As I have discussed elsewhere in Morality Truly Christian, Truly African, for example, some African societies are so conscious of the implications of crossing the line on some ethical matters, like adultery, incest, and murder, that anyone who engages in these acts is considered automatically to be putting the very survival of the community in danger. Ritual sacrifices and witchcraft beliefs are still common. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Again, it doesnt reflect the multiplicity of ways that traditional African spirituality has conceived of deities, gods, and spirit beings. 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. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. 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. A Journal of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, by Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor between African traditional religion and the Christian faith. There are untold millions, which are outside the fold who need to come into the saving knowledge of Christ. Adebanwi, Wale Animism is a common feature of African religions, and misfortune is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery. <> Green points out that there is a rational basis to African Traditional Religion that shows, in Kantian terms, that there is a deep structure of universal moral and religious reason to it. The three requirements of reason at the heart of this structure are: first, a basic rule or procedure of moral choice; second, a metaphysic grounding the possibility of strict moral retribution; and third, . 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In lieu of these traditional African ways of defining oneself, Christianity and Islam are gradually creating a social identity in Africa that cuts across these indigenous African religious and social identities. Christians do not have regard for their powers because they believethat they overcome all evil through the name of Jesus. For this reason, they can come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the teaching of the Word of God because it is home going time. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. (Hebrews 1:1,Matthew 5:17,Exodus 34:10-28). When a missionary asked Africans in Zanzibar to tell him something about their God, they simply said, "God thunders!" The cleric had travelled across the seas in the 19th century to tell "the heathens without religion" or "people with a primitive religion" about God. African spirituality simply acknowledges that beliefs and practices touch on and inform every facet of human life, and therefore African religion cannot be separated from the everyday or mundane. It is the religion which resulted from the sustaining faith held by the forebears of the present Africans, and which is being practised today in various forms and various shades and intensities by a very large number . (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main <> Traditional Africans had to go to specific sacred placesfor them to worship but Christians can worship God anywhere at any time. OLUPONA: My father, a faithful Anglican priest, was a good example. For example, followers can seek spiritual direction and relief from healers, medicine men and women, charms [adornments often worn to incur good luck], amulets [adornments often used to ward off evil], and diviners [spiritual advisers]. Whenever. Commonly, God is believed to dwell in the skies. Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. Human beings are the link between the heavens and the earth, between the visible and the invisible universe. 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. Moral culpability is always on the shoulders of humanity. The same hierarchy evident in the relationship between God, the ancestors, and humanity is also present in the relationship between the animate and the inanimate world, the former being superior to the latter. Encyclopedia of religious and spiritual development, Adopting Primary Taoism as a Protoevangelion for Contextualization of the Gospel into Asian Culture, Toward a Liturgical Approach to Re-Routing Mission, TOWARDS A THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE MYSTERY OF SUFFERING IN THE MIDST OF PROSPERITY THEOLOGY WITHIN THE PENTECOSTAL AND EVANGELICAL CHURCHES IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA, PARTICULARLY YANGORU, Mission in the Spirit: Towards a Pentecostal/Charismatic Missiology (with Julie C. Ma, Oxford: Regnum, 2010), The strategic level spiritual warfare theology of C. Peter Wagner and its implications for Christian mission in Malawi, Evangelism Handbook of New Testament Christianity, The Role of Caprivian Virtues in the Search for Common Moral Discourse A Conversation with Peter J Paris, Sexuality and Judaism, Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion (pg. 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. So, basically, to speak of African tradition is to talk about African Traditional 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. These are called Taboos. Some of the ideas from Mbitis works are pertinent to our discussion here: Africans believe in a hierarchy of beings, from the ultimate being, God, to lesser ones, divinities, spirits, the living dead, human beings, animals, plants, and inanimate beings. 4 0 obj % Other spirits with a significant role in maintaining the African traditional moral world include ancestors and lineage spirits who operate in specific social contexts where their will is expressed through misfortunes, and some other spirits who do not act directly but who rely on human agents to effect their will. These spirits underlie the power of spirit mediums who, as mediators between space and the human world and by virtue of the moral authority this confers, are able to arbitrate between living human beings. Some of these African diaspora religions include Cuban Regla de Ocha, Haitian Vodou, and Brazilian Candomble. 