Commonly, God is believed to dwell in the skies. % This paper uses a qualitative research approach in the form of document analysis to critically explore the religious intersectionalities between Christianity and African Traditional. Nevertheless, since 1900, Christians in Africa have grown from approximately 7 million to over 450 million today. The religious traditions and beliefs of the African peoples have enough differences to merit a study of each in its own right. Traditional Africans worshipped in shrines. Belief in the power of such objects is highest in Senegal (75%) and lowest in Rwanda (5%). Feature Flags: { Interrogating identity: Frantz Fanon and the postcolonial prerogative, 3. Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer. Below is the article summary. In the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups the above phenomenological conception of ATR called for education in the light of the scriptures. Christians do not believe in the existence of any other godapart from the Supreme Being. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvardnews. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. Ritual sacrifices and witchcraft beliefs are still common. These shrines were built near waterbodies, next to big trees or near other sacred places. &RcIX6Wa). Yet consider that in 1900 most Africans in sub-Saharan Africa practiced a form of indigenous African religions. 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. It is therefore very important for African theology to ascertain the meaning of African Traditional Religion, both because of the service this tradition renders to Christian theology as a dialogue partner, and because the very self-awareness of the African theologian and of African theology itself to a large extent hinges on a proper articulation and appreciation of Africas pre-Christian past. Who Should Christians Worship? Journal of Biblical Unitarianism 1:1, 5-33, 2014. 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. From this view point, Ill begin to say that African Traditional Religion (ATR) involves the belief and worship of the Supreme Being known and revered all over Africa as Onyame in Akan, Mao in Ewe, Chineke in Igbo and Oludumare in Yoruba etc. 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. The Yoruba believe in the existence of the Supreme God called Olurun andthe lesser god, Obatala. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in postcolonial Africa have made inter-religious . 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. This should make it clear why some African intellectuals would question the relevance of Christianity on the continent. This is one of the most amazing opportunities l have to speak or write in the hope of bringing freedom, to show the value of every human life, and to help girls who are in immense suffering. It evolved through many centuries, before the westerner come to Africa. 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. It is also an opportunity to help the Christian churches in the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups from which l come from, to see it as their duty to find means and ways to evangelise our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and children who are still under the African Traditional practices. In African Traditional Religion, they do believe in a genderless god with the three names: Umvelingqangi, uNkulunkulu, and uThixo (Badoian, 2014). Some Africans believe that the ancestors are equal in power to deities, while others believe they are not. 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. 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. Eternal Rest of the Soul. Secondly, there is moral and religious order. He went on to conduct some of the most significant research on African religions in decades. OLUPONA: Yes, and the pluralistic nature of African-tradition religion is one of the reasons for its success in the diaspora. 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. Indigenous African religions are by nature plural, varied, and usually informed by ones ethnic identity, where ones family came from in Africa. |,utv2QdjrqfM7PC)2-|O7,0[i=_a/Om"X`Y2FpXBjsFxCqDd`%*g,-J1e*jjq,tm{w>qAsAqN$D The African Traditional Religion, which is still in place today, can be compared to Christianity through their similarities and differences. Human beings maintain active and real relationshipswith the spiritual world, especially with the living dead, through offerings, sacrifices, and prayers. Christians give a tenth of all their earnings to God. The continued influence of traditional African religion is also evident in some aspects of daily life. Copyright 2023 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. 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. Whenever. 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. Render date: 2023-03-01T10:31:12.538Z These laws are controlled by God directly or indirectly through Gods intermediaries. 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. He later earned both an M.A. All work unless implicitly stated is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To ensure that a natural balance is maintained between the world of the sacred and that of the profane, the roles of the chief within the state, family elders in relation to the lineage, and the priest within society, are crucial. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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 the full article, see, New religions, independent churches, and prophetic movements, https://www.britannica.com/summary/African-religions. 1xxp~I7m#MWjxAqN,PT2^]R6C3Y'K~Bwv4-xwE@;5 Furthermore, the issue is whether a strict order of retribution cannot be tolerated if human ambition gets in the way of realizing enduring moral virtue and well-being. However, to them, the entire universe is filled with spirit such as trees, rocks, and rivers. African religions behavior is centered mainly on the human person and his or her life in this world, with the consequence that religion is clearly functional, or a means to serve people to acquire earthly goods (life, health, fecundity, wealth, power and the like) and to maintain social cohesion and order.. In the part two of my writing, l will expand on the world populated by spirits called Vodou alongside that of the Akan. Witchcraft has been a prevailing belief in African cultures and has continually posed problems for the African people groups. (Hebrews 1:1,Matthew 5:17,Exodus 34:10-28). (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. ABSTRACT The concept of God in the traditional religion of Akan and Ewe ethnic groups compare to the Bible By Godwin Kwame Ofosuhene I am going to focus this writing, on how the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups of Ghana, understood God in their traditional religious practices and after that compare or discuss these beliefs in the light of the Holy Scriptures. Traditional Africans communicated to God through ancestors. Since Christianity came in contact with the traditional religion, there has always been a sharp conflict between traditionalists and Christians. 