Especially in Africa, religion has been at the heart of much of the contemporary conflicts. The study of Africa's traditional religion and the environment can be termed the ecology of religion. The development community (practitioners and academics) has only quite recently begun to problematise the role of religion beyond simple matrices of religion as inhibitor to development or religion as a source of development . ���O�)Z\����2�� Three religions, indigenous African, Islam and Christianity, comprising Africa’s triple heritage, are considered. Over the past 25 years, Africa has been the prime victim of a small, but highly intelligent virus, which has infected and killed millions of people, and significantly hampered the growth and development of a land with abundant potential. When we speak of African Traditional Religion, we mean the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Africans. They play an important role in designing and implementing health systems involving traditional medicines and spirit possession. Oral literature encompasses fables, folktales, legends myths and proverbs. The development of Ghana and Africa, at large, calls for an insight into the impact of religion on modern education. The African continent continues to be faced with the challenge of establishing peace and development. African religions, either from the scientific point of view, ... Manas Buthelezi, Julius Nyerere and many others. In Africa, the traditional belief systems hold the ascription of supernatural powers to objects called gods and goddesses. The values of Venn. Academia.edu uses cookies to personalize content, tailor ads and improve the user experience. xref development, African traditional religion, Akan, kinship ties, totem, sacred groves Introduction I am yet to see a community or a society that is anti-development. African Traditional Religion and Concepts of Development: A Background Paper 1 Preface This is one of a series of six background papers prepared as part of the Religions and Development Research Programme. The research projects will compare two or more of the focus countries, regions within the countries, different religious traditions and selected development activities and policies. Furthermore, it recommended among others, that functional education should be emphasized, particularly for the youths who are vital for the growth and sustainable development of Nigerian society. Th e report then “zooms in” on East Africa, where the three religious “families” of traditional religion, Islam and Christianity are all present in large numbers. Africa's influential university departments of religion have usually approached the theme in terms of establishing correlations between Christianity and Africa's traditional religions. Figure 1: Importance of religion in the world, from Gallup poll 2006-2008 Figure 2: Human Development Index 2010 Africa's traditional religious "ontolo&>y" for Christian faith, with publication of his classic La Philosophie Bantoue in 1945. Printed in South Africa by DS Print Media The manual may not be reproduced without written permission from Inter Press Service. Unless the African leaders become committed to improve their nation, the continent will remain under development. Local African culture was oppressed for many years by white South Africans, who find their cultural roots in … However, traditional religion shows resilience in its impact in such areas as Africans’ historical-cultural roots, self-consciousness and expectations (Mbiti 1999:257; see also Ejizu 2002:127-129). Hence, it cannot be avoided in the interaction between Christianity and African Traditional Religion. Land Act was succeeded by the South African Development Trust and Land Act 18 of 1936 which provided for "released areas", also restricted to black people. Mbiti regards African Traditional Religion(s) (ATR(s)) as monotheism and as a praeparatio evangelica, and maintains that the Christian God is the same as the God worshipped in ATR(s). Some religions do not allow women to occupy decision-making positions, with the result that The idea of connecting religion and development stemmed from the basic thought that religion influencing fertility rate. %%EOF To understand the issue one must go back to the beginnings of anthropology in the 19th century and follow its evolution (see 19th-Century Background ). <<1583B7E75006984D86C00963AF8F21B4>]>> Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link. African Traditional Religion: A Definition (1973), Omosade Awolalu in Yoruba Belief and Sacrificial Rites and John Mbiti in The Concept of God in Africa (1970) are a few examples of postcolonial scholars of religion who have resisted and denounced colonial idea that Africans do not know God. Roman 275 0 obj<>stream According to Choon and Van der Merwe (2008:1299), this phenomenon and practice is an ‘attempt to preserve good relations with the departed kin.’ The practice THE PLACE OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION IN INTERRELIGIOUS ENCOUNTERS IN SIERRA LEONE SINCE THE ADVENT OF ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY by PRINCE SORIE CONTEH submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY In the subject RELIGIOUS STUDIES at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: PROF G J A LUBBE APRIL … When we speak of African Traditional Religion, we mean the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Africans. %PDF-1.4 %���� Religion, State and Development Defining religion is a difficult task and attempts towards that have drawn diverse views from scholars across the globe. Aims This paper aims to provide a brief analysis of the role of religion in Africa's development. Introduction “African Traditional Religion” (ATR) is the term used for the indigenous religious traditions of Africa. 0000009414 00000 n This text is not about the causes of Africa's underdevelopment per se. 0000001972 00000 n African Traditional Religion is now widely taught in African universities, but its identity remains essentially negative: African belief that is not Christianity or Islam. 