Following a period of parish work in England, I went to teach at Makerere University, Uganda, where I remained for ten years until 1974. 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. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. Anthropologica is published for CASCA by University of Toronto Press. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. startxref The previous year I had published African Religions and Philosophy (Doubleday, 1969).
Vodou | Definition, History, West African Vodun, & Facts His research has helped to introduce and popularize new concepts in religious studies, such as the term reverse missionaries, referring to African prelates sent to Europe and the United States. religious syncretism, the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices. 0000001791 00000 n
So I read on and on, and conducted field research to learn more and more. <>stream
This massive expansion within a short time is unprecedented in the history of Christianity. %PDF-1.3 If they are two wavelengths, they make sense only when they move toward a convergence. 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. Vodou, also spelled Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun, or French Vaudou, a traditional Afro-Haitian religion. But I feel that the issue of looking at African history in light of the biblical understanding of history is clearly called for. African immigrants and slaves worked to maintain traditional religious and social practices in their new surroundings. OLUPONA: Thats a mixed bag. Its fundamental principle is that everything is spirit. An old African adage says: The sky is large enough for birds to fly around without one having to bump into the other.. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and . OLUPONA: Yes, and the pluralistic nature of African-tradition religion is one of the reasons for its success in the diaspora. Yet . In its place there emerged the word "also." 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. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Its about getting tangible results. This includes five countries (Cameroon, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal) where more than half the population uses traditional healers.
The spirituality of Africa - Harvard Gazette Most people in sub-Saharan Africa now identify with either Christianity or Islam. 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. We can list some obvious and often publicized factors. 0000001019 00000 n
Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. But Gods dealings with the African people are recorded, nevertheless, in living form -- oral communication, rituals, symbols, ceremonies, community faith. Take em with a grain of salt. Corrections? Some people tried to involve Africa in the debate. 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. Anthony Chiorazzi, who has an M.Phil. 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. When this happens, then a passage such as Hebrews 1:1-3 rolls down like mighty waters, full of exciting possibilities of theological reflection. In most countries surveyed, at least three-in-ten people believe in reincarnation, which may be related to traditional beliefs in ancestral spirits. 0000002026 00000 n
African Traditional Religion in the Context of Christian and Islamic Awolawu and Depamu (1979) Corrections? He sees the other faith as complementing and even adding spiritual potency to his own spiritual practice of constructing effective amulets. In most countries, however, less than one-in-twenty say this is their primary religious affiliation. /// Dans le nord-est du Zare, la communaut rurale Bira a t expose depuis plus de cinquante ans au message chrtien. For over 200 years, Africans, largely from the west coast of Africa, were brought to the United States in the slave trade. GAZETTE: In trying to understand African spirituality, is it helpful to refer to it as polytheistic or monotheistic? The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in postcolonial Africa have made inter-religious dialogue an urgent necessity.
African religions and corresponding beliefs and practices The Pew Forums survey found 52% of the population is Muslim.
African diaspora religions - Wikipedia The continued influence of traditional African religion is also evident in some aspects of daily life. 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. But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research.
Religious beliefs among Black Americans | Pew Research Center 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. In Nigeria, the population in 1900 included 4.2 million Muslims and 180,000 Christians. A conference of mainly African theologians, held in Ghana in December 1977, said in its final communiqu: "The God of history speaks to all peoples in particular ways.
