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. OLUPONA: Your question underscores an important facet about African spirituality: It is not a closed theological system. 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. (See the glossary for more information on juju. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). It may be, and needs to be, a qualified and critical Yes. Y.91sC@o9sJL9@XMw`7\`1%nRjBS %U=a{N>. 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.
Afro-American Religious Syncretism in Brazil and the United States: A 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). interaction between the Christian churches and West African religious culture. 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. GAZETTE: But yet you said its a mixed bag? The decisive word here is "only." I want to reflect and write on this topic, but somehow it makes me feel frightened. 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. Religion Online is designed to assist teachers, scholars and general seekers who are interested in exploring religious issues. 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 . African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent. stream They constitute an important channel of the churchs prophetic witness today. 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. 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). 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. A calendar of ritual feasts, syncretized with the Roman Catholic calendar, provides the yearly rhythm of religious practice. Vodou is a worldview encompassing philosophy, medicine, justice, and religion. 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. One of the things these diaspora African religions testify to is the beauty of African religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels. If they are two wavelengths, they make sense only when they move toward a convergence. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions
Christianity in Africa dates to the very inception of the church. In 1900 there were an estimated 9 million Christians (accounting for about 7 per cent of the population of Africa). Overall, however, Christians outnumber Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa by about two-to-one. But the basic truth seems to be that Gods revelation is not confined to the biblical record. What factors are responsible for it? There is no room to describe them, and I can mention only two or three of them briefly. Omissions? Since Christianity and Islam spread across Africa, many people there have observed a mixture of religious practices. 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. 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. 0000002505 00000 n
Par contre, les croyances en la sorcellerie ont persist. I was like a snail shyly peeping out of its house after a heavy thunderstorm. 0000005714 00000 n
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. After that date there will be more Christians in the south than in the north. 0000001586 00000 n
<<6D546C3FADADB2110A00A09A6B9CFF7F>]/Prev 416812>> Christianity has scored a triumph over the traditional religious life of the Bira. Islam has experienced a similar rapid growth. Its consequences for theological and ecclesiological developments are yet to be faced. 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. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 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 300 ce). 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. 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. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer, By Anthony Chiorazzi Harvard Correspondent. 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. 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. 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. xref This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 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. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Holding or maintaining to a uniform doctrine is not the essence of indigenous African religions. AR-Ndhdnn}H\{%jC!a,]c8F`1LE(3%"w+tj}](q w[,p8i$dd$GrMRD K4wLG4@h\WfPY The continued influence of traditional African religion is also evident in some aspects of daily life. 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. Foreign religions simply dont have that same connection to the African continent. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in postcolonial Africa have made inter-religious dialogue an urgent necessity. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax Corrections? trailer For the full article, see, New religions, independent churches, and prophetic movements, https://www.britannica.com/summary/African-religions. This massive expansion within a short time is unprecedented in the history of Christianity. 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. While African Traditional religion (ATR) is paramount, it is the purpose of this article to suggest that The Church in Africa, 1450-1950. Because of this, Africa is now home to some of the world's largest Christian and Muslim communities. It is a way of life, and it can never be separated from the public sphere. Most people in sub-Saharan Africa now identify with either Christianity or Islam. The missionaries who introduced the gospel to Africa in the past 200 years did not bring God to our continent. That testifies to the enduring power of indigenous religion and its ability to domesticate Christianity and Islam in modern Africa. startxref 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. (back to text), 2 The World Religion Database estimates that roughly four-in-ten people in Guinea Bissau are Muslim and approximately one-in-ten are Christian, with the rest of the population associated with traditional African religions. For over 200 years, Africans, largely from the west coast of Africa, were brought to the United States in the slave trade. That experience gave me a face-to-face encounter with the ecumenical movement and left a lasting mark on me. The conviction that people will be reborn in this world again and again tends to be more common among Christians than Muslims. ), 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. When this happens, then a passage such as Hebrews 1:1-3 rolls down like mighty waters, full of exciting possibilities of theological reflection.
African religions and corresponding beliefs and practices So the church which exists on the African scene bears the marks of its peoples backgrounds. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. 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? OLUPONA: My father, a faithful Anglican priest, was a good example. Their culture, history, world views and spiritual aspirations cannot be taken away from them. 43. religious syncretism, the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices. The first and most intriguing topic that immediately engaged my attention was the thinking of African peoples about God. They are not mutually exclusive. 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. In contrast, witchcraft beliefs persist. 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. Didnt our Lord let it be clearly known that "before Abraham was I am" (John 8:58)? I completed my doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge in 1963, the year that Honest to God, by J.A.T. This statistical tilting of Christendom from the north to the south, after 2,000 years, holds tremendous prospects and challenges. The concept of the church as the body of Christ in the whole world is another growing development for me. 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. x\u}4`P}E#(9q"%LCl'KLb)Sfgdq N 0000014025 00000 n
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. African scholars For this reason, some African theologians take African religiosity to be one of the sources of theological reflection (besides the Bible, Christian heritage, etc.). Its about getting tangible results. Maybe this is why I am not an Anglican priest.
With it, one began to explore afresh the realm of Gods revelation and other treasures of our faith. This is, obviously, a general statement, one which needs detailed elaboration. 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. He later earned both an M.A.
Faith in The One God in Christian and African Traditional Religions: a 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. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and its essential characteristics is: God and humanity, sacrifices, afterlife and ancestors.