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. This is not to say that indigenous African spirituality represents a form of theocracy or religious totalitarianism not at all. trailer And this witness deserves ones support through service and prayer. I find the traditional Western distinction between "special revelation" and "general revelation" to be inadequate and unfreeing. PDF Traditional African Religion and Modern Christianity in Zaire - JSTOR I have received much in a short period. African religions and corresponding beliefs and practices Their history has a theological meaning. PDF African American Christianity - Harvard University %%EOF The original constitution defined the organization's mandate as providing a forum for the exchange of ideas among ethnologists. degree at Harvard Divinity School. Because of this, Africa is now home to some of the world's largest Christian and Muslim communities. Humans are spirits who inhabit the visible world. Par contre, les croyances en la sorcellerie ont persist. The amount of devotees to indigenous practices has dwindled as Islam and Christianity have both spread and gained influence throughout the continent. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. This is in sharp contrast with the religious composition of the region about 100 years ago, when, according to a Pew Forum analysis of historical information from the World Religion Database, less than a quarter of the population identified as either Christian or Muslim. Corrections? I want to see his healing hand, to hear his word that exorcises evil spirits. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. For example, an African amulet might have inside of it a written verse from either the Koran or Christian Bible. The book comprised ideas that I had gathered from 300 African peoples ("tribes" -- a term that today is sometimes used in derogatory ways). I cannot claim that I have witnessed much progress in that quest at the organizational level, but perhaps I had expected too much. Awolawu and Depamu (1979) But in practical terms, there is a Christian Yes to African religiosity. 0000002884 00000 n GAZETTE: What will Africa lose if it loses its African indigenous worldview? Copyright by The Christian Century Foundation; used by permission. Indeed, ten years ago I had no significant theological position. In Cameroon, Ethiopia, Liberia and Mozambique, Muslims account for between 15% and 30% of survey respondents. v6 -j>,>Or%I&!To !{vgrh7xxDs}d[!$8k1zX+@}~ OLUPONA: Yes, and the pluralistic nature of African-tradition religion is one of the reasons for its success in the diaspora. My research into and teaching of African religion has led to another important area of development. With it, one began to explore afresh the realm of Gods revelation and other treasures of our faith. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 300 ce). 0000002264 00000 n A close geographical correlation exists between the location of African religion and the rapid expansion of the Christian faith. In four countries, for instance, half or more of the population believes that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm. Ritual functionaries include priests, elders, rainmakers, diviners, and prophets. w?0t7/Oa84P]T}T}?gHq.qsRnkc;]X*s1!E"l^~K_/|j p z|9~p uf:}[Mc|4!#"Zg!/vc _~|oyuQ'dX :?NmU)?oPSw?6#?[OUN@6oz{j;\e7nWsV~XyU4vMm4#f4c:[Wefkd&88XB|cMh6)mt<4M8}; *:7??+0:0$! 93 0 obj I simply and honestly answered him that "for us in Africa, God is not dead." 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. So I read on and on, and conducted field research to learn more and more. Anthony Chiorazzi, who has an M.Phil. Eating pattern tied to 24% reduction in cardiovascular, cancer mortality in people diagnosed with the chronic condition, HMS/Brigham study shows most advertised medicines little better than other treatment options. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. Author of. 0000014025 00000 n Consequently, traditional Africans have different ideas on what role the ancestors play in the lives of living descendants. African Traditional Religion in the Context of increasing Christian and Islamic Encounter . Conflicts Between African Traditional Religion and Christianity in 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. GAZETTE: How do you balance your Christian and indigenous African identity? 0000008365 00000 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. But upon my return to work in Africa, and upon careful study of the religious background of our people, there emerged gradually the demand to examine this issue and to form my own judgment. 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. Omissions? 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. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and . GAZETTE: It sounds like African indigenous religions are dynamic, inclusive, and flexible. 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. 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. In 1988 the society changed its name to the Canadian Anthropology Society to clarify its identity and emphasize its role as an anthropology association. We can list some obvious and often publicized factors. Par consquent, Mbali-Dieu est la rponse crative des Biras une rencontre religieuse syncrtique. Oral tradition says the first Muslims appeared while the prophet Mohammed was. Muslim populations are especially concentrated in a large geographic belt running west to east from Senegal to the Horn of Africa.1 Southern Africa is predominantly Christian. There is no room to describe them, and I can mention only two or three of them briefly. Revelation is given not in a vacuum but within particular historical experiences and reflections. If they are two wavelengths, they make sense only when they move toward a convergence. (See the glossary for more information on the evil eye.). African development. 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. While Islam and Christianity tend to . 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). And if these shrines are not properly cared for by the designated descendant, then misfortune in the form of illness might befall the caretaker. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. 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. 