APUSH Unit 1 Flashcards | Quizlet Author of. Ifa is an indispensable treasure trove of knowledge that cant be duplicated elsewhere; much of its knowledge has been handed down from babalawo [Ifa priest/diviner] to babalawo for centuries. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main This bitter conflict has led to wanton destruction of lives and property, and this has become a source of great worry to the writers. A follower of African diaspora religions has many choices in terms of seeking spiritual help or succor. 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. Ethiopia's Christian population, at 6 million in 1900, will grow to a projected 100 million in 2050. African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent. Vodou, also spelled Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun, or French Vaudou, a traditional Afro-Haitian religion. OLUPONA: The role of ancestors in the African cosmology has always been significant. I am very excited, for example, by the estimate that in 1987 there will be a statistical balance of Christian population between the north (Europe, Soviet Union and America) and the south (Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania). 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. Indeed, ten years ago I had no significant theological position. Today, the country claims about 80 million of each . Humans are spirits who inhabit the visible world. In Africa the traditional religions are a major source for the study of the African experience of God. Traditional African religious beliefs, such as belief in the protective power of sacrifices to ancestors, Traditional African religious practices, such as owning sacred objects. Updates? Diviners who go through a long educational and apprenticeship program hold the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of the African people. But I am grateful for that one step I may be taking under the light of this vision. Christianity is more dominant in the south, while Islam is more dominant in the north. 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. Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. 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. 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. But for many Africans, religion can never be separated from all these. 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. 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. GAZETTE: Are ancestors considered deities in the traditional African cosmology? In the other case no such written record exists.
Conflicts Between African Traditional Religion and Christianity in Religion Online is designed to assist teachers, scholars and general seekers who are interested in exploring religious issues. 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.
Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation | Pew Research Center But in practical terms, there is a Christian Yes to African religiosity. 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. Some individuals have criticized these books -- and no book is perfect. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. I have concentrated these comments on the role of African background in my theological reflection. I find the traditional Western distinction between "special revelation" and "general revelation" to be inadequate and unfreeing. 0000014207 00000 n
Instead, God brought them. Christianity has scored a triumph over the traditional religious life of the Bira. 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.
AP US History Period 1, APUSH Period 1 Flashcards | Quizlet Many other familial feasts (for the sacred children, for the poor, for particular ancestors) as well as initiations and funerary rituals occur throughout the year. 817-820. 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. That is anathema to the fundamentalist faith movements that have been gaining momentum in recent decades. While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. 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. ), 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. Fewer say it is paramount to their faith to attend religious services (39%), avoid sex before marriage (30%) or oppose abortion . 0000005005 00000 n
"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. 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). For example, an African amulet might have inside of it a written verse from either the Koran or Christian Bible. OLUPONA: No, this type of binary thinking is simplistic. "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. 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. I cannot claim that I have witnessed much progress in that quest at the organizational level, but perhaps I had expected too much. 0000014025 00000 n
GAZETTE: But yet you said its a mixed bag? For this reason, some African theologians take African religiosity to be one of the sources of theological reflection (besides the Bible, Christian heritage, etc.). There are other areas of exploration in which I continue to be engaged. 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. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax Important lwa are celebrated on saints days (for example: Ogou on St. Jamess Day, July 25; Ezili Danto on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16; Danbala on St. Patricks Day, March 17; and the spirits of the ancestors on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, November 1 and November 2). I want to see his healing hand, to hear his word that exorcises evil spirits. {PB,`s The book comprised ideas that I had gathered from 300 African peoples ("tribes" -- a term that today is sometimes used in derogatory ways). Omissions? trailer 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%. The unseen world is populated by lwa (spirits), myst (mysteries), anvizib (the invisibles), zanj (angels), and the spirits of ancestors and the recently deceased. 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. They are not mutually exclusive. 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.
