mixing of christianity and traditional african religions apush

I wont pray to an orisa, but I will affirm the importance of my connection with members of my age group. So the church which exists on the African scene bears the marks of its peoples backgrounds. 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. Corrections? OLUPONA: My father, a faithful Anglican priest, was a good example. Since Christianity and Islam spread across Africa, many people there have observed a mixture of religious practices. 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 . v6 -j>,>Or%I&!To !{vgrh7xxDs}d[!$8k1zX+@}~ Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. In these congregations, knowledge is passed on through a ritual of initiation (kanzo) in which the body becomes the site of spiritual transformation. The continued influence of traditional African religion is also evident in some aspects of daily life. 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. 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. 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. 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. In Cameroon, Ethiopia, Liberia and Mozambique, Muslims account for between 15% and 30% of survey respondents. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. This is not an empty coincidence. The Yoruba, however, do have a concept of a supreme being, called Olorun or Olodumare, and this creator god of the universe is empowered by the various orisa [deities] to create the earth and carry out all its related functions, including receiving the prayers and supplications of the Yoruba people. "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. In Africa the traditional religions are a major source for the study of the African experience of God. Christianity is more dominant in the south, while Islam is more dominant in the north. An old African adage says: The sky is large enough for birds to fly around without one having to bump into the other.. In contrast, witchcraft beliefs persist. %%EOF It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. For over 200 years, Africans, largely from the west coast of Africa, were brought to the United States in the slave trade. 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. I have concentrated these comments on the role of African background in my theological reflection. 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. 0000002026 00000 n A semi-annual journal, it publishes peer-reviewed articles in both French and English devoted to social and cultural issues whether they are pre-historic, historic, contemporary, biological, linguistic, applied or theoretical in orientation. Spirit possession plays an important role in Afro-Haitian religion, as it does in many other world religions. Anthropologica is published for CASCA by University of Toronto Press. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax African religion has equipped people to listen to the gospel, to discover meaningful passages in the Bible, and to avoid unhealthy religious conflict. %PDF-1.7 % But Gods dealings with the African people are recorded, nevertheless, in living form -- oral communication, rituals, symbols, ceremonies, community faith. In addition, roughly a quarter or more of the population in 11 countries say they believe in the protective power of juju (charms or amulets), shrines and other sacred objects. A subscription to Anthropologica is included in CASCA's annual membership fee. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. In 1900 there were an estimated 9 million Christians (accounting for about 7 per cent of the population of Africa). (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main Religious pluralism serves peace. This rapid spreading of the Christian faith where people have been predominantly followers of African religion provokes interesting questions. 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. As a resident fellow, Sherman will teach a study group on negotiation and diplomacy this semester. Of course, behind all these factors is the Holy Spirit working through them. I have been greatly enriched by working at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, 1974-1980. Abstract. They were names of one and the same God, the creator of the world, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Nigeria, the population in 1900 included 4.2 million Muslims and 180,000 Christians. Consequently, traditional Africans have different ideas on what role the ancestors play in the lives of living descendants. 0000001586 00000 n They derive from traditional African religions with some influence from other religious traditions, notably Christianity and Islam . Oral tradition says the first Muslims appeared while the prophet Mohammed was. (See the glossary for more information on juju. 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. GAZETTE: It sounds like African indigenous religions are dynamic, inclusive, and flexible. Take em with a grain of salt. Vodou ritual activity (e.g., prayer, song, dance, and gesture) is aimed at refining and restoring balance and energy in relationships between people and between people and the spirits of the unseen world. In particular, the concepts about God provide one area of great commonality. It is essentially a postcolonial approach to what AIR and its essential characteristics is: God and humanity, sacrifices, afterlife and ancestors. A calendar of ritual feasts, syncretized with the Roman Catholic calendar, provides the yearly rhythm of religious practice. GAZETTE: How have ancestors played a role in traditional societies? Vodou is an oral tradition practiced by extended families that inherit familial spirits, along with the necessary devotional practices, from their elders. 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. 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. Again, it doesnt reflect the multiplicity of ways that traditional African spirituality has conceived of deities, gods, and spirit beings. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994. Because of this, Africa is now home to some of the world's largest Christian and Muslim communities. Since I myself had never heard any lectures on African religion, I set out to do research on the subject in order to teach the course adequately. 