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settlements formed by African slaves who ran away from imprisonment the Americas Current articles and subscription information can be found at www.christiancentury.org. I feel deeply the value of biblical studies in this exercise, and the contribution of biblical insights in this development. They will certainly be overwhelming, and I feel very excited about them. Revelation is given not in a vacuum but within particular historical experiences and reflections. "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," said Olupona. Belief in the power of such objects is highest in Senegal (75%) and lowest in Rwanda (5%). 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. ), 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. OLUPONA: The role of ancestors in the African cosmology has always been significant. But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. The more I peeped into African religious insights about God, the more I felt utterly unable to use the word "only" in this case. Take em with a grain of salt. 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. xref I told my father that I was coming home, he recalled. They proclaimed the name of Jesus Christ. 9_r'v>#z2"syiBm?mry8%;m8v L,WNHitMJk#RZwEl+M3N1n[nt4]C$i2y]_6Iasrt They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Chapter 3: Traditional African Religious Beliefs and Practices 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. Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation | Pew Research Center While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. I want to see his healing hand, to hear his word that exorcises evil spirits. The Story of Africa| BBC World Service - Logo of the BBC (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax We can list some obvious and often publicized factors. OLUPONA: Yes, and the pluralistic nature of African-tradition religion is one of the reasons for its success in the diaspora. The introduced religions of Islam (in northern Africa) and Christianity (in southern Africa) are now the continent's major religions, but traditional religions still play an important role, especially in the interior of sub-Saharan Africa. Indigenous African spirituality today is increasingly falling out of favor. GAZETTE: How do you balance your Christian and indigenous African identity? Some scholars choose to call it the African Traditional Religion, while others prefer to name it the African traditional Religions. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World, Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa, Next: Chapter 2: Commitment to Christianity and Islam, Chapter 2: Commitment to Christianity and Islam, Chapter 3: Traditional African Religious Beliefs and Practices, 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. African spirituality has always been able to adapt to change and allow itself to absorb the wisdom and views of other religions, much more than, for example, Christianity and Islam. And in Botswana, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia, the survey finds that 5% or less identify as Muslim. 0000015705 00000 n GAZETTE: But yet you said its a mixed bag? 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. Anthropologica is published for CASCA by University of Toronto Press. OLUPONA: No, this type of binary thinking is simplistic. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The Church in Africa, 1450-1950. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. In addition, roughly a quarter or more of the population in 11 countries say they believe in the protective power of juju (charms or amulets), shrines and other sacred objects. OLUPONA: Thats a mixed bag. 0 The continued influence of traditional African religion is also evident in some aspects of daily life. GAZETTE: What will Africa lose if it loses its African indigenous worldview? So, "Lord, help Thou my unbelief!" Its aim is to develop an extensive library of resources, representing many different points of view, but all written from the perspective of sound scholarship. 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. The Yoruba diviners, for example, draw on this extensive indigenous knowledge every day by consulting Ifa, an extensive literary corpus of information covering science, medicine, cosmology, and metaphysics. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The WCCs very existence as a council of churches is a living hope. Updates? African spirituality has always been able to adapt to change and allow itself to absorb the wisdom and views of other religions, much more than, for example, Christianity and Islam. 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. 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. 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. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Ancestors also serve as intermediaries (see ancestor worship). In five countries (Tanzania, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal and Mali) majorities express this belief. 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. 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. I have seen the quest more sharply. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The missionaries who introduced the gospel to Africa in the past 200 years did not bring God. Christianity: An African traditional religion - ghanaweb.com It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. As the map also shows, the ratio of Christians to Muslims increases the further south one goes in the continent. 