Because of this, Africa is now home to some of the world's largest Christian and Muslim communities. For over 200 years, Africans, largely from the west coast of Africa, were brought to the United States in the slave trade. For this reason, some African theologians take African religiosity to be one of the sources of theological reflection (besides the Bible, Christian heritage, etc.). There is not space here to argue the case for the role played by African religion in the establishment of the Christian faith in Africa. 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. 43. I have been greatly enriched by working at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, 1974-1980. Did he then reveal himself only in the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel and other personalities of the Bible? Religion Online is designed to assist teachers, scholars and general seekers who are interested in exploring religious issues. Consequently, people are discovering that the biblical faith is not harmful to their religious sensibilities. The fusion of cultures that was effected by the conquest of Alexander the Great (4th century bce), his successors, and the Roman Empire tended to bring together a variety of religious and philosophical views that resulted in a strong tendency toward religious syncretism. That experience gave me a face-to-face encounter with the ecumenical movement and left a lasting mark on me. 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. xref Fewer say it is paramount to their faith to attend religious services (39%), avoid sex before marriage (30%) or oppose abortion . The councils programs in response to these problems are impressive. %PDF-1.3 In the 17th century a movement led by the German Protestant theologian George Calixtus aimed at reconciling the differences between the Protestants in Germany, but his efforts were disparaged by orthodox Christian leaders as syncretistic. These statements await further exploration by African theologians. This is not an empty coincidence. The Church in Africa, 1450-1950. OLUPONA: Thats a mixed bag. OLUPONA: Indigenous African religions refer to the indigenous or native religious beliefs of the African people before the Christian and Islamic colonization of Africa. It will keep me chewing for a long time, and it will most certainly feed my theological development. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The concept of the church as the body of Christ in the whole world is another growing development for me. Corrections? (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. Black Americans who identify with a religion are most likely to say belief in God is essential to what their faith means to them (84%), while large majorities say the same about opposing racism (76%) and sexism (71%). 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]. APUSH Unit 1 Flashcards | Quizlet And if these shrines are not properly cared for by the designated descendant, then misfortune in the form of illness might befall the caretaker. 0000005714 00000 n Indigenous African religions are by nature plural, varied, and usually informed by ones ethnic identity, where ones family came from in Africa. Alternate titles: Vaudou, Vodun, Voodoo, Voudou, vodon, Elizabeth McAlister Associate Professor of Religion, Weslyan University. GAZETTE: In trying to understand African spirituality, is it helpful to refer to it as polytheistic or monotheistic? Ifa is an indispensable treasure trove of knowledge that cant be duplicated elsewhere; much of its knowledge has been handed down from babalawo [Ifa priest/diviner] to babalawo for centuries. The suppression of ancestor worship is the only area where mission Christianity has scored a triumph over the traditional religious life of the Bira. The award allows Olupona a year of study and research in Germany; he is on leave this year (201516). 0000001198 00000 n For instance, the Yoruba religion has historically been centered in southwestern Nigeria, the Zulu religion in southern Africa, and the Igbo religion in southeastern Nigeria. Updates? Par consquent, Mbali-Dieu est la rponse crative des Biras une rencontre religieuse syncrtique. 0000001519 00000 n Jacob Olupona, professor of indigenous African religions at Harvard Divinity School and professor of African and African-American studies in Harvards Faculty of Arts and Sciences, recently sat down for an interview about his lifelong research on indigenous African religions. In most countries, however, less than one-in-twenty say this is their primary religious affiliation. 0000005005 00000 n The continued influence of traditional African religion is also evident in some aspects of daily life. The theological horizon continues to expand. His research has helped to introduce and popularize new concepts in religious studies, such as the term reverse missionaries, referring to African prelates sent to Europe and the United States. mixing of Christianity and traditional African religions What were maroon communities? The idea is that the traditional African practitioner who constructed that amulet believes in the efficacy of other faiths and religions; there is no conflict in his mind between his traditional African spirituality and another faith. {PB,`s Dr. Mbiti is on the staff of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland. The conviction that people will be reborn in this world again and again tends to be more common among Christians than Muslims. With it, one began to explore afresh the realm of Gods revelation and other treasures of our faith. While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. PDF African American Christianity - Harvard University 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 spirituality of Africa - Harvard Gazette At first, Christianity made few inroads into the African slave population, which had its own religious traditions. Vodou ritual activity (e.g., prayer, song, dance, and gesture) is aimed at refining and restoring balance and energy in relationships between people and between people and the spirits of the unseen world. In respect and honor of my culture, I also dress in my traditional Nigerian attire when Im in my country. Ethiopia's Christian population, at 6 million in 1900, will grow to a projected 100 million in 2050. The God described in the Bible is none other than the God who is already known in the framework of our traditional African religiosity. Modernity has not put a total stop to its influence. v6 -j>,>Or%I&!To !