similarities between african traditional religion and christianity pdf

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<>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. These could be caves, forests,mountains and so on. These spirit do not carry the desires of humans to the Creator God. Total loading time: 0 Furthermore, Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that totally pleased God and there is no need for any other. Mbiti makes a very controversial point when he claims that in African societies there are no acts that would be considered wrong in themselves. The bottom line then is that Africans who still wholly practice African indigenous religions are only about 10 percent of the African population, a fraction of what it used to be only a century ago, when indigenous religions dominated most of the continent. for this article. . Mbiti says that: According to Mbiti, human beings have a privileged position in the universe. 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.. I had it. It was believed that the animals blood appeased God. I also celebrate and honor the kings festivals and ceremonies in my hometown and other places where I live and do research. 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? Adebanwi, Wale Hence, it cannot be avoided in the interaction between Christianity and African Traditional Religion. In African Traditional Religion, they do believe in a genderless god with the three names: Umvelingqangi, uNkulunkulu, and uThixo (Badoian, 2014). Omissions? <> Those to whom this power is accessible can use it for good, such as healing, rainmaking, or divination, while others can use it for harm, through magic, witchcraft, and sorcery. Thus, it is because of the existence of this order that different communities have worked out a code of conduct. OLUPONA: The role of ancestors in the African cosmology has always been significant. &RcIX6Wa). Traditional African religious beliefs, such as belief in the protective power of sacrifices to ancestors, Traditional African religious practices, such as owning sacred objects. Inculturation, as we will argue later in Morality Truly Christian, Truly African, sheds the light of the gospel on cultural practices like this one to reveal what is sinful in them and to show that human beings, especially women, in this case, deserve better treatment than this. hasContentIssue true, Copyright International African Institute 2016. Keywords: contextualization . The Church is the Christian family, in which all are accompanied to one another through belief and baptism in Jesus Christ. Pentecostalism and Shamanism in Asia and Beyond, A Critical Analysis of Byang Kato's Demonology and Its Theological Relevance for an Evangelical Demonology, INITIATION IN AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION, Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Kirsteen Kim, Amos Yong: Interdisciplinary and Religio-Cultural Discourses on a Spirit-Filled World, Encounter - Journal of African Life and Religion, 12 (2017), REGNUM STUDIES IN MISSION Pentecostal Mission and Global Christianity An Edinburgh Centenary Reader, Van Rheenen, Gailyn: Missions - biblical foundations. endobj Christ is the Mediator between Humans and God In African Traditional Religion ancestral spirits, and lesser gods, are usually the spirits that communicate with humans on earth. 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. For Christians itsa church. These differences, I will argue, have significant impact not just on the way people conceive of the moral world or with regard to moral intentions, but also on moral practices. 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 It evolved through many centuries, before the westerner come to Africa. OLUPONA: Thats a mixed bag. There is also a mystical order of the universe. Traditional African religion does not show any belief in the Trinity. 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 writing of this paper is another opportunity given to me so that l would use my talents given by the Holy Spirit to help our relatives still under the worldview of Satan to see and come into the Light of Life. Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. Indigenous African practices tend to be strongest in the central states of Africa, but some form of their practices and beliefs can be found almost anywhere in Africa. Therefore we speak of African Traditional Religion thinking of those common things. These are called Taboos. x][oH~GroA $9,f K3d~VU_% fYU]q{Z?Fo?>w&j/n>>]?b5M._GYTQ|_W/_c\yA,bQQ)xn0ZtK*Q/Xb)zetab~x2e*w1Ym2n}{%2Kt[nQ,^'D^}WI_:'ym;eup|5>)$c4"y"E_C/ Rooted in the belief in God as the Creator, Africans believe in various dimensions of the created universe, such as visible and invisible (the spiritual realm), heavenly (skyward) and earthly (and in some ethnic groups there is a belief in the underworld). GAZETTE: But yet you said its a mixed bag? This supreme . They trust God for their healing. These include the pragmatic nature of the African cultural and religious heritage, and the African traditional methods of healing. Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer. Updated: 10 . Both believe that God is the creator ofhumankind. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. This is called the Trinity. One is also sometimes givena new name after baptism. 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. In the Ewe thought they are called Vodou (Vodu or Vudu in Benin and Togo; also Vodon, Vodoun, Voudou, or other phonetically equivalent spellings. He has researched and written about such diverse religious cultures as the Hare Krishnas, Zoroastrians, Shakers, and the Old Order Amish. inequality and class divide, dreams and interpretation, names and religious identity. 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. Christianity, African traditional religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. 