0000000688 00000 n For many Africans and Ghanaians, in particular, it is religion more than anything else that shapes their worldview and participation in social life6. He opines that African traditional religion contributed to the spread of Christian beliefs in Africa. African culture has experienced rapid change since the colonial invasion. The traditional African religions or traditional beliefs and practices of African people are a set of highly diverse beliefs that includes various ethnic religions. Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer. Phenomenological method will help to present without bias the role of African traditional Religion in Nigerian national development. 0000001082 00000 n For instance, there were particular times when certain rituals had to take place, such as a sacrifice. Again, African Traditional Religion teaches its adherents to eschew evil, bribery, corruption, ethnicity, tribalism and nepotism. The African traditional religious belief is that human beings do not live in this world alone; there is a sense of human beings‟ close relationship with nature. For a more detailed treatment of this subject of God in Africa, see Mbiti 1982 and 1992. The most important thing is that in the new South Africa religion and spirituality are used to create greater understanding and harmony rather than to divide people as was done in the past. 0000003324 00000 n Many Christians and Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa describe members of the other faith as tolerant and honest. 0000006004 00000 n The African is conscious of the influence of each category of these beings in the universe. Ideologically speaking, the African world is a world of inanimate, animate and spiritual beings. On the one hand, he used the traditional value of generosity against them and exposed the fact that they had betrayed those [tribal] values by becoming greedy and stingy; on the other hand, he turned upside down the traditional criterion for status, which was a prominent position in a powerful tribe. Several African scholars argue that, despite the importance of time-keeping in some traditional customs, Africans as a rule are not good at keeping time. In most countries, In Africa, the traditional belief systems hold the ascription between Christianity and African Traditional Religion. in the development and exacerbation of the myriad of problems facing Africa and its people, this elemental dimension has not received sufficient academic attention. ” In Birmingham: Religions and Development Research P rogramme W ork- in West Africa. Religion is often used to deny women their fundamental human rights. Traditional African religion (ATR) as done in most part of African communities are environmentally friendly and sustainable, thus contributing so much to natural resources sustainability and conservation. 0000002308 00000 n African traditional religion The faith in ancestors continued to be practised by many African Christians. The hypothesized relationships are confirmed. development, African traditional religion, Akan, kinship ties, totem, sacred groves Introduction I am yet to see a community or a society that is anti-development. 257 19 ���A�li@�R������(���1��y�д '-�Ӆ@ ��0c!��b�K�x�7. Christianity correlates with each of the four Development Targets specified for women empowerment under the third of the Millennium Development Goals … Contemporary African culture is a mixture of traditional elements and alien features. Numerous peace initiatives have been launched on the continent. Even with this definition of “diffused” monotheism in the Yoruba religion, coupled with similar notions scattered across the continent of Africa, the overwhelming facts do show that, even though Africans generally have an awareness and belief in the Supreme Being, the truth is, this Supreme Being is not known to have been exclusively worshipped by traditional Africans. 0000001262 00000 n This paper attempts to reappraise his views on salvation from a theological point of view. In particular, it impacts on gender relations and consequently on how women are treated in society and the home. x�b```b``ie`a`�2c�e@ ^�+s\``X���u����I,\+�`8�{�ܻ���eVt]a��fh��?��ha�R�oO���o8���`�f����t��� ��O� Religion is the strongest element in traditional background, and exerts probably the greatest influence upon the thinking and living of the people concerned.4 The complexity of the relationship between environment and religion in indigenous and contemporary African cultures and societies requires a more multidisciplinary approach that draws from a variety of sources, approaches, and epistemological positions: phenomenology, ecology, geography … 257 0 obj <> endobj Religion as a Way of Life Secular modernism has succeeded in distancing religion from the socio-economic and political spheres in the developed world (Clarke & Jennings 2008:1). 0000009360 00000 n trailer The study examines the impact of religion on women empowerment. African continent is increasingly seen as a crisis of values and, religion, a primary source of human values (NASR, 2011), also seen as critical in the search for sustainable solutions to the crisis. A Case Study From The Forest-Savanna Agroecological Zone Of Ghana, THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN THE INSTITUTION OF CHIEFTAINCY: THE CASE OF THE AKAN OFGHANA, INDIGENOUS AFRICAN RELIGION AND THE POLITICS OF THE FOURTH REPUBLIC OF GHANA, 1992-2012. 0000002157 00000 n Tracing African Roots. Clearly, religion matters when choosing the marital partner, marriage, divorce, and women’s working rate. You can download the paper by clicking the button above. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser. Rather, it is about how African customary and traditional practices, and the efforts to obliterate these practices by agents of Western civilization affect, or can potentially affect, socio-economic development in Africa. This includes five countries (Cameroon, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal) where more than half the population … These teachings are bedrock for national development. The concept . It is therefore important for any analysis or recommendations to take account of this. While ATR has been often seen in negative terms, especially by early missionaries, later studies have demonstrated that ATR is not really what these outside observers earlier on assumed. It is a ancestors, traditional religious healers, reincarnation and other elements of traditional African religions.1 Christianity and Islam also coexist with each other.