Afro-American Religious Syncretism in Brazil and the United States: A I am not a historian, and I have not done careful thinking in this direction. So the church which exists on the African scene bears the marks of its peoples backgrounds. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. 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, Gender pay gap in U.S. hasnt changed much in two decades. The previous year I had published African Religions and Philosophy (Doubleday, 1969). Religious pluralism serves peace | D+C - Development + Cooperation Its aim is to develop an extensive library of resources, representing many different points of view, but all written from the perspective of sound scholarship. I find the traditional Western distinction between "special revelation" and "general revelation" to be inadequate and unfreeing. En ce qui concerne la croyance en Dieu, il semblerait que les Biras se soient servis de la chrtient pour rendre leur dieu traditionnel Mbali plus accessible et plus comprhensif, un changement qui a rendu le Dieu des chrtiens plus compatissant et indulgent vis vis du pch. 93 0 obj Maybe this is why I am not an Anglican priest. The beliefs and practices of the traditional religions in Africa can enrich Christian theology and spirituality." 0000001198 00000 n
I had it. But after braving that first blizzard in a land far from his native Nigeria, Olupona stuck it out and earned his Ph.D. Christianity in Africa dates to the very inception of the church. The word Vodou means spirit or deity in the Fon language of the African kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin). A magisterial historical synthesis of the formative period of African Christianity written by one of its foremost scholars. Vodou, also spelled Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun, or French Vaudou, a traditional Afro-Haitian religion. 0000002884 00000 n
Aujourd'hui, la plupart des Zariens sont soit catholiques, soit protestants; les Biras pour leur part sont principalement catholiques. Spirit possession plays an important role in Afro-Haitian religion, as it does in many other world religions. 0000001586 00000 n
Some scholars choose to call it the African Traditional Religion, while others prefer to name it the African traditional Religions. The decisive word here is "only." Ethiopia's Christian population, at 6 million in 1900, will grow to a projected 100 million in 2050. This statistical tilting of Christendom from the north to the south, after 2,000 years, holds tremendous prospects and challenges. <>stream
My interpretation of Israels history demands a new look at the history of African peoples, among whom this same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has indeed been at work. Alternate titles: Vaudou, Vodun, Voodoo, Voudou, vodon, Elizabeth McAlister Associate Professor of Religion, Weslyan University. This is in sharp contrast with the religious composition of the region about 100 years ago, when, according to a Pew Forum analysis of historical information from the World Religion Database, less than a quarter of the population identified as either Christian or Muslim. Updates? The church is composed largely of people who come out of the African religious background. But I am grateful for that one step I may be taking under the light of this vision. 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. 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. But, it has been a sorrowful, disappointment to me to experience the fact that some individuals who exercise great power in the council are not angels: they sometimes practice the exact contrary of those values and goals to which the council is committed. 1996 Canadian Anthropology Society (1981) and Ph.D. (1983) in the history of religions from Boston University. In these congregations, knowledge is passed on through a ritual of initiation (kanzo) in which the body becomes the site of spiritual transformation. Read our research on: Congress | Economy | Gender. (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. 1"7$X9Xyyyb GNpL!9I&mxo0++44cA@5c. A follower of African diaspora religions has many choices in terms of seeking spiritual help or succor. Everywhere he went in southwestern Nigeria, he never opposed or spoke out against African culture including initiation rites, festivals, and traditional Yoruba dress as long as it didnt directly conflict with Christianity. 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. As the map also shows, the ratio of Christians to Muslims increases the further south one goes in the continent. 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. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. OLUPONA: My father, a faithful Anglican priest, was a good example. Vodou | Definition, History, West African Vodun, & Facts In Africa the traditional religions are a major source for the study of the African experience of God. Indigenous Religion (AIR) in Africa. Orthodox Christianity, although influenced by other religions, generally looked negatively upon these syncretistic movements. endobj The book comprised ideas that I had gathered from 300 African peoples ("tribes" -- a term that today is sometimes used in derogatory ways). PDF Christianity and the African traditional religion(s): The postcolonial (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax 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. Faith in The One God in Christian and African Traditional Religions: a African immigrants and slaves worked to maintain traditional religious and social practices in their new surroundings. %PDF-1.7
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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. It includes Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. 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. 0000003641 00000 n
