Download or read book Religions in Contemporary Africa written by Laura S. Grillo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-28 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religions in Contemporary Africa is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the three main religious traditions on the African continent, African indigenous religions, Christianity and Islam. The book provides a historical overview of these important traditions and focuses on the roles they play in African societies today. It includes social, cultural and political case studies from across the continent on the following topical issues: Witchcraft and modernity Power and politics Conflict and peace Media and popular culture Development Human rights Illness and health Gender and sexuality With suggestions for further reading, discussion questions, illustrations and a list of glossary terms this is the ideal textbook for students in religion, African studies and adjacent fields approaching this subject area for the first time.
Download or read book African Religions written by Jacob K. Olupona and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book connects traditional religions to the thriving religious activity in Africa today.
Download or read book Introduction to African Religion written by John S. Mbiti and published by Waveland Press. This book was released on 2015-01-14 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his widely acclaimed survey, John Mbiti sheds light on the survival and prosperity of African Religion in different historical, geographical, sociological, cultural, and physical environments. He presents a constellation of African worldviews, beliefs in God, use of symbols, valued traditions, and practices that have taken root with African peoples throughout the vast continent. Mbiti’s accessible writing style sympathetically portrays how African Religion manifests itself in ritual, festival, healing, the human life cycle, and interplay with the mystical and invisible world. The account embraces foundational traditions, while touching on elements that spawn transitions, including migration, the spread of Christianity and Islam, political-economic development, and modern communication. This popular introduction leaves readers with informed knowledge of the riches of African heritage.
Download or read book African Traditional Religion in the Modern World 2d ed written by Douglas E. Thomas and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-05-11 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African traditional religion encompasses a variety of non-dogmatic, spiritual practices followed by millions around the world. Some scholars argue it is related to the Nubian religion of Egypt's Dynastic Period. In an expanded second edition, this book examines the nature of African traditional religion and describes common attributes of various cultural belief systems, with an emphasis on West Africa. Principal elements studied include sacrifice, salvation and culture, modes of revelation, divination, and African resilience in the face of invasion and colonization. The religious experiences of black people throughout the Americas are also covered. The author finds the cosmology, symbolism and rituals of the Yoruba culture to be the fundamental bases of African traditional religion, and draws similarities between the oral and written literature of West Africans and that of New World practitioners. The influence of Islam and Christianity is also discussed. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Download or read book African Traditional Religions in Contemporary Society written by Jacob Kẹhinde Olupona and published by Paragon House Publishers. This book was released on 1991 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Elements of African Traditional Religion written by Elia Shabani Mligo and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2013-08-02 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African Traditional religion (ATR) is one of the world religions with a great people and a great past. It is embraced by Africans within and outside the continent despite the various ethnic religious practices and beliefs. This book highlights and discusses the common elements which introduce African Traditional Religion as one unified religion and not a collection of religions. The major focus of the book is discussing the need for studying ATR in twenty-first-century Africa whereby globalization and multi-culture are prominent phenomena. Why should we study the religion of indigenous Africans in this age? In response to this question, the book argues that since ATR is part of the African people's culture, there is a need to understand this cultural background in order to contextualize Christian theology. Using some illustrations from Nyumbanitu worship shrine located at Njombe in Tanzania, the book purports that there is a need to understand African people's worldview, their understanding of God, their religious values, symbols and rituals in order to enhance meaningful dialogue between Christianity and African people's current worldview. In this case, the book is important for students of comparative religion in universities and colleges who strive to understand the various religions and their practices.
Download or read book Contemporary Perspectives on Religions in Africa and the African Diaspora written by Carolyn M. Jones Medine and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-10-14 with total page 509 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary Perspectives on Religions in Africa and the African Diaspora explores African derived religions in a globalized world. The volume focuses on the continent, on African identity in globalization, and on African religion in cultural change.
Download or read book African Religions Philosophy written by John S. Mbiti and published by Heinemann. This book was released on 1990 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "African Religions and Philosophy" is a systematic study of the attitudes of mind and belief that have evolved in the many societies of Africa. In this second edition, Dr Mbiti has updated his material to include the involvement of women in religion, and the potential unity to be found in what was once thought to be a mass of quite separate religions. Mbiti adds a new dimension to the understanding of the history, thinking, and life throughout the African continent. Religion is approached from an African point of view but is as accessible to readers who belong to non-African societies as it is to those who have grown up in African nations. Since its first publication, this book has become acknowledged as the standard work in the field of study, and it is essential reading for anyone concerned with African religion, history, philosophy, anthropology or general African studies.
