Religions in Africa by Ibigbolade

Religions in Africa by Ibigbolade S. Aderibigbe

In Chapter Five: Religions in Africa, author Ibigbolade S. Aderibigbe engages in a cursory examination of religions in Africa. She acknowledges that the examination will be only cursory because of the tremendous variety of religions in Africa. Therefore, the chapter focuses on three main religious traditions: African traditional religions, Christianity, and Islam. Another caveat mentioned by the author is that academic study of traditional religions is relatively new and has been conducted by outsiders, either non-Africans or people who are not practitioners of the traditional religions and those religions also lack sacred books.

Aderibigbe begins with a discussion of African traditional religions. While there are a vast number of these religions, she finds that they share unique basic characteristics. However, she also notes that these traditional religions have been changed by exposure to other cultures. One of the things that she notes is that African religions manifest both the philosophical and practical experiences and are transmitted from generation to generation. She approaches the study of traditional African religions by examining three different components: belief structure, functional components, and religious officials and sacred places. The belief structure of traditional African religion has a five hierarchical structure: Supreme Being, divinities, spirits, ancestors, and magic and medicine. The functional components of the religions include prayers, offerings, rituals, and are significantly intertwined with music. The religious officials of traditional African religion include priests, priestesses, diviners, spirit mediums, and kings. The sacred places include shrines.

Aderibigbe then goes on to discuss the Christian religious tradition, beginning with a historical discussion of Christianity and its Jewish traditional roots. It is focused on the idea of a heavenly Messianic kingdom, which was different than the Judaic conception of an earthly Messianic kingdom. Jesus' mission was to save the world and he committed many miraculous works. Although Jesus did not write down any of his teachings, they were memorialized in the New Testament, which, along with the Old Testament forms the sacred textual underpinning of Christianity. She points out that there has been such division in modern Christianity that it is difficult to describe a universal Christian worldview. However, she describes the basic beliefs and practices that are considered universal to Christians. She also discusses Christianity's waves in Africa, the first one occurring in the first century a.D. Jesus was taken to Egypt to avoid being killed by King Herod and Jesus' early message spread into North Africa. Christianity did not become a major influence in African religion until the 1800s, and is now one of the two primary religions practiced in the country.