0 Updates? Vodou is an oral tradition practiced by extended families that inherit familial spirits, along with the necessary devotional practices, from their elders. The introduced religions of Islam (in northern Africa) and Christianity (in southern Africa) are now the continents major religions, but traditional religions still play an important role, especially in the interior of sub-Saharan Africa. African religion has equipped people to listen to the gospel, to discover meaningful passages in the Bible, and to avoid unhealthy religious conflict. Belief in the power of such objects is highest in Senegal (75%) and lowest in Rwanda (5%). Instead, God brought them, for the God described in the Bible is none other than the God who was already known in the framework of our traditional African religiosity. I have received much in a short period. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main Its aims were to encourage formal and informal dissemination of knowledge through an annual conference and publications; promote relations with other academic and professional associations, aboriginal groups, and governments; and publicize ethnological research and activities to further understanding of ethnological practices. The first and most intriguing topic that immediately engaged my attention was the thinking of African peoples about God. 0000005714 00000 n
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Corrections? Copyright by The Christian Century Foundation; used by permission. Yet . But I feel that the issue of looking at African history in light of the biblical understanding of history is clearly called for. 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. Most people in sub-Saharan Africa now identify with either Christianity or Islam. "For us in Africa, God is not dead" -- and that applies whether or not there is a written record of his relations with and concern for people. So, "Lord, help Thou my unbelief!" It is a way of life, and it can never be separated from the public sphere. Vodou, also spelled Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun, or French Vaudou, a traditional Afro-Haitian religion. Outline of the Curricular Framework: Anglicanization Atlantic slave trade "Atlantic World" Barbados (sugar) British-American system of slavery the Carolinas (rice) Caste system cereal crops Colonial resistance Dominion of New England Enlightenment Furs Great Awakening Indentured Servants Mercantilism Metis Models of colonization Molasses Act Eating pattern tied to 24% reduction in cardiovascular, cancer mortality in people diagnosed with the chronic condition, HMS/Brigham study shows most advertised medicines little better than other treatment options. Par consquent, Mbali-Dieu est la rponse crative des Biras une rencontre religieuse syncrtique. During religious rites, believers sometimes enter a trancelike state in which the devotee may eat and drink, perform stylized dances, give supernaturally inspired advice to people, or perform medical cures or special physical feats; these acts exhibit the incarnate presence of the lwa within the entranced devotee. In four countries, for instance, half or more of the population believes that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm. At Makerere University I taught New Testament, African religion and other courses. It is in this complex of religiosity that the preaching of the gospel makes sense; it is this preparedness that has undergirded the spreading of the gospel like wildfire among African societies which had hitherto followed and practiced traditional religion. A subscription to Anthropologica is included in CASCA's annual membership fee. For the full article, see, New religions, independent churches, and prophetic movements, https://www.britannica.com/summary/African-religions. 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%). OLUPONA: Yes, and the pluralistic nature of African-tradition religion is one of the reasons for its success in the diaspora. GAZETTE: What will Africa lose if it loses its African indigenous worldview? It doesnt have a fixed creed, like in some forms of Christianity or Islam. It sensitized my thinking in many areas, one of these being the quest for Christian unity. As for the belief in God, it appears that the Bira have utilized Christianity to make their traditional God Mbali less remote and more caring, a change which has also made the Christian God more compassionate and forgiving of sins. 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. interaction between the Christian churches and West African religious culture. Some people tried to involve Africa in the debate. 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). GAZETTE: How have ancestors played a role in traditional societies? While some African cosmologies have a clear idea of a supreme being, other cosmologies do not. w?0t7/Oa84P]T}T}?gHq.qsRnkc;]X*s1!E"l^~K_/|j
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It publishes a journal Anthropologica and has reclaimed the name of its former journal, Culture for its occasional online bulletin. 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. 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. religious syncretism, the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices. There is no centralized hierarchy, no single leader, and no official spokesperson, but various groups sometimes attempt to create such official structures. Oral tradition says the first Muslims appeared while the prophet Mohammed was. Abstract. This is in sharp contrast with the religious composition . Indigenous African religions are by nature plural, varied, and usually informed by ones ethnic identity, where ones family came from in Africa. But to the disappointment of those theological exporters, this fish was not attracted by the bait. The first African captives entered England's North American colonies through Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. 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. Much of Oluponas work is an attempt to provide a fuller understanding of the complexity and richness of African indigenous thought and practice by viewing it not as a foil or as a useful comparative to better understand Western religions, but as a system of thought and belief that should be valued and understood for its own ideas and contribution to global religions. After that date there will be more Christians in the south than in the north. (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. Religious beliefs among Black Americans | Pew Research Center The primary goal and activity of Vodou is to sevi lwa (serve the spirits)to offer prayers and perform various devotional rites directed at God and particular spirits in return for health, protection, and favour. How Africa Is Changing Faith Around the World (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. 