0000005714 00000 n Omissions? Ritual sacrifices and witchcraft beliefs are still common. I want to walk with Jesus of Nazareth on the shores of Lake Galilee and the hillsides of Judea, through the gates of Jerusalem. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. God was not a stranger to African peoples. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main This approach is intended to shed further light on the problem of African cultural influence and . 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. 0000008365 00000 n Corrections? The Church in Africa, 1450-1950. Wendy Sherman, who was the lead U.S. negotiator in the nuclear deal with Iran, was welcomed by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. On returning home, the learned professor wrote an article using my brief answer as his title. Subscriptions are available to libraries and individuals who are not members of CASCA. I want to reflect and write on this topic, but somehow it makes me feel frightened. That is anathema to the fundamentalist faith movements that have been gaining momentum in recent decades. At many points I see intriguing parallels between the biblical record and African religiosity. I have seen the quest more sharply. He must have been active among African peoples as he was among the Jewish people. ), 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. Animism is a common feature of African religions, and misfortune is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery. It sensitized my thinking in many areas, one of these being the quest for Christian unity. 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). 93 0 obj Africans consequently played a crucial role in establishing the doctrines and theology of the early church. In four countries, for instance, half or more of the population believes that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm. <> For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions It is a way of life, and it can never be separated from the public sphere. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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. Fewer say it is paramount to their faith to attend religious services (39%), avoid sex before marriage (30%) or oppose abortion . 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. (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. (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. Foreign religions simply dont have that same connection to the African continent. There is no centralized hierarchy, no single leader, and no official spokesperson, but various groups sometimes attempt to create such official structures. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. As the map also shows, the ratio of Christians to Muslims increases the further south one goes in the continent. % 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. 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. 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. stream 1996 Canadian Anthropology Society While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. 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. Vodou, also spelled Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun, or French Vaudou, a traditional Afro-Haitian religion. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). According to all the major surveys, Christianity and Islam each represent approximately 40 percent of the African population. Islam And Christianity Christianity came first to the continent of Africa in the 1st or early 2nd century AD. In one case the thinking and experience of the people produced a written record of Gods dealings with the Jewish people in particular. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Today most Zairians belong to either the Catholic or Protestant church, and the Bira themselves are predominantly Catholic. 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. At Makerere University I taught New Testament, African religion and other courses. 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%). 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. A close geographical correlation exists between the location of African religion and the rapid expansion of the Christian faith. Some of these African diaspora religions include Cuban Regla de Ocha, Haitian Vodou, and Brazilian Candomble. mixing of Christianity and traditional African religions What were maroon communities? Corrections? OLUPONA: Yes, its a mixed bag because in the African diaspora mostly due to the slave trade starting in the 15th century indigenous African religions have spread and taken root all over the world, including in the United States and Europe. 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. 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%. African spirituality is truly holistic. The conviction that people will be reborn in this world again and again tends to be more common among Christians than Muslims. These were not empty names. Its about getting tangible results. When this happens, then a passage such as Hebrews 1:1-3 rolls down like mighty waters, full of exciting possibilities of theological reflection. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 0000003641 00000 n Anthropologica Yet . Following a period of parish work in England, I went to teach at Makerere University, Uganda, where I remained for ten years until 1974. 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. This re-ligion is found in almost all the activities of the African man. 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. The church is composed largely of people who come out of the African religious background. GAZETTE: What is the state of indigenous African religions today? Olupona earned his bachelor of arts degree in religious studies from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1975. interaction between the Christian churches and West African religious culture. In 1988 the society changed its name to the Canadian Anthropology Society to clarify its identity and emphasize its role as an anthropology association. But whatever the shortcomings of these and my other publications, the materials that went into these two have raised extremely important issues for me that have continued to engage my reflection. Holding or maintaining to a uniform doctrine is not the essence of indigenous African religions. The unseen world is populated by lwa (spirits), myst (mysteries), anvizib (the invisibles), zanj (angels), and the spirits of ancestors and the recently deceased. For myself, I negotiate between my Yoruba and Christian identity by, for example, affirming those aspects of African culture that promote good life and communal human welfare. GAZETTE: How do you balance your Christian and indigenous African identity? In its place there emerged the word "also." What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. The Pew Forums survey found 52% of the population is Muslim. It was during the Belgian colonial period that the first Catholic and Protestant missionaries came to this region of Zaire. