This is not an empty coincidence. I have seen the quest more sharply. There is no room to describe them, and I can mention only two or three of them briefly. I should also state that there are signs of the revival of African indigenous practices in many parts of Africa. 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. Islam has experienced a similar rapid growth. Currently I am about to complete a book on this question of the encounter between the biblical faith and African religion. 75 19 0000005005 00000 n They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 43. Indigenous African spirituality today is increasingly falling out of favor. For example, an African amulet might have inside of it a written verse from either the Koran or Christian Bible. He sees the other faith as complementing and even adding spiritual potency to his own spiritual practice of constructing effective amulets. African immigrants and slaves worked to maintain traditional religious and social practices in their new surroundings. Chapter 3: Traditional African Religious Beliefs and Practices OLUPONA: The role of ancestors in the African cosmology has always been significant. Below is the article summary. Religious beliefs among Black Americans | Pew Research Center 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. They were names of one and the same God, the creator of the world, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 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. Again, it doesnt reflect the multiplicity of ways that traditional African spirituality has conceived of deities, gods, and spirit beings. Africans consequently played a crucial role in establishing the doctrines and theology of the early church. 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. 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. They proclaimed the name of Jesus Christ. He went on to conduct some of the most significant research on African religions in decades. They constitute an important channel of the churchs prophetic witness today. When this happens, then a passage such as Hebrews 1:1-3 rolls down like mighty waters, full of exciting possibilities of theological reflection. Indeed, ten years ago I had no significant theological position. That which had been seen as the enemy of the gospel turns out (to me) to be indeed a very welcoming friend. Today, the country claims about 80 million of each . 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. 93 0 obj 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. 75 0 obj At many points I see intriguing parallels between the biblical record and African religiosity. Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. 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. In the other case no such written record exists. On returning home, the learned professor wrote an article using my brief answer as his title. Vodou is a worldview encompassing philosophy, medicine, justice, and religion. 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. PDF Christianity and the African traditional religion(s): The postcolonial 817-820. trailer It sensitized my thinking in many areas, one of these being the quest for Christian unity. Some individuals have criticized these books -- and no book is perfect. Vodou is an oral tradition practiced by extended families that inherit familial spirits, along with the necessary devotional practices, from their elders. Modernity has not put a total stop to its influence. Aujourd'hui, la plupart des Zariens sont soit catholiques, soit protestants; les Biras pour leur part sont principalement catholiques. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Religious pluralism serves peace | D+C - Development + Cooperation Thus, Mbali-God is a creative response on the part of the Bira to the syncretic religious encounter. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). For six years I worked with the World Council of Churches in Geneva. 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. 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. Dr. Mbiti is on the staff of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland. Yet consider that in 1900 most Africans in sub-Saharan Africa practiced a form of indigenous African religions. Its consequences for theological and ecclesiological developments are yet to be faced. 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. This re-ligion is found in almost all the activities of the African man. 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 . 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. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. In particular, the concepts about God provide one area of great commonality. 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. 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). The first and most intriguing topic that immediately engaged my attention was the thinking of African peoples about God. Fewer say it is paramount to their faith to attend religious services (39%), avoid sex before marriage (30%) or oppose abortion . If they are two wavelengths, they make sense only when they move toward a convergence. For this reason, some African theologians take African religiosity to be one of the sources of theological reflection (besides the Bible, Christian heritage, etc.). (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax The bottom line then is that Africans who still wholly practice African indigenous religions are only about 10 percent of the African population, a fraction of what it used to be only a century ago, when indigenous religions dominated most of the continent. He must have been active among African peoples as he was among the Jewish people. In three of the countries surveyed (Djibouti, Mali and Senegal), Muslims clearly outnumber Christians. One of Jacob Oluponas earliest memories in Massachusetts is of nearly freezing in his apartment as a graduate student at Boston University during the great snowstorm of 1978. 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). Copyright by The Christian Century Foundation; used by permission. It was during the Belgian colonial period that the first Catholic and Protestant missionaries came to this region of Zaire. My doctoral studies in New Testament eschatology led me also to the field of Christology. As a resident fellow, Sherman will teach a study group on negotiation and diplomacy this semester. 0000000676 00000 n What is African Traditional Religion? AR-Ndhdnn}H\{%jC!a,]c8F`1LE(3%"w+tj}](q w[,p8i$dd$GrMRD K4wLG4@h\WfPY <<6D546C3FADADB2110A00A09A6B9CFF7F>]/Prev 416812>> 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. In 1988 the society changed its name to the Canadian Anthropology Society to clarify its identity and emphasize its role as an anthropology association. That would be a serious loss not only for Africans, but also for academics, researchers, writers, and general seekers of wisdom the world over. 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. 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. But today that is not the case due to more exclusive-minded types of Christianity and Islam that see patronizing indigenous African beliefs and practices as violating the integrity of their Christian or Muslim principles, but I believe that one can maintain ones religious integrity and also embrace an African worldview. And if these shrines are not properly cared for by the designated descendant, then misfortune in the form of illness might befall the caretaker. So the church which exists on the African scene bears the marks of its peoples backgrounds. 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. Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. Abstract. 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). While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. (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. Anthropologica is published for CASCA by University of Toronto Press. 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. (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. GAZETTE: How have ancestors played a role in traditional societies? He has researched and written about such diverse religious cultures as the Hare Krishnas, Zoroastrians, Shakers, and the Old Order Amish. Today most Zairians belong to either the Catholic or Protestant church, and the Bira themselves are predominantly Catholic. 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$! v6 -j>,>Or%I&!To !{vgrh7xxDs}d[!$8k1zX+@}~ Indigenous religion in Africa is the way Africans understand and worship their god. 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. They are not mutually exclusive. African Traditional Religion in the Context of Christian and Islamic I want to see his healing hand, to hear his word that exorcises evil spirits. African Christianity - African Studies - Oxford Bibliographies - obo They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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.