{vgrh7xxDs}d[!$8k1zX+@}~ ), 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. 0000014207 00000 n 0000000676 00000 n Christianity in Africa dates to the very inception of the church. (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. This massive expansion within a short time is unprecedented in the history of Christianity. Its fundamental principle is that everything is spirit. <>stream interaction between the Christian churches and West African religious culture. GAZETTE: How do you balance your Christian and indigenous African identity? %PDF-1.7 % endobj Islam And Christianity Christianity came first to the continent of Africa in the 1st or early 2nd century AD. If they are two wavelengths, they make sense only when they move toward a convergence. A calendar of ritual feasts, syncretized with the Roman Catholic calendar, provides the yearly rhythm of religious practice. Again, it doesnt reflect the multiplicity of ways that traditional African spirituality has conceived of deities, gods, and spirit beings. Indigenous African religions are pragmatic. But I feel that the issue of looking at African history in light of the biblical understanding of history is clearly called for. PDF Traditional African Religion and Modern Christianity in Zaire - JSTOR 0000008365 00000 n 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. Instead, God brought them. 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. 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. I cannot claim that I have witnessed much progress in that quest at the organizational level, but perhaps I had expected too much. 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. 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. As for the belief in God, it appears that the Bira have utilized Christianity to make their traditional God Mbali less remote and more caring, a change which has also made the Christian God more compassionate and forgiving . One of the things these diaspora African religions testify to is the beauty of African religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels. Its aims were to encourage formal and informal dissemination of knowledge through an annual conference and publications; promote relations with other academic and professional associations, aboriginal groups, and governments; and publicize ethnological research and activities to further understanding of ethnological practices. But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Since Christianity and Islam spread across Africa, many people there have observed a mixture of religious practices. Nigeria, the most populous country in all of Africa, has the largest number of Muslims as well as the largest number of Christians in the region.3. African spirituality is truly holistic. colonization_terms_apush.docx - ` Units 1 and 2 Vocabulary African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent. OLUPONA: I was raised in Africa during the 1960s, when the Yoruba community never asked you to chose between your personal faith and your collective African identity. Animism is a common feature of African religions, and misfortune is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery. Currently I am about to complete a book on this question of the encounter between the biblical faith and African religion. in social anthropology from Oxford University, is studying for a master of theological studies (M.T.S.) 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). 0000002884 00000 n I completed my doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge in 1963, the year that Honest to God, by J.A.T. Then was he not there in other times and in such places as Mount Fuji and Mount Kenya, as well as Mount Sinai? The original constitution defined the organization's mandate as providing a forum for the exchange of ideas among ethnologists. In these congregations, knowledge is passed on through a ritual of initiation (kanzo) in which the body becomes the site of spiritual transformation. Instances of religious syncretismas, for example, Gnosticism (a religious dualistic system that incorporated elements from the Oriental mystery religions), Judaism, Christianity, and Greek religious philosophical conceptswere particularly prevalent during the Hellenistic period (c. 300 bcec. Some individuals have criticized these books -- and no book is perfect. Chapter 3: Traditional African Religious Beliefs and Practices But for many Africans, religion can never be separated from all these. In Nigeria, the population in 1900 included 4.2 million Muslims and 180,000 Christians. At Makerere University I taught New Testament, African religion and other courses. 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). Some of these African diaspora religions include Cuban Regla de Ocha, Haitian Vodou, and Brazilian Candomble. GAZETTE: How would you define indigenous African religions? That which had been seen as the enemy of the gospel turns out (to me) to be indeed a very welcoming friend. 