance in ones social life, which can be linked to a breakdown in ones kinship and family relations or even to ones relationship with ones ancestors. In Kenya I grew up in home, school and church milieus which held that the African religious and cultural background was demonic and anti-Christian. African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent. The success of Christianity and Islam on the African continent in the last 100 years has been extraordinary, but it has been, unfortunately, at the expense of African indigenous religions. They include the work of missionaries (of whom there are about 40,000 today, without counting their family members); the work of African Christians in evangelism and pastoral care (their numbers are infinitely greater than those of overseas missionaries, and include men, women and children, both lay and ordained); the role of Christian schools; the translation and distribution of the Bible (which is now available in full or in part in nearly 600 of Africas 1,000 languages); and the ending of the colonial era during the decades 1960-1980. Syncretistic movements in the Orient, such as Manichaeism (a dualistic religion founded by the 3rd-century-ce Iranian prophet Mani, who combined elements of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism) and Sikhism (a religion founded by the 15th16th-century Indian reformer Guru Nnak, who combined elements of Islam and Hinduism), also met with resistance from the prevailing religions of their respective areas. But to the disappointment of those theological exporters, this fish was not attracted by the bait. Instead, God brought them. It publishes a journal Anthropologica and has reclaimed the name of its former journal, Culture for its occasional online bulletin. 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]. While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. Regardless of the variation, it is still true that Nigeria has both the largest number of Muslims and the largest number of Christians in the region. Take em with a grain of salt. 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 had it. Since Christianity and Islam spread across Africa, many people there have observed a mixture of religious practices. 0000015705 00000 n Liberia is the only country where more than one-in-ten (12%) identify primarily with an African traditional religion. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. The amount of devotees to indigenous practices has dwindled as Islam and Christianity have both spread and gained influence throughout the continent. Traditional African religions and practices were brought to the Western hemisphere through the African diaspora and the slave trade, often resulting in a syncretic blending with Christianity. Following a period of parish work in England, I went to teach at Makerere University, Uganda, where I remained for ten years until 1974. Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation. The beliefs and practices of the traditional religions in Africa can enrich Christian theology and spirituality." Alternate titles: Vaudou, Vodun, Voodoo, Voudou, vodon, Elizabeth McAlister Associate Professor of Religion, Weslyan University. Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. The more I peeped into African religious insights about God, the more I felt utterly unable to use the word "only" in this case. According to the 2003 Demographic and Health Survey, for example, Muslims constituted 50% of the population, while the 2008 DHS figure is 45% and the Nigerian Ministry of Healths 2008 estimate is 50%. Religious pluralism serves peace. Diviners who go through a long educational and apprenticeship program hold the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of the African people. Did he then reveal himself only in the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel and other personalities of the Bible? 75 0 obj Author of. 817-820. There is some regional difference in ritual practice across Haiti, and branches of the religion include Rada, Daome, Ibo, Nago, Dereal, Manding, Petwo, and Kongo. Its about getting tangible results. I have received much in a short period. C'est l'poque de la colonisation belge que les premiers missionnaires catholiques et protestants sont arrivs dans cette rgion du Zare. Par consquent, Mbali-Dieu est la rponse crative des Biras une rencontre religieuse syncrtique. "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. settlements formed by African slaves who ran away from imprisonment the Americas Authoring or editing more than half a dozen books on religion and African culture (including the recent African Religions: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press), Olupona has researched topics ranging from the indigenous religions of Africa to the religious practices of Africans who have settled in America. Maybe this is why I am not an Anglican priest. He sees the other faith as complementing and even adding spiritual potency to his own spiritual practice of constructing effective amulets. There are also other parallels in social, political and cultural areas, just as there are some significant differences. (1981) and Ph.D. (1983) in the history of religions from Boston University. 0000002264 00000 n A semi-annual journal, it publishes peer-reviewed articles in both French and English devoted to social and cultural issues whether they are pre-historic, historic, contemporary, biological, linguistic, applied or theoretical in orientation. 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. They will certainly be overwhelming, and I feel very excited about them. They are not mutually exclusive. x\u}4`P}E#(9q"%LCl'KLb)Sfgdq N African religion has equipped people to listen to the gospel, to discover meaningful passages in the Bible, and to avoid unhealthy religious conflict. The decisive word here is "only." GAZETTE: How have ancestors played a role in traditional societies? This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock. I feel deeply the value of biblical studies in this exercise, and the contribution of biblical insights in this development. They do this by having Africans increasingly identify themselves as either Muslim or Christian, thus denying their unique African worldview that has always viewed as evidenced in their creation myths everything as unified and connected to the land, the place were ones clan, lineage, and people were cosmically birthed. My interpretation of Israels history demands a new look at the history of African peoples, among whom this same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has indeed been at work. religious syncretism, the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices. The statistical expansion of the Christian faith in Africa in this century is one of the considerations that led me back to the issue of its relation with African religion. In its place there emerged the word "also." 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. The missionaries who introduced the gospel to Africa in the past 200 years did not bring God. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. 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. This rapid spreading of the Christian faith where people have been predominantly followers of African religion provokes interesting questions.
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