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. The introduced religions of Islam (in northern Africa) and Christianity (in southern Africa) are now the continents major religions, but traditional religions still play an important role, especially in the interior of sub-Saharan Africa. This includes five countries (Cameroon, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal) where more than half the population uses traditional healers. 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. 1"7$X9Xyyyb GNpL!9I&mxo0++44cA@5c. 0000000676 00000 n I am not a historian, and I have not done careful thinking in this direction. 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. 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 1996 Canadian Anthropology Society While African Traditional religion (ATR) is paramount, it is the purpose of this article to suggest that This approach is intended to shed further light on the problem of African cultural influence and . But the basic truth seems to be that Gods revelation is not confined to the biblical record. 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. As the map also shows, the ratio of Christians to Muslims increases the further south one goes in the continent. The WCCs very existence as a council of churches is a living hope. settlements formed by African slaves who ran away from imprisonment the Americas Religious pluralism serves peace | D+C - Development + Cooperation The Church in Africa, 1450-1950. Christianity has scored a triumph over the traditional religious life of the Bira. These impinge upon their daily life- and experience of the Christian faith. 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 will certainly be overwhelming, and I feel very excited about them. Religious pluralism serves peace. This is not an empty coincidence. Y.91sC@o9sJL9@XMw`7\`1%nRjBS %U=a{N>. Religious syncretism - Encyclopedia Britannica | Britannica (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main For six years I worked with the World Council of Churches in Geneva. Diviners who go through a long educational and apprenticeship program hold the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of the African people. This was an extremely liberating word in my theological thinking. 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 0000003641 00000 n That which had been seen as the enemy of the gospel turns out (to me) to be indeed a very welcoming friend. 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). 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. That is anathema to the fundamentalist faith movements that have been gaining momentum in recent decades. Omissions? 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. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. Orthodox Christianity, although influenced by other religions, generally looked negatively upon these syncretistic movements. He went on to conduct some of the most significant research on African religions in decades. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. But Gods dealings with the African people are recorded, nevertheless, in living form -- oral communication, rituals, symbols, ceremonies, community faith. The first and most intriguing topic that immediately engaged my attention was the thinking of African peoples about God. <>stream 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. Yet consider that in 1900 most Africans in sub-Saharan Africa practiced a form of indigenous African religions. The previous year I had published African Religions and Philosophy (Doubleday, 1969). In five countries (Tanzania, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal and Mali) majorities express this belief. 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. A prominent European New Testament professor visited Makerere University and interviewed me on what I thought about the "death of God" discussion. My doctoral studies in New Testament eschatology led me also to the field of Christology. In the cities, local hierarchies of priestesses or priests (manbo and oungan), children of the spirits (ounsi), and ritual drummers (ountgi) comprise more formal societies or congregations (sosyete). 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 Ritual sacrifices and witchcraft beliefs are still common. Supreme Court may halt health care guarantees for inmates, Why police resist reforms to militarization, Historian says Fla. dispute shows why AP class in African American studies is needed, Low-carb diet can help manage progression of Type 2 diabetes, Those breezy TV drug ads? 0000015705 00000 n Did he then reveal himself only in the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel and other personalities of the Bible? 0000001586 00000 n GAZETTE: What else would we lose if we lost traditional African Religions? African spirituality is truly holistic. Vodou represents a syncretism of the West African Vodun religion and Roman Catholicism by the descendants of the Dahomean, Kongo, Yoruba, and other ethnic groups who had been enslaved and transported to colonial Saint-Domingue (as Haiti was known then) and partly Christianized by Roman Catholic missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries. 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%). Then was he not there in other times and in such places as Mount Fuji and Mount Kenya, as well as Mount Sinai? 0000002026 00000 n Animism is a common feature of African religions, and misfortune is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery. 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 of sins. African immigrants and slaves worked to maintain traditional religious and social practices in their new surroundings. in social anthropology from Oxford University, is studying for a master of theological studies (M.T.S.) 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. It was during the Belgian colonial period that the first Catholic and Protestant missionaries came to this region of Zaire. Islam has experienced a similar rapid growth. In contrast, witchcraft beliefs persist. 0000002505 00000 n 4 0 obj 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. 