Religious Syncretism In African Christianity

Author : ISAIAH OLUWAJEMIRIYE OLATOYAN
Publisher : Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2024-04-18
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9798892439879

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RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM IN AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY by ISAIAH OLUWAJEMIRIYE OLATOYAN Pdf

Christianity among the African people, whether on the soil of Africa or in diaspora, is perceived and defined differently by different people. For instance, among African traditional religious people and Muslims, Christianity is a foreign religion that must not be allowed to thrive in Africa. To several Africans who profess Jesus, Christianity is good, but it is not adequate and effective enough to handle all human needs. Still, among some Western Christians and missionaries, African Christianity is superficial and lacks total commitment to Christ. Of course, the Africans are a cultural people with profound religious inclinations. Their traditional religion (ATR) has tremendously shaped their worldviews and socioeconomic and political activities. Consequently, when traditional Africans are converted to Christianity, they do not break ties with their traditional religions completely. The examination of relevant biblical texts on syncretism, however, reveals that God condemns the worship of many gods and places a curse on anyone who offers sacrifices to carved images and bows to them in worship. Therefore, this work investigates the root cause of religious syncretism among African people. In the attempt to find answers to why the average African Christian finds it difficult, if not impossible, to abandon his/her traditional religious belief systems completely to embrace Christianity, the author concludes that unless the issues surrounding the African forgotten and secret covenants are exposed and decisively addressed in the light of biblical teaching, syncretism will continue to be a stigma on the fabric of African Christianity. Therefore, to overcome the threats of syncretism in African Christianity, there is a need to establish a sound theological and missiological framework that can address the problems associated with the African worldviews and belief systems. This task must be carried out under the searchlight of Scriptures.

Author : Ross Kane
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 301 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2020
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780197532195

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Syncretism and Christian Tradition by Ross Kane Pdf

"Studying the history of syncretism's use indicates wider interpretative problems in religious studies and theology regarding race and revelation. It also indicates the importance of seeing "tradition" as adaptive and amalgamating rather than static. In theology and religious studies alike, discourses of syncretism are positioned within racialized perceptions which construct a center and periphery based upon white European knowledge. In Christian theology more specifically, syncretism's use also shows ways that theologians try to protect the category of divine revelation from human interference, leading to interpretative problems that sidestep material history"--

Author : Sidney M. Greenfield,A. F. Droogers
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 238 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0847688534

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Reinventing Religions by Sidney M. Greenfield,A. F. Droogers Pdf

Once a central concept in anthropology, syncretism has recently re-emerged as a valuable tool for understanding the complex dynamics of ethnicity, postcolonialism, and transnationalism. Building on a century-long tradition of scholarship, this important book formulates a broader view of the mixing and interpenetration of religious beliefs and practices, primarily from Africa and Europe, highlighting the ways in which religions and cultures on both sides of the Atlantic have been assimilated and innovatively changed. Divided into four sections, the book focuses on religious syncretism in Brazil, Jamaica, and other parts of the Caribbean and West Africa. Greenfield and Droogers have brought together an array of outstanding international scholars whose rich and varied essays on specific geographical locales and customs comprise an innovative and comprehensive view of the transference of religious traditions and their continuity and reformulation on two continents.

Author : Jack Pryor Chalk
Publisher : Langham Publishing
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2013-08-14
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781907713699

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Making Disciples in Africa by Jack Pryor Chalk Pdf

With two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africa professing to be Christian it should be a concern to all Christians that the biblical worldview has had little impact on the shaping of contemporary African culture. In this book Jack Chalk analyses the belief systems of the worldviews that are based on Christianity and African Traditional Religion. The analysis, conclusion and recommendations are presented with the view to helping the church in Africa deal with syncretism and the effect it has on the beliefs and practices of its members.