Download or read book Readings on Religion and Culture in Africa written by Ejizu, Chris I. and published by M & J Grand Orbit Communications. This book was released on 2016-09-13 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a book of reading on religion and culture in Africa comprising ten papers by experts in religion and cultural matters and an introductory note by the editor himself. Covered in the volume are papers covering: the impact of secularisation and urbanisation on a most cherished socio-cultural practice of the extended family system of the Isoko people in Nigeria; the traditional medical practices in Urhobo with particular focus on the use of local herbs to treat ailments; the socioreligious as well as the political significance of Obiri (family hall) in Ikwerreland; the rationale behind the use of the concept ‘Dunamis’ in the Gospel According to Staint Mark. Although his paper does not focus on African (traditional) religion, its inclusion here is based purely on the theological significance of the concept of ‘Dunamis’; the extent to which evil spirits and mysterious forces have influenced the religion and culture of the Urhobo people of Nigeria; the significance of festivals in the traditional African society; John Wesley’s innovations in Christendom and their implications for Africa; the recent unprecedented upsurge in the assumed use of religious powers to cast out evil spirits as well as for prayer healing among Muslims in Nigeria; the culture of alienation, anxiety and violence, drawing inspiration from the Fall Story of Genesis 3; and the widowhood practices of some areas in Nigeria.
Download or read book Religion in African society written by Robert T. Parsons and published by Brill Archive. This book was released on 1964 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Spear Masters written by Molefi Kete Asante and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 2007 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spear Masters contends that in Africa there exists only one religion with a vast array of "denominations." African religion is expressed in a different way by each of the denominations, which creates confusion for those who believe that there are more than one African religion. Spear Masters presents information about some of the larger and most significant expressions of the sole African religion, so that the reader will understand the relationship between God the creator and the notions of the relationship with the family and community. The term "spear master" relates to the integrity and ethics that had to accompany the maker and user of the spear in ancient African societies. The essence of religion presented in Spear Masters is the deification of one's society and nation, and making sacred the traditions and rituals of the ordinary lives of the people.
Download or read book European Traditions in the Study of Religion in Africa written by Ulrich Berner and published by Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. This book was released on 2004 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume comprises case studies of five centuries of European encounters with and imaginations of Africa encompassing her triple religious heritage: African Traditional Religions, Christianity and Islam. The introductory chapters outline the challenges and present overviews; some of them also analyze the early accounts of European travelers and missionaries. The following contributions examine the lasting legacy of the European Enlightenment in employing an ambivalent language of human equality and universalism, while in actual fact consigning Africa to an inferior position. It has been difficult for western scholars to divorce themselves wholly from the perceptions thus established. However, there have been quite different approaches. This is indicated in the papers discussing the role and impact of influential European academics (scholars of religion, theologians, historians and social scientists) during the colonial and postcolonial period. Other contributions examine specific institutional centers of African religious studies in Europe. The concluding chapters critically assess European approaches and their use for the study of religion in Africa from an African perspective.
Download or read book African Religions A Very Short Introduction written by Jacob K. Olupona and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-02-14 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are African religions? African Religions: A Very Short Introduction answers this question by examining primarily indigenous religious traditions on the African continent, as well as exploring Christianity and Islam. It focuses on the diversity of ethnic groups, languages, cultures, and worldviews, emphasizing the continent's regional diversity. Olupona examines a wide range of African religious traditions on their own terms and in their social, cultural, and political contexts. For example, the book moves beyond ethnographic descriptions and interpretations of core beliefs and practices to look at how African religion has engaged issues of socioeconomic development and power relations. Olupona examines the myths and sacred stories about the origins of the universe that define ethnic groups and national identities throughout Africa. He also discusses spiritual agents in the African cosmos such as God, spirits, and ancestors. In addition to myths and deities, Olupona focuses on the people central to African religions, including medicine men and women, rainmakers, witches, magicians, and divine kings, and how they serve as authority figures and intermediaries between the social world and the cosmic realm. African Religions: A Very Short Introduction discusses a wide variety of religious practices, including music and dance, calendrical rituals and festivals, celebrations for the gods' birthdays, and rituals accompanying stages of life such as birth, puberty, marriage, elderhood, and death. In addition to exploring indigenous religions, Olupona examines the ways Islam and Christianity as outside traditions encountered indigenous African religion. He shows how these incoming faith traditions altered the face and the future of indigenous African religions as well as how indigenous religions shaped two world religions in Africa and the diaspora. Olupona draws on archaeological and historical sources, as well as ethnographic materials based on fieldwork. He shows that African religions are not static traditions, but have responded to changes within their local communities and to fluxes caused by outside influences, and spread with diaspora and migration.