1"7$X9Xyyyb GNpL!9I&mxo0++44cA@5c. degree at Harvard Divinity School. endobj African traditional religion cannot be discussed without mentioning that it is the way of life of the people of Africa and so cannot be differentiated from the politics, education, and socialisation, etc. They did this as theyoffered libation by pouring water or any other drink to the ground. endobj This is called the Trinity. 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. GAZETTE: How do you balance your Christian and indigenous African identity? Traditional Africans did not practice baptism. Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. "useRatesEcommerce": false 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. In the end, I believe that Africans can make room for a plurality of religious points of view without one religious point of view excluding or compromising the other. They do not offer any libation. The Igbo traditional religious worldview maintains a polytheistic religious view, unlike the monotheistic outlook of the Christian religion. 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.. 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. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main To achieve its goal, the paper adopts the method of . } May the Lord assist us to know the truth and walk in it. %PDF-1.5 This leads him into the whole area of theology of religions, in which the relationship between Christianity and other religions is currently the focus of lively debate. 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. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. Even though their differences outnumber their. 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. Thus, for example, older persons not only possess a more powerful vital force but a greater responsibility in society and more intense mystical powers. For example, an African amulet might have inside of it a written verse from either the Koran or Christian Bible. Traditional Africans didnot have this practice. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. Sarr, Ramon 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. 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. Islam has experienced a similar rapid growth. Mystical power is found in all of them, in diminishing degrees. GAZETTE: How would you define indigenous African religions? <>/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>> I am going to use the research reports of Opoky Onyinah , which he carried out among Ghanaian Christians between 1997 and 1999. Both religions believe that God revealsHimself to people through dreams, propheciesand other special events. One of the things these diaspora African religions testify to is the beauty of African religions to engage a devotee on many spiritual levels. the other in tradition poses a serious dilemma for both Christianity and tradition in Africa. The commitment to theory, 2. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds toupgrade your browser. and Whilst interacting with the local African indigenous communities, and observing, The contact between African Traditional Religion (ATR) and Christianity is inextricably linkedto European economic activities that culminated into colonialism. Prayers and sacrificial offerings are usually directed toward secondary divinities, who are intermediaries between the human and sacred realms. The spirit medium is required to possess moral probity and integrity. African spirituality has always been able to adapt to change and allow itself to absorb the wisdom and views of other religions, much more than, for example, Christianity and Islam. 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. 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. A classicatory system which attempts to distinguish the principal responses Therefore, the universe has dimensions of order and power as follows: first of all, there is order in the laws of nature. Therefore, these traditional theologians condemned those who said, ATR and similar non-western religions are followed by irrational or foolish people who in their stupidity bow down to stones, trees and rivers instead of the Creator who created such objects and themselves. 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. This is called a tithe. 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. Because many diseases are believed to have spiritual causes, traditional priests sometimes act as doctors or herbalists. ABSTRACT PART II: Comparing the concept of Spirit and Soul in the Traditional Religion of the Akan and Ewe Tribes to that of the Bible By Godwin Kwame Ofosuhene In the part one of my writing, with the titled The concept of God in the traditional religion of Akan and Ewe ethnic groups compare to the Bible - dated 31st May 2006, l explained how the Akan and Ewe ethnic groups of Ghana understood God in their traditional religious practices. Such a project, however, is only significant if it is not only executed by religious leaders, By clicking accept or continuing to use the site, you agree to the terms outlined in our. Updated: 10 . I should add that without claiming to be full members of indigenous traditions, there are many professed Christians and Muslims who participate in one form of indigenous religious rituals and practices or another. 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. 