Author : Byang H. Kato
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 76 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 1985
Category : Religion
ISBN : STANFORD:36105008599016

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Biblical Christianity in Africa by Byang H. Kato Pdf

Author : Michael Muonwe
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2014-02-21
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781493169054

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Dialectics of Faith-Culture Integration by Michael Muonwe Pdf

This book navigates the contours of cultural and theological hermeneutics in order to critique, affirm, as well as reconceptualise the vital underpinnings and subtleties of faith-culture intercourse and reciprocation. It questions claims to effective inculturation by theologians and church authorities, even as it acknowledges the inevitability of the tension between inculturation process and syncretic formations. It is an irresistible asset for teachers and students of theology, cultural and religious studies, for pastors and missionaries, and for all Christians in need of finding Christian beliefs and practices more meaningful to them in their daily lives. The hope is that it challenges the straitjacketed conceptual and pastoral frameworks that have often characterised the churchs evangelisation initiatives, and assists in making Christian faith a concrete and living possession of every age and culture. Michael Muonwe is a priest of the Catholic diocese of Awka, Nigeria. He holds Licentiate and Doctorate in Theology and Religious Studies from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. He obtained Bachelors in Philosophy from Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu, Nigeria. Michael also holds Diplomas in Mass Communication and Education. He has authored a number of articles and is an editor of a book. His major research interest is the often-convoluted relationship and interplay between religion and the contemporary culture. His research on the relationship between Christianity, feminism and culture will soon be published in two volumes. On the present book, Prof. Annemie Dillen of the Catholic University of Leuven affirms: This is a must-read book for local church leaders, theologians and everyone involved in pastoral work. It challenges the reader to give up a longing for security and finding answers in fixed rules or the so-called universal truths, and invites him or her to an in-depth study of cultural practices and beliefs. The overview of the discussions on inculturation and the reality or sometime maybe phantom of syncretism is very illuminating and thought-provoking. Thomas F. Magill asserts: A timely and well-balanced study of the theology of inculturation as understood in the Roman Catholic tradition, offering new and fresh insights, situated in the cusp between the Benedict XVI's emphasis on the relationship between faith and reason and the problem of relativism and Francis I's desire for a poor church for the poor. (T.F. Magill, L.S.S., Ph.D, parish priest of the Diocese of Motherwell, formerly a Lecturer in New Testament Studies at the University of Glasgow).

Author : Lamin Sanneh
Publisher : Orbis Books
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2015-03-24
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781608331499

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West African Christianity by Lamin Sanneh Pdf

Author : Anita Maria Leopold,Jeppe Sinding Jensen
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 465 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2016-04-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781134967148

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Syncretism in Religion by Anita Maria Leopold,Jeppe Sinding Jensen Pdf

Syncretism - the fusion of different beliefs into one religious system - has long been controversial in scholarship. It is widely held that religion, culture and ethnicity are pure entities that may become mixed in encounter and lead to impure, hybrid forms. 'Syncretism in Religion' presents a selection of essays committed to solving the problems of syncretism. The essays reflect the full breadth of religious traditions that could be called syncretistic. An overview of the historical background of syncretism is given, alongside classical readings from the history of religion, definitions of syncretism in relation to theories of power, and an assessment of the future of the subject. This volume brings together the work of authors who have made significant contributions in the field, some appearing for the first time in English. It will be of interest to any student or scholar of religion, philosophy or anthropology concerned with the dynamics of cultural contact and change.

Author : Richard J. Gehman
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Africa
ISBN : IND:30000088061761

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African Traditional Religion in the Light of the Bible by Richard J. Gehman Pdf

Author : Nathan Irmiya Elawa
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 195 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2020-04-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9783030421809

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Understanding Religious Change in Africa and Europe: Crossing Latitudes by Nathan Irmiya Elawa Pdf

