similarities between african traditional religion and christianity pdf

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). This is a universal belief among Africans. Sarr, Ramon Traditional Africans did not practice baptism. 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. Christians pray toGod through Jesus Christ. Africans had shrines they believedGod dwelt in. African religions, Indigenous religions of the African continent. In respect and honor of my culture, I also dress in my traditional Nigerian attire when Im in my country. Prayers and sacrificial offerings are usually directed toward secondary divinities, who are intermediaries between the human and sacred realms. 1 0 obj This paper uses a qualitative research approach in the form of document analysis to critically explore the religious intersectionalities between Christianity and African Traditional. The amount of devotees to indigenous practices has dwindled as Islam and Christianity have both spread and gained influence throughout the continent. 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. Exodus 20:3-5 tells us not to make or worship images ofanything in heaven or on earth. GAZETTE: In trying to understand African spirituality, is it helpful to refer to it as polytheistic or monotheistic? endobj There is also a mystical order of the universe. Some of these African diaspora religions include Cuban Regla de Ocha, Haitian Vodou, and Brazilian Candomble. 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/ OLUPONA: The role of ancestors in the African cosmology has always been significant. Highlights of the first writing were, the African Traditional Religion, the life of the ethnic groups in Ghana; their beliefs, customs, ritual and taboos. INTRODUCTION Man considers life worth living because he finds certain things intrinsically valuable; hence value in its simple connotation means a thing of worth. 3 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> %PDF-1.5 hand with the study of the people who practise the religion. Commonalities between Christianity and Africa Traditional Religion. A Background to Religion and Magic in Western Thought Our modern usage of the term 'magic' derives from the Greek magike, <>/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>> Copyright 2023 The Igbo traditional religious worldview maintains a polytheistic religious view, unlike the monotheistic outlook of the Christian religion. 2 0 obj "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. Traditional Africans worshipped in shrines. They take the communion to remember thedeath and resurrection of Jesus. The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in . Odozor's Morality Truly Christian, Truly Africanpublished by theUniversity of Notre Dame Press. Human beings maintain active and real relationshipswith the spiritual world, especially with the living dead, through offerings, sacrifices, and prayers. 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.. 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. Thus, everythingis not completely unpredictable and chaotic because of this order. } One scholar who has written extensively on African Traditional Religion is John Mbiti, a Kenyan whom many consider the dean of living African theologians. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. 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. They trust God for their healing. Green points out that there is a rational basis to African Traditional Religion that shows, in Kantian terms, that there is a deep structure of universal moral and religious reason to it. The three requirements of reason at the heart of this structure are: first, a basic rule or procedure of moral choice; second, a metaphysic grounding the possibility of strict moral retribution; and third, . Most African communities offered animals and not humans as sacrifices. 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. However, Christians can offer animals to the church where they canbe sold or reared to give the church income. To achieve its goal, the paper adopts the method of . When one becomes a Christian he/she is baptised. For example, an African amulet might have inside of it a written verse from either the Koran or Christian Bible. This is not to say that indigenous African spirituality represents a form of theocracy or religious totalitarianism not at all. They do this by having Africans increasingly identify themselves as either Muslim or Christian, thus denying their unique African worldview that has always viewed as evidenced in their creation myths everything as unified and connected to the land, the place were ones clan, lineage, and people were cosmically birthed. Whenever. It is also present in relationships between persons, based on age and function. Traditional Africans had to go to specific sacred placesfor them to worship but Christians can worship God anywhere at any time. 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. Featured Image:Edo people, Queen Mother Pendant mask, circa 16th c.; Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. TraditionalAfricans gave offerings but they did not give tithes. Holding or maintaining to a uniform doctrine is not the essence of indigenous African religions. $70.00/$25.00. Christians practice baptism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 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. While the universe has a beginning, many Africans believe that it does not have an endeither spatially or temporally. 1xxp~I7m#MWjxAqN,PT2^]R6C3Y'K~Bwv4-xwE@;5 Devoid of essential personal characteristics they represent the essence of what might be called structural personality. I answered two, The paper discusses the state of traditional African religion in post-apartheid South Africa. 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.. OLUPONA: We would lose a worldview that has collectively sustained, enriched, and given meaning to a continent and numerous other societies for centuries through its epistemology, metaphysics, history, and practices. Indigenous African religions are pragmatic. between African traditional religion and the Christian faith. This work investigates the conflicts existing between the two . The rapid growth of many religions in Africa and the revival of AIR in postcolonial Africa have made inter-religious . University of Notre Dame, McGrath Institute for Church Life GAZETTE: How do you balance your Christian and indigenous African identity? 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. Acts are wrong if they hurt or damage relationships or if they are discovered to constitute a breach of custom or regulation. To buttress his point Mbiti states that in certain African societies to sleep with someone elses wife is not considered evil if these two are not found out by the society which forbids it, and in other societies is in fact an expression of friendship and hospitality to let a guest spend the night with ones wife or daughter or sister. Mbitis assertions must be read as a limited reference to some African societies and in some limited settings. 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. He has researched and written about such diverse religious cultures as the Hare Krishnas, Zoroastrians, Shakers, and the Old Order Amish. With regard to the issue of offering ones wife in generosity, this practice, as Laurenti Magesa has shown, applied to a very limited number of African ethnic groups, such as the Masai, and in very tightly controlled situations among friends within the same age group fraternity and on very limited occasions. Christ was tempted in all the ways They believe that Obatala helped Olurun in creating theworld and everything in it. This dissertation will attempt to explore how deliverance ministry has replaced the anti-witchcraft shrines and the exorcistic activities of the African Indigenous Churches. 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. Ancestors also serve as intermediaries (see ancestor worship). Sacrificial meals in the traditional Africanreligion are the equivalent of the Holy. 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