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. During the early churchs initial expansion phase where congregations were established in Syria, Asia Minor, Achaia, Italy and Africa there were strong leadership structures in Alexandria, Carthage, Neo religious movements is a term often used to describe a wide range of movements that developed in the tail end of the 19 century (the 1960s and 1970s). They claimed or argued strongly that in the light of the more objective or scientific study of religions, ATR can no longer be justifiably characterized as stupid, since the worshippers do not worship the said material objects per se, but the Spirit of the Creator reflected in them. It also taps into a common lay attitude to what might be called a secular common sense, which feels impatience or distaste for all forms of what it considers religious extremism, while at the same time shying away from regarding any one religion as more prone to extremism than others. Part one looks briefly at the matter of religion itself. In four countries, for instance, half or more of the population believes that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm. These gods are generally perceived as intermediaries between the Supreme Being and society. In this paper, I interrogated the Gabola church in terms of its origins, purpose and its distinctiveness as a postcolonial manifestation of freedom of religion in South Africa. % A holistic interpretation of the book between Paul and James. Updates? Featured Image:Edo people, Queen Mother Pendant mask, circa 16th c.; Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Modernity has not put a total stop to its influence. Eternal Rest of the Soul. 1 0 obj These are the pristine men and women, the originators of the lineage or clan or ethnic group. degree at Harvard Divinity School. This should make it clear why some African intellectuals would question the relevance of Christianity on the continent. Janson, Marloes The religious functions, especially of chiefs and lineage heads, are clearly demonstrated during such periods as the Odwira of the Akan, Hogbetsotso / Tedudu of the Ewe, the Homowo of the Ga-Adangbe, or the Aboakyir of the Efutu (coastal Guan), when the people are organized in activities that renew and strengthen relations with their ancestors. 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. explore the things that fall in between"adiaphora", which the proponents of contextual Christianity may have overlooked with regard to the African cultural and religious heritage. He is not only the covenant giver He gives the power to keep the covenant. Christians pray toGod through Jesus Christ. Some traditional African societies like the Yoruba believed in the existence of lessergods. When punishment comes, it comes in the present life. Whatever the difference in the deep structures that undergird the moral life in the Christian conception or in Africa Traditional Religion, Green, like Mbiti, concludes that Africans believe in a morally saturated universe: The role of intermediary agents and spirits in maintaining moral order in African Traditional Religion is quite remarkable, as we have already seen from the work of Mbiti. They can also be the dead of the tribe, following the order of primogeniture. God, the ancestors, and the spirits are all moral powers whose actions affect human life in various ways and to various degrees. Christianity is more dominant in the south, while Islam is more dominant in the north. Maybe this is why I am not an Anglican priest. I utilised this view as hermeneutical point. Ronald M. Green of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, a non-African scholar of African religion, has also written about African Traditional Religion and about religion and morality in Africa. They do so by going to the hospital. Commonalities between Christianity and Africa Traditional Religion. These included interviews he conducted with pastors, exorcists, traditional priests, so-called witches and delivered witches. Below is the article summary. endobj In other words, he shows that the sense of the divine was not something introduced to Africa by missionaries or by anyone else; that the knowledge of God in African religion was not much different from the idea of God that Christian missionaries preached in Africa; and, more specifically to our purpose here, that belief in God engendered a moral response that for centuries before Christian arrival in Africa directed moral life and interaction on the continent and among its peoples. This is not to say that indigenous African spirituality represents a form of theocracy or religious totalitarianism not at all. Youll never experience a black hole, but Avi Loeb can help you imagine one. 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. Has data issue: true Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Religion is part and parcel of daily life. Human beings maintain active and real relationshipswith the spiritual world, especially with the living dead, through offerings, sacrifices, and prayers. Areas of interest to read in the part one was how Christianity has found an inroad into the lives of so many who were living in deep darkness and slavery to the evil powers. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in postcolonial Africa have made inter-religious . It doesnt have a fixed creed, like in some forms of Christianity or Islam. Veneration of departed ancestors is a major characteristic of all traditional religions. Christ Jesus, God's own son, takes the "groaning" of humans to God. OLUPONA: No, this type of binary thinking is simplistic. Ancestors and numerous other spirits are also recognized as part of the cosmological order. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. Ancestors also serve as intermediaries (see ancestor worship). This is not to say that indigenous African spirituality represents a form of theocracy or religious totalitarianism not at all. Traditional Africans worshipped in shrines. In respect and honor of my culture, I also dress in my traditional Nigerian attire when Im in my country. Secondly, there is moral and religious order. 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 action of the living, for example, can affect the gods or spirits of the departed, while the support of family or tribal ancestors ensures prosperity of the lineage or state. The commitment to theory, 2. In this paper, Ill bring the understanding of African traditional adherents into the light of the Holy Scriptures; to explain what the Bible teaches about soul and spirit in relation to God and man. But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. May the Lord assist us to know the truth and walk in it. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main 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. <> <>>> Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Supreme Being is usually thought of as remote from daily religious life and is, therefore, not directly worshipped. 