This book examines and compares the religious experience of an African group with a European one. It offers an ethnographical investigation of the Jukun of north central Nigeria. The author also organically weaves into the narrative the Christianization of the Irish in a comparative fashion. Throughout, he makes the case for an African Christianity connected to a Celtic Irish Christianity and vice-versa -- as different threads in a tapestry. This work is a product of a synthesis of archival research in three continents, interviews with surviving first-generation Christians who were active practitioners of the Jukun indigenous religion, and with former missionaries to the Jukun. On the Irish side, it draws from extant primary sources and interviews with scholars in Celtic Irish studies. In addition, pictures, diagrams, and excerpts from British colonial and missionary journals provide a rich contextual understanding of Jukun religious life and practices. The author is among the emerging voices in the study of World Christianity who advocate for the reality of "poly-centres" for Christianity. This perspective recognizes voices from the Global South in the expansion of Christianity. This book serves as a valuable resource for historians, anthropologists, theologians, and those interested in missions studies, both scholars and lay readers seeking to deepen their understanding of World Christianity.

Author : C. Mutale
Publisher : African Books Collective
Page : 203 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2022-04-22
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789956553273

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Religiosity in African Christian Churches by C. Mutale Pdf

In this book Tresphor Mutale critically examines contemporary African Christianity through the leadership from prophets, men of God, pastors, seers and more. The book looks at the rationality of apparently irrational religious expressions and experiences in the name of religion. It analyses the irrationalities using the spectacles of African Traditional Religions (ATR), especially with respect to the importance of rituals. From the vantage point of rituals, there is sense in nonsense, and some of the irrational religious expressions being experienced today become rational. The book raises the aspect of authority of ritual leadership in ATR and how this symbol holds authority in Christianity today and how it has power to influence believers. Mutale argues that African Christianity and how it is experienced today point to the deeper influence of African Traditional Religions. The book provokes many questions about the power of African symbolisms, their application in Christianity and how Christianity through the lenses of African Traditional Religions is able to relate and influence other areas of society like, economics, politics and sociality. The book draws on and enriches perspectives on religion and religiosity with the depth of Mutale's ability to bring into conversation anthropological, philosophical, sociological and theological approaches.

Author : Terence O. Ranger,T. O. Ranger,Isaria N. Kimambo
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 326 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 1976
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0520031792

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The Historical Study of African Religion by Terence O. Ranger,T. O. Ranger,Isaria N. Kimambo Pdf

Author : Rodney L. Reed
Publisher : Langham Publishing
Page : 341 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2018-08-14
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781783684748

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African Contextual Realities by Rodney L. Reed Pdf

Everyone who has “eyes to see” acknowledges the growing importance of the African church to the future of global Christianity. But what does it mean for the church to take root in Africa? How should the message of the gospel and the practice of Christianity be contextualized for Africa? African Contextual Realities addresses many of the questions surrounding contextualization from a practical point of view and is the fruit of the 6th Annual Conference of the Africa Society of Evangelical Theology held in Nairobi in 2016. The book explores such questions as: • In what ways should the mission of God be universally recognizable in every cultural context? • In our efforts to contextualize, how do we avoid compromising the very gospel we are to proclaim? • How can the African church wean itself away from dependency on the Western church? • How does Christianity speak into some of the cultural and social issues arising out of contemporary African settings – issues like widow cleansing, Christian-Muslim relations, and peace-building? All those who are interested to learn more about the contextualization of African Christianity will find this volume to be an important resource.

Author : Elias Kifon Bongmba
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 578 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2015-12-22
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781134505777

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Routledge Companion to Christianity in Africa by Elias Kifon Bongmba Pdf

The Routledge Companion to Christianity in Africa offers a multi-disciplinary analysis of the Christian tradition across the African continent and throughout a long historical span. The volume offers historical and thematic essays tracing the introduction of Christianity in Africa, as well as its growth, developments, and effects, including the lived experience of African Christians. Individual chapters address the themes of Christianity and gender, the development of African-initiated churches, the growth of Pentecostalism, and the influence of Christianity on issues of sexuality, music, and public health. This comprehensive volume will serve as a valuable overview and reference work for students and researchers worldwide.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Department of Church History University of Pretoria
Page : 672 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : Religion
ISBN : STANFORD:36105122302206

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African Christianity by Anonim Pdf