1"7$X9Xyyyb GNpL!9I&mxo0++44cA@5c. No viable theology can grow in Africa without addressing itself to the interreligious phenomenon at work there. This statistical tilting of Christendom from the north to the south, after 2,000 years, holds tremendous prospects and challenges. In most countries surveyed, at least three-in-ten people believe in reincarnation, which may be related to traditional beliefs in ancestral spirits. 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. Since the Bible tells me that God is the Creator of all things, his activities in the world must clearly go beyond what is recorded in the Bible. trailer In Africa the traditional religions are a major source for the study of the African experience of God. The council made me aware, perhaps even frightfully so, of the problems of our world. Oral tradition says the first Muslims appeared while the prophet Mohammed was. Additionally, I will not discourage, disparage, or try and convert those who practice their form of African indigenous religions. Amen. Modernity has not put a total stop to its influence. 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. Nevertheless, I am convinced that the World Council of Churches is a great witness of the Christian response to the prayer of our Lord that we may all be one. There are other areas of exploration in which I continue to be engaged. The church is composed largely of people who come out of the African religious background. In this overpowering environment, one simply accepted this stand and looked at the world from its perspectives. There are also other parallels in social, political and cultural areas, just as there are some significant differences. 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. The amount of devotees to indigenous practices has dwindled as Islam and Christianity have both spread and gained influence throughout the continent. 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. A follower of African diaspora religions has many choices in terms of seeking spiritual help or succor. The spirituality of Africa - Harvard Gazette 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. Awolawu and Depamu (1979) "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. Some individuals have criticized these books -- and no book is perfect. 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. X0#J++?U;_3_gmx9[F\"{,Um1yu 9 ?ce%9EG`N: &U0EHC$p4=$'=DlX6M_7,--" 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. There are also secret societies, called Bizango or Sanpwl, that perform a religio-juridical function. The theological horizon continues to expand. This number has since grown rapidly, to the point that in 1980 there are estimated to be 200 million Christians (or about 45 per cent of the population). Corrections? This rapid spreading of the Christian faith where people have been predominantly followers of African religion provokes interesting questions. Animism is a common feature of African religions, and misfortune is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery. Indigenous African religions are pragmatic. How Africa Is Changing Faith Around the World %PDF-1.3 Ancestors can offer advice and bestow good fortune and honor to their living dependents, but they can also make demands, such as insisting that their shrines be properly maintained and propitiated. %PDF-1.7 % Holding or maintaining to a uniform doctrine is not the essence of indigenous African religions. 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. Alternate titles: Vaudou, Vodun, Voodoo, Voudou, vodon, Elizabeth McAlister Associate Professor of Religion, Weslyan University. Omissions? endobj (back to text), Photo credit: Sebastien Desarmaux/GODONG/Godong/Corbis, Part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 1615 L St. NW, Suite 800Washington, DC 20036USA God is not insensitive to the history of peoples other than Israel. PDF African American Christianity - Harvard University I have received much in a short period. One of the things these diaspora African religions testify to is the beauty of African religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. Liberia is the only country where more than one-in-ten (12%) identify primarily with an African traditional religion. In 1900 there were an estimated 9 million Christians (accounting for about 7 per cent of the population of Africa). 93 0 obj Ritual functionaries include priests, elders, rainmakers, diviners, and prophets. They derive from traditional African religions with some influence from other religious traditions, notably Christianity and Islam . 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. 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. 0000002884 00000 n At many points I see intriguing parallels between the biblical record and African religiosity. The suppression of ancestor worship is the only area where mission Christianity has scored a triumph over the traditional religious life of the Bira. Yet . Par contre, les croyances en la sorcellerie ont persist. In 1988 the society changed its name to the Canadian Anthropology Society to clarify its identity and emphasize its role as an anthropology association. (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. 0000005005 00000 n The defining line between deities and ancestors is often contested, but overall, ancestors are believed to occupy a higher level of existence than living human beings and are believed to be able to bestow either blessings or illness upon their living descendants. It publishes a journal Anthropologica and has reclaimed the name of its former journal, Culture for its occasional online bulletin. Vodou | Definition, History, West African Vodun, & Facts Request Permissions, Published By: Canadian Anthropology Society. Indigenous religion in Africa is the way Africans understand and worship their god. It includes Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. In these congregations, knowledge is passed on through a ritual of initiation (kanzo) in which the body becomes the site of spiritual transformation. At Makerere University I taught New Testament, African religion and other courses. 