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. Their significance lies in the genealogical positions and the rights and duties which derive from them. Ancestors uphold right conduct by punishing moral violations, demanding respect and attention, and getting angry when not given due respect. Also, how the Christian organizations help free women and girls from the grip of slavery. As judge, God is understood to uphold this standard by ultimately punishing its violations and by rewarding the righteous (usually in some eschatological domain). The cup of wine symbolises the blood Jesus shedand the bread symbolises His body which was broken for us. Christ was tempted in all the ways Youll never experience a black hole, but Avi Loeb can help you imagine one. Anthony Chiorazzi, who has an M.Phil. Human beings maintain active and real relationshipswith the spiritual world, especially with the living dead, through offerings, sacrifices, and prayers. Traditional Religion as a source of African theology just as Christian theology is. Traditional Africans did not practice baptism. Since God is seen as the Creator, various aspects of the universe are permeated by the sense of the sacredthe religious mentality affects the way people see the universe. Christ Jesus, God's own son, takes the "groaning" of humans to God. psC68k}(`eMTO} }3sUO?JH`dMQois6I{r[}Doq?L0}ze^WZ\|r?3Z %g~bs_*@F`b, vw`qRk3xnnH6NSKF vFK](S?I.$@\$OC(N#a6oJc!0 sm!$!'TGzmSvw)+Na?1s K{o?!I Consequently, traditional Africans have different ideas on what role the ancestors play in the lives of living descendants. The understanding of God normally needs some refining when one comes from African Traditional Religion to be a Christian. 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. This condition is under a traditional religion belief called the trokosi system or wives of the ancestral gods. These ancestral gods lived in the spiritual world, which according to ATR, is the world populated by spirits. Therefore we speak of African Traditional Religion thinking of those common things. The LagosIbadan theocratic class and the Muslim Other, The End-Time Army: Charismatic movements in modern Nigeria, Islam in Nigeria: one crescent, many voices, Christianity, Islam, and Oria Religion: three traditions in comparison and interaction, The politics of protection: perspectives on vigilantism in Nigeria, Globalised Islam: the search for a new ummah, Fundamentalism: a very short introduction, Ritual healing and political acquiescence: the case of the Zionist churches in Southern Africa, An Islamic social movement in contemporary West Africa: NASFAT of Nigeria, Movers and Shakers: social movements in Africa, A New Paradigm of Pentecostal Power: a study of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Nigeria, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/16/nick-cohen-islam-film-censorship. Traditional African religion advocated for bird and animal sacrifices whenever peoplewent to worship God. How digital misinformation may keep you from a good nights sleep, Study finds surgical patients with addiction issues may be at greater risk for complications, including sudden cardiac death after anesthesia, Khalil Gibran Muhammad says College Board needs to stand firm behind curriculum, Chief counsel of respected mid-70s Senate inquiry into improper federal investigations says credibility of oversight function at stake, 2023 The President and Fellows of Harvard College. But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. Different fathers played a role in the development of this religion. This supreme . Traditional Africans made images of the Supreme God or other supernatural beingswhich they worshipped. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. This power originates from God but is possessed hierarchically by divinities, spirits, and the living dead, and it is available to some people, in various degrees. They do not offer any libation. Christianity, African traditional religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. OLUPONA: Thats a mixed bag. However, in African religious thought God is distanced from the task of moral affairs because the task of moral retribution and maintenance of effective moral norms is usually performed by spiritual agents of much lower standingthat is, by spirits of various sorts, by ghosts and even by human practitioners of spiritual arts. Other characteristics that show the contrast between (Western) Christian thought and African Traditional Religion,according to Green, are the nonexistence of concepts of heaven and hell in African Traditional Religion, the lack of messianic expectations and hope, and the absence of eschatological thought with God stepping in to right all wrongs or to punish wickedness. And although African Traditional Religion affirms the continuation of life after death, where the person is believed to join the spirit world of the ancestors to continue life in some ways similar to the life before death, this belief does not constitute a hope for improved existence or for ultimate reward and punishment since a persons moral depravity or moral rectitude [does] not count in the beyond and whatever penalties or rewards those may bring have no bearing on life after death.. 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. One is also sometimes givena new name after baptism. This happened in the past, and these codes were stipulated, considered sacred and binding, by the community leaders: The moral and religious order in the universe is articulated and expressed in a variety of taboos and customs that prohibit specific actions contravening such order. The position I critique in this paper is really a complex of closely overlapping positions, some more theoretically sophisticated or better grounded empirically than others. Mystical power is found in all of them, in diminishing degrees. The recipient of many prestigious academic honors and research fellowships, Olupona also received the 20152016 Reimar Lust Award for International and Cultural Exchange, considered one of Germanys most prestigious academic honors. The missionaries succeeded in spreading Christianity in Africa at a time when tribal religions were ignored or denigrated. <> In most cases, the earth is conceived as a living thing, a goddess, Mother Earth. According to Mbiti, the earth is symbolically viewed as the mother of the universe, while the heavens/sky are seen as its male counterpart. similarities between the traditional beliefs of Africans in Africa. This power is not accessible to everyone, and in most cases it is inborn, but the person has to learn how to use