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. This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. 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 Christianity - African Studies - Oxford Bibliographies - obo The missionaries who introduced the gospel to Africa in the past 200 years did not bring God to our continent. It includes Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. 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. 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. Overall, however, Christians outnumber Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa by about two-to-one. 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. I feel deeply the value of biblical studies in this exercise, and the contribution of biblical insights in this development. settlements formed by African slaves who ran away from imprisonment the Americas We can list some obvious and often publicized factors. This is not a biblical distinction. GAZETTE: What is the state of indigenous African religions today? Vodou, also spelled Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun, or French Vaudou, a traditional Afro-Haitian religion. Par contre, les croyances en la sorcellerie ont persist. % The unseen world is populated by lwa (spirits), myst (mysteries), anvizib (the invisibles), zanj (angels), and the spirits of ancestors and the recently deceased. God was not a stranger to African peoples. GAZETTE: But yet you said its a mixed bag? While Islam and Christianity tend to be overtly resistant to adopting traditional African religious ideas or practices, indigenous African religions have always accommodated other beliefs. (1981) and Ph.D. (1983) in the history of religions from Boston University. 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. 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. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Christianity is more dominant in the south, while Islam is more dominant in the north. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. A follower of African diaspora religions has many choices in terms of seeking spiritual help or succor. /// Dans le nord-est du Zare, la communaut rurale Bira a t expose depuis plus de cinquante ans au message chrtien. There is no room to describe them, and I can mention only two or three of them briefly. He has researched and written about such diverse religious cultures as the Hare Krishnas, Zoroastrians, Shakers, and the Old Order Amish. On returning home, the learned professor wrote an article using my brief answer as his title. Current articles and subscription information can be found at www.christiancentury.org. Request Permissions, Published By: Canadian Anthropology Society. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. GAZETTE: It sounds like African indigenous religions are dynamic, inclusive, and flexible. So I read on and on, and conducted field research to learn more and more. And this witness deserves ones support through service and prayer. Vodou | Definition, History, West African Vodun, & Facts This approach is intended to shed further light on the problem of African cultural influence and . For six years I worked with the World Council of Churches in Geneva. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock. The beliefs and practices of the traditional religions in Africa can enrich Christian theology and spirituality." I am not a historian, and I have not done careful thinking in this direction. Indeed, ten years ago I had no significant theological position. When this happens, then a passage such as Hebrews 1:1-3 rolls down like mighty waters, full of exciting possibilities of theological reflection. AR-Ndhdnn}H\{%jC!a,]c8F`1LE(3%"w+tj}](q w[,p8i$dd$GrMRD K4wLG4@h\WfPY Thus, Mbali-God is a creative response on the part of the Bira to the syncretic religious encounter. Read our research on: Congress | Economy | Gender. Didnt our Lord let it be clearly known that "before Abraham was I am" (John 8:58)? I am tantalized by the fact that my vision cannot cope with that horizon. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and its essential characteristics is: God and humanity, sacrifices, afterlife and ancestors. In its place there emerged the word "also." Some Africans believe that the ancestors are equal in power to deities, while others believe they are not. degree at Harvard Divinity School. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. This was an extremely liberating word in my theological thinking. In contrast, witchcraft beliefs persist. Omissions? 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.. <<6D546C3FADADB2110A00A09A6B9CFF7F>]/Prev 416812>> %%EOF Religious beliefs among Black Americans | Pew Research Center 0000003641 00000 n Focuses on the influences of Africans and African ideas on the mission enterprise, conversion, religious innovation, and church life, but it neglects to cover the . (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax 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 But I have discovered that there is also the fundamental factor of African religion, without which this phenomenal expansion of Christianity would not be a reality. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). My research into and teaching of African religion has led to another important area of development. This is, obviously, a general statement, one which needs detailed elaboration. I want to walk with Jesus of Nazareth on the shores of Lake Galilee and the hillsides of Judea, through the gates of Jerusalem.

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