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. There is no room to describe them, and I can mention only two or three of them briefly. 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). But for many Africans, religion can never be separated from all these. 0 With it, one began to explore afresh the realm of Gods revelation and other treasures of our faith. The word Vodou means spirit or deity in the Fon language of the African kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin). Vodou, also spelled Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun, or French Vaudou, a traditional Afro-Haitian religion. Islam has experienced a similar rapid growth. This is not a biblical distinction. 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). Their history has a theological meaning. This massive expansion within a short time is unprecedented in the history of Christianity. Their culture, history, world views and spiritual aspirations cannot be taken away from them. OLUPONA: One of the basic reasons is that indigenous African spiritual beliefs are not bound by a written text, like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But I feel that the issue of looking at African history in light of the biblical understanding of history is clearly called for. They depended on the labor of enslaved Africans who often constituted the majority of the population in these areas and developed their own forms of cultural and religious autonomy Examples: plantation agriculture, the Carolinas (rice), Barbados (sugar), tobacco Colonial government African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent. African immigrants and slaves worked to maintain traditional religious and social practices in their new surroundings. 0000000676 00000 n The more I peeped into African religious insights about God, the more I felt utterly unable to use the word "only" in this case. 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. Updates? 817-820. OLUPONA: Your question underscores an important facet about African spirituality: It is not a closed theological system. That which had been seen as the enemy of the gospel turns out (to me) to be indeed a very welcoming friend. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. AR-Ndhdnn}H\{%jC!a,]c8F`1LE(3%"w+tj}](q w[,p8i$dd$GrMRD K4wLG4@h\WfPY It will keep me chewing for a long time, and it will most certainly feed my theological development. Some scholars choose to call it the African Traditional Religion, while others prefer to name it the African traditional Religions. I should also state that there are signs of the revival of African indigenous practices in many parts of Africa. 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. 0000001791 00000 n If they are two wavelengths, they make sense only when they move toward a convergence. Indigenous African religions are by nature plural, varied, and usually informed by ones ethnic identity, where ones family came from in Africa. 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 <>stream This interview has been edited for length and clarity. I feel deeply the value of biblical studies in this exercise, and the contribution of biblical insights in this development. 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]. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. In five countries (Tanzania, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal and Mali) majorities express this belief. I completed my doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge in 1963, the year that Honest to God, by J.A.T. I have received much in a short period. Modernity has not put a total stop to its influence. Indeed, ten years ago I had no significant theological position. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. He sees the other faith as complementing and even adding spiritual potency to his own spiritual practice of constructing effective amulets. This was an extremely liberating word in my theological thinking. 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. 43. For six years I worked with the World Council of Churches in Geneva. The original constitution defined the organization's mandate as providing a forum for the exchange of ideas among ethnologists. Ethiopia's Christian population, at 6 million in 1900, will grow to a projected 100 million in 2050. 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. At first, Christianity made few inroads into the African slave population, which had its own religious traditions. Updates? I also celebrate and honor the kings festivals and ceremonies in my hometown and other places where I live and do research. 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). (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. It is here that I have discovered the church in Burma, in the Pacific islands, the house church in China, the basic Christian communities in Latin America, the struggling church in South Africa, plus countless other endeavors of Christians all over the world. I simply and honestly answered him that "for us in Africa, God is not dead." Humans are spirits who inhabit the visible world. In 1900 there were an estimated 9 million Christians (accounting for about 7 per cent of the population of Africa). 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. Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation. Thus, Mbali-God is a creative response on the part of the Bira to the syncretic religious encounter. 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. charlotte metro credit union amphitheatre covid rules, lincoln aviator lease calculator, printable winter olympics 2022 schedule,

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