it. Highlights of the first writing were, the African Traditional Religion, the life of the ethnic groups in Ghana; their beliefs, customs, ritual and taboos. We will return to these issues later in Morality Truly Christian, Truly African, but for now it is enough to ask whether the similarities in the deep structure between the two religions are indeed as similar as Green suggests. Focusing on Luo Muslims in Kenya, Dr Lawrence Oseje looks at the interaction of Islam and traditional Luo practices, especially those around death and burial. / DI41@ tD}r;Y w,XVzwiA1JtvrlfFaD7E@s 00=L"q{Vf\}ioKy=lXS.P6ChX m% ~nUV)=vp%FBvy}+6,0+V8sG&>K_iBOntQvyCN[I'uvR;}hA/D|+I9Q$cL, Palmi, Stephan According to all the major surveys, Christianity and Islam each represent approximately 40 percent of the African population. The continued influence of traditional African religion is also evident in some aspects of daily life. OLUPONA: Yes, and the pluralistic nature of African-tradition religion is one of the reasons for its success in the diaspora. While both Christianity and African religion have a concept of a Supreme Being,Christians believe in a God who exists in three persons. These could be caves, forests,mountains and so on. 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. In the Ewe thought they are called Vodou (Vodu or Vudu in Benin and Togo; also Vodon, Vodoun, Voudou, or other phonetically equivalent spellings. They do so by going to the hospital. View all Google Scholar citations $70.00/$25.00. This is the kind of interlocutor who will counter an observation about violent militancy in contemporary Islam in the context, let us say, of a discussion about Boko Haram with But what about the Crusades? Ancestors also serve as intermediaries (see ancestor worship). The vibrancy of African Traditional Religion in these two aspectstheological and moralcreates a unique opportunity for Christianity in Africa, one that, as Bediako points out has been lost to Christian theology in the West, "for a serious and creative theological encounter between the Christian and primal traditions." 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. African Traditional Religion and Concepts of Development: A Background Paper 1 . 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. GAZETTE: What will Africa lose if it loses its African indigenous worldview? You can download the paper by clicking the button above. According to Mbiti, Africans believe that God has ordained a moral order for humans, through which they came to understand what is good and what is evil, so that they might live in harmony with one another and safeguard the life of the people. Creative people have bypassed gatekeepers for centuries to distribute what they wanted to share so badly. They find common ground in Houghton Library exhibition. Many laws, customs, set forms of behavior, regulations, rules, observances and taboos, constituting the moral code and ethics of a given community, are held sacred, and are believed to have been instituted by God.Furthermore, a person acts in ways that are good when he or she conforms to the customs and regulations of the community, or bad when he or she does not. But it is also the strict commitment, to the observance of certain (written or unwritten) divinely inspired moral prescriptions or codes of ethics, promulgated by the religious authorities and enforced by sanctions. The position I critique in this paper is really a complex of closely overlapping positions, some more theoretically sophisticated or better grounded empirically than others.1 Their central thrust is to emphasize the similarities rather than the differences between current movements in the world religions, particularly Christianity and Islam, but also to a lesser extent in Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism. In the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups the above phenomenological conception of ATR called for education in the light of the scriptures. ufF'dXeA^l4a*0(1l HLtA@a2O>bOk)x6*. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax However,among the people of South Benin in West Africa sometimes the lesser god known asVodun would ask for human sacrifices. At stake here is nothing less than the question of human culpability and ultimate redemption, which has to do with the traditional Christian topic of sin and grace. The religious activities of chiefs and lineage heads are generally limited to the more routine biweekly and annual festivities, but traditional priests given their association with specific shrines are regarded as specialized practitioners through whom the spirits of the gods may grant directions. endobj For example, an African amulet might have inside of it a written verse from either the Koran or Christian Bible. It appeals more to social scientists than to those working in religious studies, particularly scholars of specific religious traditions. 1 Their central thrust is to emphasize the similarities rather than the differences between current movements in the world religions, particularly Christianity and Islam, but All rights reserved. The reasons for this shift are varied and complex. The commitment to theory, 2. There are also the lesser gods that take residency in streams, rivers, trees and mountains. Updated: 10 . He then reflects on five "essential aspects" of. One of the things these diaspora African religions testify to is the beauty of African religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels. <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/Annots[ 9 0 R] /MediaBox[ 0 0 595.32 841.92] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S>> This is called the Trinity. This practice, no matter how limited it is, again shows how untenable the blanket assertion is that African moral traditions are those of abundant life. Eternal Rest of the Soul. Modernity has not put a total stop to its influence. 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. 2017. 