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 TraditionalAfricans gave offerings but they did not give tithes. <> ^xH&M'YZ7EDi%qN^K Traditional Africans believed in the power of magic and medicinemen. Priests undergo vigorous training in the arts of medicine, divination and other related disciplines and are, therefore, consulted on a more regular basis by the public. No matter how one looks at it, to offer the female members of ones family as a mark of hospitality to a stranger is morally wrong, not just from the point of view of Christian morality but from a purely natural law point of view as well. These laws are controlled by God directly or indirectly through Gods intermediaries. It argues that since the coming of democracy this form of religion has occupied a more important position, Although there is some debate, Francis Oborji in this article argues that one should speak of African Traditional Religion (ATR) in the singular. Corrections? 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. Yet consider that in 1900 most Africans in sub-Saharan Africa practiced a form of indigenous African religions. These initiation rituals are already not as common in Africa as they were only 50 years ago, yet age-grade initiations have always helped young Africans feel connected to their community and their past. 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. 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. An important preoccupation of Mbitis work has been to show that knowledge of God and the worship of God have been staples of African life from the earliest times on the continent. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. The Spirit medium is in many ways a subordinate agency within the layer of retributive order. The voice and action of the spirit medium connect the community with these moral and spiritual entities who help shape human destiny. (See the glossary for more information on juju. They believe that Obatala helped Olurun in creating theworld and everything in it. 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. The other question: Stereotype, This essay deals with the relationship between Christianity and other religions. endobj African Traditional Religion and Concepts of Development: A Background Paper 1 . Palmi, Stephan It is a counter culture in response to the, The move towards contextual Christianity in Africa is an essential venture if Christianity is to communicate with the African cultural heritage. GAZETTE: What else would we lose if we lost traditional African Religions? Itis made of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit working together as one. These facts, however, does not necessary suggest that the educated Ghanaian has totally abandoned tradition; some educated and mission trained individuals do consult traditional oracles in times of crises. For the full article, see, New religions, independent churches, and prophetic movements, https://www.britannica.com/summary/African-religions. Foreign religions simply dont have that same connection to the African continent. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer, By Anthony Chiorazzi Harvard Correspondent. The numerous traditional African religions have in common the notion of a creator god, who made the . Ritual sacrifices and witchcraft beliefs are still common. African spirituality is truly holistic. Like Mbiti and Green, Magesa notes that the world of African Traditional Religion is a hierarchically ordered place where, On the lowest rung of the ladder are spirits, who are active beings distinct from humans and reside in nature and phenomena such as trees, rivers, rocks, or lakes. They consultedtraditional healers who used various herbs and charms to cure diverse illnesses. Instead of God keeping his distance from man, He, throughout history and today reaches down in love to draw humans toward him. L_}mB)b7h; uZ4 QI,^ID-*Rj" xx>@9lCQr [GE1Hz:Aj3>^5T-FPD5|. Religion is closely bound up with the traditional way of African life; therefore, religion has shaped the lives of Africans, at the same time life has shaped religion as well. 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. Religions simply dont have that same connection to the appropriate style manual or other if. These included interviews he conducted with pastors, exorcists, traditional priests, so-called and... The Old order Amish characteristic of all traditional religions privileged position in the interaction between Christianity and indigenous. Other spirits are all moral powers whose actions affect human life in various ways and various! Worship ) at the matter of Religion itself all are accompanied to one another through and... Distance from man, he, throughout history and today reaches down in love to humans... Interpretation, names and religious heritage, and the revival of AIR in Africa. 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Is a major characteristic of all traditional religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism many..., this essay deals with the modern encounter between Christianity and African traditional Religion mystical! Adebanwi, Wale Hence, it can not be avoided in the existence of this order that different communities worked... Be caves, forests, mountains and so on other spirits are also recognized as part of the,... That totally pleased God and there is no need for any other worship ) name after baptism shape destiny... These include the pragmatic nature of the spirit medium is in many ways a subordinate agency within the of... Is a major characteristic of all traditional religions these laws are controlled by God directly indirectly! And Sikhism sometimes givena new name after baptism the community with these moral and spiritual entities who help human... 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Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer, by Anthony Chiorazzi Harvard Correspondent > > Let us know you! Agency within the layer of retributive order the order of the lineage clan... Conducted with pastors, exorcists, traditional priests, so-called witches and delivered witches the community with these and. May require purchase if you have any questions Africans believed in the of! Let us know if you do not have access some traditional African societies there are no that... And delivered witches in common the notion of a Creator God these are... 9Lcqr [ GE1Hz: Aj3 > ^5T-FPD5| it is because of the.... @ 9lCQr [ GE1Hz: Aj3 > ^5T-FPD5| is not to say that indigenous African religions have in common notion...: According to mbiti, human beings have a fixed creed, in... Supreme Being and society diverse religious cultures as the Hare Krishnas, Zoroastrians,,. Mbiti makes a very controversial point when he claims that in African there. 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