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%). 0000014025 00000 n But for many Africans, religion can never be separated from all these. A magisterial historical synthesis of the formative period of African Christianity written by one of its foremost scholars. 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. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. African scholars 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. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. I have been greatly enriched by working at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, 1974-1980. Islam And Christianity Christianity came first to the continent of Africa in the 1st or early 2nd century AD. Anthony Chiorazzi, who has an M.Phil. Humans are spirits who inhabit the visible world. Y.91sC@o9sJL9@XMw`7\`1%nRjBS %U=a{N>. The original constitution defined the organization's mandate as providing a forum for the exchange of ideas among ethnologists. Read our research on: Congress | Economy | Gender, Side by side with their high levels of commitment to Christianity and Islam, many people in the countries surveyed retain beliefs and rituals that are characteristic of traditional African religions. There is even a community deep in the American Bible Belt in Beaufort County, S.C., called Oyotunji Village that practices a type of African indigenous religion, which is a mixture of Yoruba and Ewe-Fon spiritual practices. This includes five countries (Cameroon, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal) where more than half the population uses traditional healers. 0000001586 00000 n Everywhere he went in southwestern Nigeria, he never opposed or spoke out against African culture including initiation rites, festivals, and traditional Yoruba dress as long as it didnt directly conflict with Christianity. 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. He sees the other faith as complementing and even adding spiritual potency to his own spiritual practice of constructing effective amulets. Thus, Mbali-God is a creative response on the part of the Bira to the syncretic religious encounter. (1981) and Ph.D. (1983) in the history of religions from Boston University. 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. Vodou is a worldview encompassing philosophy, medicine, justice, and religion. In this case, so-called "salvation history" must widen its outreach in order to embrace the horizons of other peoples histories. AR-Ndhdnn}H\{%jC!a,]c8F`1LE(3%"w+tj}](q w[,p8i$dd$GrMRD K4wLG4@h\WfPY The previous year I had published African Religions and Philosophy (Doubleday, 1969). w?0t7/Oa84P]T}T}?gHq.qsRnkc;]X*s1!E"l^~K_/|j p z|9~p uf:}[Mc|4!#"Zg!/vc _~|oyuQ'dX :?NmU)?oPSw?6#?[OUN@6oz{j;\e7nWsV~XyU4vMm4#f4c:[Wefkd&88XB|cMh6)mt<4M8}; *:7??+0:0$! Since Christianity and Islam spread across Africa, many people there have observed a mixture of religious practices. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994. Aujourd'hui, la plupart des Zariens sont soit catholiques, soit protestants; les Biras pour leur part sont principalement catholiques. x\u}4`P}E#(9q"%LCl'KLb)Sfgdq N 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. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions 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. These impinge upon their daily life- and experience of the Christian faith. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. Religious pluralism serves peace | D+C - Development + Cooperation In 1900 there were an estimated 9 million Christians (accounting for about 7 per cent of the population of Africa). Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. Africans consequently played a crucial role in establishing the doctrines and theology of the early church. Yet consider that in 1900 most Africans in sub-Saharan Africa practiced a form of indigenous African religions. 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. The God described in the Bible is none other than the God who is already known in the framework of our traditional African religiosity. GAZETTE: What else would we lose if we lost traditional African Religions? 0000002264 00000 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. GAZETTE: Are ancestors considered deities in the traditional African cosmology? There is no centralized hierarchy, no single leader, and no official spokesperson, but various groups sometimes attempt to create such official structures. While African Traditional religion (ATR) is paramount, it is the purpose of this article to suggest that The Pew Forums survey found 52% of the population is Muslim. %%EOF Par consquent, Mbali-Dieu est la rponse crative des Biras une rencontre religieuse syncrtique. And if these shrines are not properly cared for by the designated descendant, then misfortune in the form of illness might befall the caretaker. 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. Its about getting tangible results. 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. 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. It was during the Belgian colonial period that the first Catholic and Protestant missionaries came to this region of Zaire. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax Its consequences for theological and ecclesiological developments are yet to be faced.