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. Modernity has not put a total stop to its influence. It is worth noting that these animals areat no time offered as burnt offerings to God. It was believed that Vodun was a representativeof the Supreme God known as Mawu. African Traditional Religion and Concepts of Development: A Background Paper 1 . These are called Taboos. Second, Africans believe in a moral order given by God, stipulated by the ancestors in the past. The numerous traditional African religions have in common the notion of a creator god, who made the . He then reflects on five "essential aspects" of. In the Ewe thought they are called Vodou (Vodu or Vudu in Benin and Togo; also Vodon, Vodoun, Voudou, or other phonetically equivalent spellings. OLUPONA: If we lose traditional African religions, we would also lose or continue to seriously undermine the African practice of rites of passage such as the much cherished age-grade initiations, which have for so long integrated and bought Africans together under a common understanding, or worldview. Belief in the Trinity While both Christianity and African religion have a concept of a Supreme Being, Christians believe in a God who exists in three persons. This article concerned itself with the modern encounter between Christianity and African Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. Learn more about the similarities and differences of the religious systems of Africa, including indigenous religions, Abrahamic, Islamic, and Christian beliefs of people in the region. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. An old African adage says: The sky is large enough for birds to fly around without one having to bump into the other.. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Christians observe the Lords supper. ), 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. These are the pristine men and women, the originators of the lineage or clan or ethnic group. GAZETTE: It sounds like African indigenous religions are dynamic, inclusive, and flexible. 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 is because Jesusalready shed His blood on the cross and He was the perfect sacrifice that totally satisfied God. Christianity, African traditional religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. 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. While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. Christians practice baptism. The final aspect of this deep structure of moral reason in African Traditional Religion Green refers to as morally intentional trans-moral safety valves such as are found in the doctrine of grace or atonement in Weston religions (Christianity) or of liberation from the world of moral causation in Eastern religions. 3 0 obj Quantum computing simulation reveals possible wormhole-like dynamics. They have also fostered a greater feeling of individual self-worth by acknowledging important milestones in ones life, including becoming an adult or an elder. These gods are generally perceived as intermediaries between the Supreme Being and society. He contends that although African Traditional Religion generally refers to God as creator and sustainer of the universe, morally good, omniscient, and caring toward humans, yet even where this is held to be true, the high god in Africa is very often regarded as distanced from human affairs. And even when he is considered benign, the high God is morally otiose, having little direct retributive relationship with humankind. In some situations, the high God is cast in unfavorable terms as one who creates and who kills. The award allows Olupona a year of study and research in Germany; he is on leave this year (201516). Thus, it is because of the existence of this order that different communities have worked out a code of conduct. However, the reasons for the growth of Christianity in Africa significantly include the way the Africans have attempted to deal with their threatening fears, especially witchcraft. <>>> Christianity and Traditional African Heritage, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. I also celebrate and honor the kings festivals and ceremonies in my hometown and other places where I live and do research. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. But as we learnt in Unit One, Christians can also worship Him attheir homes or other places. OLUPONA: Thats a mixed bag. 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. The introduced religions of Islam (in northern Africa) and Christianity (in southern Africa) are now the continent's major religions, but traditional religions still play an important role, especially in the interior of sub-Saharan Africa. 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. Villepastour, Amanda 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. 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. Some African diasporans are returning to the continent to reconnect with their ancestral traditions, and they are encouraging and organizing the local African communities to reclaim this heritage. 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. They do so by going to the hospital. 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. 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. Both have religious leaders or priests whopresent the peoples requests to God. 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. The Supreme Being is usually thought of as remote from daily religious life and is, therefore, not directly worshipped. Holding or maintaining to a uniform doctrine is not the essence of indigenous African religions. While both Christianity and African religion have a concept of a Supreme Being,Christians believe in a God who exists in three persons. GAZETTE: What else would we lose if we lost traditional African Religions? Christian teaching forbids making of any kinds ofimages to represent God. There are also the lesser gods that take residency in streams, rivers, trees and mountains. 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. "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. Christ Jesus, God's own son, takes the "groaning" of humans to God. The traditional theologians also emphasized that as in all religious traditions, the belief and worship of the Supreme Being in ATR does not just mean the strict performance of certain rituals. Hostname: page-component-7f44ffd566-79tgq 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. OLUPONA: Your question underscores an important facet about African spirituality: It is not a closed theological system. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World, Chapter 3: Traditional African Religious Beliefs and Practices, Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa, Next: Chapter 4: Interreligious Harmony and Tensions, Chapter 2: Commitment to Christianity and Islam, 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, The changing face of Congress in 8 charts, As Russian invasion nears one-year mark, partisans grow further apart on U.S. support for Ukraine. 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