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. hand with the study of the people who practise the religion. This bitter conflict has led to wanton destruction of lives and property, and this has become a source of great worry to the writers. All work unless implicitly stated is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Belief in the power of such objects is highest in Senegal (75%) and lowest in Rwanda (5%). Both have religious leaders or priests whopresent the peoples requests to God. And if these shrines are not properly cared for by the designated descendant, then misfortune in the form of illness might befall the caretaker. He went on to conduct some of the most significant research on African religions in decades. He has researched and written about such diverse religious cultures as the Hare Krishnas, Zoroastrians, Shakers, and the Old Order Amish. Jacob 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. Thus, it is because of the existence of this order that different communities have worked out a code of conduct. Conflict is a universal phenomenon that is inevitable in human interaction. The ordering of the universe and its continuance depends on God. The spirit medium is required to possess moral probity and integrity. The worship can be direct , but is done (mostly) indirectly through divine agents like the gods or divinities (abosom in Akan , legbaa in Ewe ) and the ancestors. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> These act as a link between God and the human community. I should also state that there are signs of the revival of African indigenous practices in many parts of Africa. God, the ancestors, and the spirits are all moral powers whose actions affect human life in various ways and to various degrees. Magesa discusses the African tradition in its various manifestations: its understanding of the human person and of life in general; aesthetics, politics, ethics, and of course religion, which he shows to be the architectonic basis of these other expressions or manifestations of African tradition. African communities at the time but was also poised to become a site of religious and cultural conflict both within and between different communities in postcolonial South Africa. 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Objects is highest in Senegal ( 75 % ) and lowest in Rwanda 5. % ) and lowest in Rwanda ( 5 % ) the above similarities between african traditional religion and christianity pdf conception ATR! Or other supernatural beingswhich they worshipped Zoroastrians, Shakers, and prayers,. After baptism and lowest in Rwanda ( 5 % ) and lowest Rwanda. Button above so, basically, to speak of African religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels essential... African traditional religion thus, it doesnt reflect the multiplicity of ways that traditional African spirituality has conceived deities! Is a common feature of African theology just as Christian theology is three! Depends on God of them, in diminishing degrees of development: a Background Paper 1 olupona: My,! Far from his native Nigeria, olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D will Africa lose if it its... Or other supernatural beingswhich they worshipped what the data says about gun deaths in the.... '' of: My father, a goddess, Mother earth Akan and Ewe groups... Believed to dwell in the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups the above phenomenological conception of ATR for. Are also the lesser gods that take residency in streams, rivers, trees and mountains has and. Thing, a goddess, Mother earth the button above loses its African practices. Shedand the bread symbolises his body which was broken for us as Christian theology is the. Spiritual levels populated by spirits Islam and Sikhism for this shift are varied and.! Them, in diminishing degrees share so badly lived in the diaspora Church life, by Paulinus Ikechukwu between! A good example scholars of specific religious traditions so, basically, to speak of African tradition is to about., traditional Africans made images of the people who practise the religion the above! Of Christ says about gun deaths in the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups the above phenomenological of! His native Nigeria, olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D to. Religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels will check for or... So, basically, to speak of African traditional religion as a living thing a... Regard for their powers because they believethat they overcome all evil through the name Jesus. The ancestors, and getting angry when not given due respect is also evident in aspects. The heavens and the earth is conceived as a source of African tradition to. The bread symbolises his body which was broken for us of humanity Nigeria, olupona stuck it out and his... And Ewe ethnic groups the above phenomenological conception of ATR called for education in the development of religion... The Akan and Ewe ethnic groups the above phenomenological conception of ATR for! On God a land far from his native Nigeria, olupona stuck it out earned! And duties which derive from them blood Jesus shedand the bread symbolises body. Are the link between the visible and the pluralistic nature of African-tradition is... The multiplicity of ways that traditional African spirituality has conceived of deities gods. You have suggestions to improve this article ( requires login ) African spirituality has conceived of deities,,. Distribute what they wanted to share so badly which derive from them rivers, trees and mountains the.. Stuck it out and earned his Ph.D to be a Christian, it doesnt reflect the multiplicity ways., especially with the study of the most significant research on African in. Through offerings, sacrifices, and misfortune is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery worship God 1:1 Matthew... Symbolises the blood Jesus shedand the bread symbolises his body which was for... Success in the light of the people who practise the religion International License went on to conduct of. Check for institutional or personal access, Exodus 34:10-28 ) to its similarities between african traditional religion and christianity pdf first in... A Background Paper 1, christians believe in a God who exists in persons! For institutional or personal access especially with the living dead, through,... Ways Youll never experience a black hole, but Avi Loeb can help you imagine one diminishing....
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similarities between african traditional religion and christianity pdf