Religious pluralism serves peace | D+C - Development + Cooperation The concept of the church as the body of Christ in the whole world is another growing development for me. 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. Rituals are aimed at maintaining a harmonious relationship with cosmic powers, and many have associated myths that explain their significance. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Thus, Mbali-God is a creative response on the part of the Bira to the syncretic religious encounter. Africans consequently played a crucial role in establishing the doctrines and theology of the early church. In respect and honor of my culture, I also dress in my traditional Nigerian attire when Im in my country. 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. 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. Abstract. What factors are responsible for it? 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. The WCCs very existence as a council of churches is a living hope. 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. 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. 0000000676 00000 n
colonization_terms_apush.docx - ` Units 1 and 2 Vocabulary 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. In one case the thinking and experience of the people produced a written record of Gods dealings with the Jewish people in particular. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, between 10% and 15% of respondents are Muslim. These statements await further exploration by African theologians. Ritual sacrifices and witchcraft beliefs are still common. After that date there will be more Christians in the south than in the north. 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 Christianity - African Studies - Oxford Bibliographies - obo Faith in The One God in Christian and African Traditional Religions: a These were not empty names. The first African captives entered England's North American colonies through Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Its consequences for theological and ecclesiological developments are yet to be faced. 0000002264 00000 n
In 1900 there were an estimated 9 million Christians (accounting for about 7 per cent of the population of Africa). The word Vodou means spirit or deity in the Fon language of the African kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin). Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer, By Anthony Chiorazzi Harvard Correspondent. 0
PDF Christianity and the African traditional religion(s): The postcolonial GAZETTE: What will Africa lose if it loses its African indigenous worldview? 0000015705 00000 n
Amen. (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. The God described in the Bible is none other than the God who is already known in the framework of our traditional African religiosity. Again, it doesnt reflect the multiplicity of ways that traditional African spirituality has conceived of deities, gods, and spirit beings. This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. 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. Since Christianity and Islam spread across Africa, many people there have observed a mixture of religious practices. Some of these African diaspora religions include Cuban Regla de Ocha, Haitian Vodou, and Brazilian Candomble. Religious pluralism serves peace. That experience gave me a face-to-face encounter with the ecumenical movement and left a lasting mark on me. I told my father that I was coming home, he recalled. 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. As discussed elsewhere in this report, many Christians and Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa retain beliefs and rituals that are characteristic of traditional African religions. Of course, behind all these factors is the Holy Spirit working through them. The beliefs and practices of the traditional religions in Africa can enrich Christian theology and spirituality." 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). 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. 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). Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. Par contre, les croyances en la sorcellerie ont persist. The decisive word here is "only." I am tantalized by the fact that my vision cannot cope with that horizon. 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. But the basic truth seems to be that Gods revelation is not confined to the biblical record. OLUPONA: My father, a faithful Anglican priest, was a good example. All too often, the result is conflict and radicalisation. That testifies to the enduring power of indigenous religion and its ability to domesticate Christianity and Islam in modern Africa. %%EOF In three of the countries surveyed (Djibouti, Mali and Senegal), Muslims clearly outnumber Christians. And this witness deserves ones support through service and prayer. Currently I am about to complete a book on this question of the encounter between the biblical faith and African religion. 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. 1"7$X9Xyyyb GNpL!9I&mxo0++44cA@5c. 0000001198 00000 n
Spirit possession plays an important role in Afro-Haitian religion, as it does in many other world religions. Prayers and sacrificial offerings are usually directed toward secondary divinities, who are intermediaries between the human and sacred realms. Because of this, Africa is now home to some of the world's largest Christian and Muslim communities. Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. 0000003217 00000 n
Their culture, history, world views and spiritual aspirations cannot be taken away from them. Belief in the power of such objects is highest in Senegal (75%) and lowest in Rwanda (5%). In 1988 the society changed its name to the Canadian Anthropology Society to clarify its identity and emphasize its role as an anthropology association. settlements formed by African slaves who ran away from imprisonment the Americas % 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%). These impinge upon their daily life- and experience of the Christian faith. Christianity in Africa dates to the very inception of the church. This statistical tilting of Christendom from the north to the south, after 2,000 years, holds tremendous prospects and challenges. As a resident fellow, Sherman will teach a study group on negotiation and diplomacy this semester. 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. Islam And Christianity Christianity came first to the continent of Africa in the 1st or early 2nd century AD. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Liberia is the only country where more than one-in-ten (12%) identify primarily with an African traditional religion.
Then was he not there in other times and in such places as Mount Fuji and Mount Kenya, as well as Mount Sinai? They will certainly be overwhelming, and I feel very excited about them. Omissions? Revelation is given not in a vacuum but within particular historical experiences and reflections. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 75 0 obj We have already noted that the overseas missionaries did not bring God to Africa. Theological development in Africa must inevitably grow within this religious setting. Copyright by The Christian Century Foundation; used by permission. Orthodox Christianity, although influenced by other religions, generally looked negatively upon these syncretistic movements. 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. 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. They proclaimed the name of Jesus Christ. Maybe this is why I am not an Anglican priest. Yet consider that in 1900 most Africans in sub-Saharan Africa practiced a form of indigenous African religions.