mixing of christianity and traditional african religions apushmixing of christianity and traditional african religions apush

This chapter includes information on: Traditional African religious beliefs, such as belief in the protective power of sacrifices to ancestors Traditional African religious practices, such as owning sacred objects Download chapter 3 in full (3-page PDF, <1MB) Photo credit: Sebastien Desarmaux/GODONG/Godong/Corbis At Makerere University I taught New Testament, African religion and other courses. An old African adage says: The sky is large enough for birds to fly around without one having to bump into the other.. In this overpowering environment, one simply accepted this stand and looked at the world from its perspectives. Ethiopia's Christian population, at 6 million in 1900, will grow to a projected 100 million in 2050. 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. I want to see his healing hand, to hear his word that exorcises evil spirits. 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. He sees the other faith as complementing and even adding spiritual potency to his own spiritual practice of constructing effective amulets. Its consequences for theological and ecclesiological developments are yet to be faced. These initiation rituals are already not as common in Africa as they were only 50 years ago, yet age-grade initiations have always helped young Africans feel connected to their community and their past. 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. He has researched and written about such diverse religious cultures as the Hare Krishnas, Zoroastrians, Shakers, and the Old Order Amish. They have also fostered a greater feeling of individual self-worth by acknowledging important milestones in ones life, including becoming an adult or an elder. 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. Yet . 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. 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. In one case the thinking and experience of the people produced a written record of Gods dealings with the Jewish people in particular. 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. 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. Anthropologica African development. GAZETTE: It sounds like African indigenous religions are dynamic, inclusive, and flexible. But for many Africans, religion can never be separated from all these. 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. I should add that without claiming to be full members of indigenous traditions, there are many professed Christians and Muslims who participate in one form of indigenous religious rituals and practices or another. Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. Omissions? 0000015705 00000 n The missionaries who introduced the gospel to Africa in the past 200 years did not bring God to our continent. My research into and teaching of African religion has led to another important area of development. 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. 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. 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. I also celebrate and honor the kings festivals and ceremonies in my hometown and other places where I live and do research. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The councils programs in response to these problems are impressive. 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. 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. Some of these African diaspora religions include Cuban Regla de Ocha, Haitian Vodou, and Brazilian Candomble. No doubt there still remain much research and reflection to be done in order to work out a consistent theological understanding of the issues entailed here. This statistical tilting of Christendom from the north to the south, after 2,000 years, holds tremendous prospects and challenges. 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. OLUPONA: Yes, and the pluralistic nature of African-tradition religion is one of the reasons for its success in the diaspora. Awolawu and Depamu (1979) GAZETTE: Are ancestors considered deities in the traditional African cosmology? 0000001019 00000 n 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. 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. GAZETTE: How do you balance your Christian and indigenous African identity? Animism is a common feature of African religions, and misfortune is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery. 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. There are also other parallels in social, political and cultural areas, just as there are some significant differences. Fewer say it is paramount to their faith to attend religious services (39%), avoid sex before marriage (30%) or oppose abortion . That would be a serious loss not only for Africans, but also for academics, researchers, writers, and general seekers of wisdom the world over. After that date there will be more Christians in the south than in the north. (See the glossary for more information on the evil eye.). 0000001586 00000 n They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Humans are spirits who inhabit the visible world. In most countries, however, less than one-in-twenty say this is their primary religious affiliation. I am tantalized by the fact that my vision cannot cope with that horizon. It includes Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. There is no room to describe them, and I can mention only two or three of them briefly. So the church which exists on the African scene bears the marks of its peoples backgrounds. 93 0 obj My doctoral studies in New Testament eschatology led me also to the field of Christology. OLUPONA: The role of ancestors in the African cosmology has always been significant. Spirit possession plays an important role in Afro-Haitian religion, as it does in many other world religions. Some people tried to involve Africa in the debate. In most countries surveyed, at least three-in-ten people believe in reincarnation, which may be related to traditional beliefs in ancestral spirits. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. When we identify the God of the Bible as the same God who is known through African religion (whatever its limitations), we must also take it that God has had a historical relationship with African peoples. Olupona earned his bachelor of arts degree in religious studies from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1975. 0000002026 00000 n This massive expansion within a short time is unprecedented in the history of Christianity. 300 ce). At first, Christianity made few inroads into the African slave population, which had its own religious traditions. 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. And if these shrines are not properly cared for by the designated descendant, then misfortune in the form of illness might befall the caretaker. 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. 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. One of the things these diaspora African religions testify to is the beauty of African religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels. That finished the interview. Author of. The WCCs very existence as a council of churches is a living hope. OLUPONA: Indigenous African religions refer to the indigenous or native religious beliefs of the African people before the Christian and Islamic colonization of Africa. This is not to say that indigenous African spirituality represents a form of theocracy or religious totalitarianism not at all. 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. We can list some obvious and often publicized factors. 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. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, between 10% and 15% of respondents are Muslim. 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. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main 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. While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. So I read on and on, and conducted field research to learn more and more. Vodou is an oral tradition practiced by extended families that inherit familial spirits, along with the necessary devotional practices, from their elders. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. Most people in sub-Saharan Africa now identify with either Christianity or Islam. Didnt our Lord let it be clearly known that "before Abraham was I am" (John 8:58)? This re-ligion is found in almost all the activities of the African man. Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation. 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. 0000003641 00000 n 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 . In four countries, for instance, half or more of the population believes that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm. 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. (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. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax Modernity has not put a total stop to its influence. As the map also shows, the ratio of Christians to Muslims increases the further south one goes in the continent. For the full article, see, New religions, independent churches, and prophetic movements, https://www.britannica.com/summary/African-religions. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in postcolonial Africa have made inter-religious dialogue an urgent necessity. In contrast, witchcraft beliefs persist. 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. I completed my doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge in 1963, the year that Honest to God, by J.A.T. African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent. Current articles and subscription information can be found at www.christiancentury.org. 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. Maybe this is why I am not an Anglican priest. 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. 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. 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. stream 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. In 1900 there were an estimated 9 million Christians (accounting for about 7 per cent of the population of Africa). OLUPONA: Thats a mixed bag. 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. GAZETTE: What allows African indigenous religions to be so accommodating? I had it. GAZETTE: What is the state of indigenous African religions today? The church is composed largely of people who come out of the African religious background. 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. That book was followed by a flurry of literature on the so-called "death of God" theology (if "theology" it was, for I would call it "atheology"). OLUPONA: No, this type of binary thinking is simplistic. settlements formed by African slaves who ran away from imprisonment the Americas Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer, By Anthony Chiorazzi Harvard Correspondent. 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%). When this happens, then a passage such as Hebrews 1:1-3 rolls down like mighty waters, full of exciting possibilities of theological reflection. xref It sensitized my thinking in many areas, one of these being the quest for Christian unity.

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