Download or read book Morality Truly Christian Truly African written by Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor and published by University of Notre Dame Pess. This book was released on 2014-11-15 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Given the largely Eurocentric nature of moral theology in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, what will it take to invest the theological community in the history and moral challenges of the Church in other parts of the world, especially Africa? What is to be gained for the whole Church when this happens in a deep and lasting way? In this timely and important study, Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor brings greater theological clarity to the issue of the relationship between Christianity and African tradition in the area of ethical foundations. He also provides a constructive example of what fundamental moral theology done from an African and Christian (especially Catholic) moral theological point of view could look like. Following a brief history of the development of African Christian theology, Odozor examines responses of African theologians to African tradition and Christian responses to the reality of non-Christian religions. In a context where the African religious experience and heritage are powerful sources of meaning and identity, Christian evangelization raises questions both about the African primal religions and about Christianity itself and its claims. Odozor takes up the subject of moral reasoning in an African Christian theological ethics and concludes with case studies that show how the African Church has tried to inculturate moral discourse on a religiously pluralistic continent and relate the healing gospel message to African situations. Students and scholars of moral theology and ethics and church leaders will profit from the issues raised in Morality Truly Christian, Truly African.
Download or read book The Study of Religions in Africa written by International Association for the History of Religions. Regional Conference and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Individual and Community in African Traditional Religions written by Theo Sundermeier and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on 1998 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: " ""The writer has done a careful, scholarly and sensitive and very positive and fair study of African religion, with particular reference to the individual and community. Theo Sundermeier lets Africa speak for itself and on its own terms and in its own categories. The concluding chapter is a necessary reading for all who would be on mission, who would seek to live the ecumenical imperative and care to ensure that the pursuit of a religion does not result in dehumanization and degradation and marginalization of the other person."" Rev. Canon Prof. John S. Pobee, World Council of Churches, Geneva/Switzerland ""This book treats the subject of African religions in a creative and interesting way emphasizing that these religions are genuine, authentic expressions of religiosity on a par with other religions including the so-called world religions. The author provides an excellent account of the nature interdependence between individual, community, society and the natural order, an interdependence which these religions symbolize and express in ritual and belief. Likewise the essentially personal nature of power as conceived in African culture is thoughfully and interestingly analysed. There are many other thought provoking ideas and interpretations in this volume including the deconstruction of the commonly held notions of the distinction between witchcraft and magic. This is a most worthwhile contribution to the study of Africa's traditional religions and I am convinced all those with an interest in Africa who read it will gain much therefrom"". Professor Peter B Clarke, Professor of the History and Sociology of Religion in the University of London at King's College, and formerly Professor of African History at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Theo Sundermeier is Professor of the History of Religion and Missiology at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg. translated by Elaine Griffiths, Eleanor Jackson "
Download or read book African Religion Defined written by Anthony Ephirim-Donkor and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 2012-07-10 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African religion is ancestor worship; that is, funeral preparations, burial of the dead with ceremony and pomp, belief in eternal existence of souls of the dead as ancestors, periodic remembrance of ancestors, and belief that they influence the affairs of their living descendants. Whether called Akw?sidai, Homowo, Voodoo, Nyant?r (Aboakyir), CandomblZ, or Santeria in Africa or the African Diaspora, ancestor worship centers on the ancestors and deities. This makes it a tenably viable religion, because living descendants are genetically linked to their ancestors. The author, a traditional king and professor, studies the Akan in Ghana to demonstrate that ancestor worship is as pragmatic, systematic, theological, teleological, soteriological — with a highly trained clerical body and elders as mediators — and symbolic as any other religion in the world. Ancestor worship follows prescribed rites and rituals, formulas, precepts for ritual efficacy, and festivities of honor with music and dances to provoke ancestors and deities into joining in the celebration.
