Religions in Contemporary Africa

Religions in Contemporary Africa PDF Author: Laura S. Grillo
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351260707
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Book Description
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.

African Religions & Philosophy

African Religions & Philosophy PDF Author: John S. Mbiti
Publisher: Heinemann
ISBN: 9780435895914
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Book Description
"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.

African Religions

African Religions PDF Author: Jacob K. Olupona
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199790582
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
This book connects traditional religions to the thriving religious activity in Africa today.

Contemporary Perspectives on Religions in Africa and the African Diaspora

Contemporary Perspectives on Religions in Africa and the African Diaspora PDF Author: Carolyn M. Jones Medine
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137498056
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 509

Book Description
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.

Introduction to African Religion

Introduction to African Religion PDF Author: John S. Mbiti
Publisher: Waveland Press
ISBN: 1478628928
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Book Description
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.

Religions of Africa

Religions of Africa PDF Author: Lora Friedenthal
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1422288927
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 112

Book Description
While African religions are as diverse as the continent itself, most Africans can be placed in one of three groups: followers of traditional religions, Islam, or Christianity. Until the 20th century, religion was rarely a primary source of conflict. However, in recent years Muslim-Christian tensions have contributed to unrest in such nations as Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania. This book is intended as an introduction to the practice of religion in Africa today. It provides a brief history of religious development in Africa, discusses the common religious practices in various regions of the continent, and explores the role of religion in current African conflicts.

Encyclopedia of African Religion

Encyclopedia of African Religion PDF Author: Molefi Kete Asante
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1412936365
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 473

Book Description
Collects almost five hundred entries that cover the African response to spirituality, taboos, ethics, sacred space, and objects.

The Historical Study of African Religion

The Historical Study of African Religion PDF Author: Terence O. Ranger
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520031791
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 326

Book Description


African Religions: A Very Short Introduction

African Religions: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Jacob K. Olupona
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199790787
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Book Description
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.

Elements of African Traditional Religion

Elements of African Traditional Religion PDF Author: Elia Shabani Mligo
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1621898245
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 111

Book Description
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.