43. The continued influence of traditional African religion is also evident in some aspects of daily life. (PDF) Christianity and the African traditional religion(s): The Currently I am about to complete a book on this question of the encounter between the biblical faith and African religion. 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. The word Vodou means spirit or deity in the Fon language of the African kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin). In these congregations, knowledge is passed on through a ritual of initiation (kanzo) in which the body becomes the site of spiritual transformation. 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. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (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 Model tested on tens of thousands of routine brain scans spotted disease risk with 90% accuracy, Experts on law, policy say originalist view used to overturn Roe could upend 76 ruling based on cruel, unusual punishment clause, Issues revolve around culture of viewing civilians as potential threats, concerns about self-protection in departments equipped with military-grade arms, Khalil Gibran Muhammad says College Board needs to stand firm behind curriculum, 2023 The President and Fellows of Harvard College. Instead, God brought them. Updates? 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. <> Corrections? www.ej-theology.org Christianity and Indigenisation in Africa That would be a serious loss not only for Africans, but also for academics, researchers, writers, and general seekers of wisdom the world over. The Story of Africa| BBC World Service - Logo of the BBC 0000001791 00000 n 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. That finished the interview. 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. 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 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. In three of the countries surveyed (Djibouti, Mali and Senegal), Muslims clearly outnumber Christians. Vodou is an oral tradition practiced by extended families that inherit familial spirits, along with the necessary devotional practices, from their elders. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. x\u}4`P}E#(9q"%LCl'KLb)Sfgdq N For over 200 years, Africans, largely from the west coast of Africa, were brought to the United States in the slave trade. 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. God was not a stranger to African peoples. I wish to apply "change of mind" here to mean theological growth, and not necessarily a rejection of or turnaround from ideas that I may have held ten years ago. Indigenous African religions are by nature plural, varied, and usually informed by ones ethnic identity, where ones family came from in Africa. (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. This massive expansion within a short time is unprecedented in the history of Christianity. This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock. % At Makerere University I taught New Testament, African religion and other courses. Christianity in Africa dates to the very inception of the church. 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. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. 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. interaction between the Christian churches and West African religious culture. ), 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. It may be, and needs to be, a qualified and critical Yes. Christianity is more dominant in the south, while Islam is more dominant in the north. African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent. Chapter 3: Traditional African Religious Beliefs and Practices In the other case no such written record exists. There is no centralized hierarchy, no single leader, and no official spokesperson, but various groups sometimes attempt to create such official structures. The church is composed largely of people who come out of the African religious background. 9_r'v>#z2"syiBm?mry8%;m8v L,WNHitMJk#RZwEl+M3N1n[nt4]C$i2y]_6Iasrt 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%. In one case the thinking and experience of the people produced a written record of Gods dealings with the Jewish people in particular. "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. While the recourse to traditional healers may be motivated in part by economic reasons and an absence of health care alternatives, it may also be rooted in religious beliefs about the efficacy of this approach. Amen. What factors are responsible for it? In its place there emerged the word "also." What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. %PDF-1.3 GAZETTE: What is the state of indigenous African religions today? 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. Abstract. Aujourd'hui, la plupart des Zariens sont soit catholiques, soit protestants; les Biras pour leur part sont principalement catholiques. Belief in the power of such objects is highest in Senegal (75%) and lowest in Rwanda (5%). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. And in Botswana, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia, the survey finds that 5% or less identify as Muslim. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. Its about getting tangible results. (back to text), 3 Nigerias 2006 census did not ask about religious affiliation, and recent estimates of the numbers of Muslims and Christians in the country vary. 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. Indigenous African religions are pragmatic. In Nigeria, the population in 1900 included 4.2 million Muslims and 180,000 Christians. The numerous traditional African religions have in common the notion of a creator god, who made the world and then withdrew, remaining remote from the concerns of human life. Vodou, also spelled Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun, or French Vaudou, a traditional Afro-Haitian religion. 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. 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. As a resident fellow, Sherman will teach a study group on negotiation and diplomacy this semester. 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. While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. 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. 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.

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