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. PDF African American Christianity - Harvard University GAZETTE: How would you define indigenous African religions? All these spirits are believed to live in a mythic land called Ginen, a cosmic Africa. The God of the Christian Bible is understood to be the creator of both the universe and the spirits; the spirits were made by God to help him govern humanity and the natural world. He has researched and written about such diverse religious cultures as the Hare Krishnas, Zoroastrians, Shakers, and the Old Order Amish. Most people in sub-Saharan Africa now identify with either Christianity or Islam. As a resident fellow, Sherman will teach a study group on negotiation and diplomacy this semester. That finished the interview. Liberia is the only country where more than one-in-ten (12%) identify primarily with an African traditional religion. Its about getting tangible results. In the 17th century a movement led by the German Protestant theologian George Calixtus aimed at reconciling the differences between the Protestants in Germany, but his efforts were disparaged by orthodox Christian leaders as syncretistic. 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. This bitter conflict has led to wanton destruction of lives and property, and this has become a source of great worry to the writers. This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock. That which had been seen as the enemy of the gospel turns out (to me) to be indeed a very welcoming friend. I want to reflect and write on this topic, but somehow it makes me feel frightened. Islam has experienced a similar rapid growth. degree at Harvard Divinity School. In Cameroon, Ethiopia, Liberia and Mozambique, Muslims account for between 15% and 30% of survey respondents. I wish to apply "change of mind" here to mean theological growth, and not necessarily a rejection of or turnaround from ideas that I may have held ten years ago. The missionaries who introduced the gospel to Africa in the past 200 years did not bring God to our continent. 300 ce). 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. Consequently, traditional Africans have different ideas on what role the ancestors play in the lives of living descendants. 0000002026 00000 n
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Religion informs everything in traditional African society, including political art, marriage, health, diet, dress, economics, and death. Of course, behind all these factors is the Holy Spirit working through them. Updates? It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. 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 . It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. But for many Africans, religion can never be separated from all these. This approach is intended to shed further light on the problem of African cultural influence and . It may be, and needs to be, a qualified and critical Yes. In particular, the concepts about God provide one area of great commonality. OLUPONA: The role of ancestors in the African cosmology has always been significant. African development. Nevertheless, since 1900, Christians in Africa have grown from approximately 7 million to over 450 million today. In most of the 19 countries surveyed by the Pew Research Centers Forum on Religion & Public Life, 90% or more of the respondents say they belong to one of these faiths. They will certainly be overwhelming, and I feel very excited about them. African diaspora religions - Wikipedia 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. 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. It is the southern two-thirds of Africa (including Madagascar) which we can rightly call Christian Africa, as the northern one-third is Muslim Africa. settlements formed by African slaves who ran away from imprisonment the Americas Anthropologica Overall, however, Christians outnumber Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa by about two-to-one. 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. Ritual sacrifices and witchcraft beliefs are still common. 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. In the other case no such written record exists. 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. 0000001519 00000 n
African spirituality is truly holistic. OLUPONA: Indigenous African religions refer to the indigenous or native religious beliefs of the African people before the Christian and Islamic colonization of Africa. Currently I am about to complete a book on this question of the encounter between the biblical faith and African religion. << /Length 5 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. My doctoral studies in New Testament eschatology led me also to the field of Christology. For this reason, some African theologians take African religiosity to be one of the sources of theological reflection (besides the Bible, Christian heritage, etc.). Below is the article summary. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. The missionaries who introduced the gospel to Africa in the past 200 years did not bring God. 0000014025 00000 n
These were not empty names. This is, obviously, a general statement, one which needs detailed elaboration. www.ej-theology.org Christianity and Indigenisation in Africa Some individuals have criticized these books -- and no book is perfect. All too often, the result is conflict and radicalisation. The Pew Forums survey found 52% of the population is Muslim. The continued influence of traditional African religion is also evident in some aspects of daily life. The spirituality of Africa - Harvard Gazette We have already noted that the overseas missionaries did not bring God to Africa. (PDF) Christianity and the African traditional religion(s): The