AFRICANEWS

Africa

The persistence of african religion

Religion

Is there an African religion? And are Africans `notoriously religious?' African religionhas been very much misunderstood by foreigners used to religions with scriptures and thus needs to be documented and systematized.

There is one sociological fact that is common to all human beings, and that is the existence of religion. Anthropologists have yet to find a human society without it.The study of ancient humanity (called pale-ethnology) reveals that some form of religious outlook and organization has been part of the human race since the beginning.The vast continent of Africa, now believed to be the origin ofhumanity, exemplifies this. It is religious belief, perhaps more than anything else, that characterises African communities and societies throughout the continent, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. "Africans are notoriously religious," the African scholar of religion, John S. Mbiti, declared. Even the sceptical early European travellers and missionaries to Africa could not deny this. The Africans' belief in God and other spiritual beings was too obvious to contest. It was unmistakable.

Missionaries may not have approved the African approach to these beings, they may have detested African religious organisation and rituals, but they could not honestly deny that the African lived a deep religious spirituality.

Contemporary proof of the African peoples' basic religious orientation is to be seen in their massive conversion to Islam and Christianity. Africa has the fastest growing rate of converts to Christianity today, and I suspect it is the same with Islam. Demographers predict that in the coming century, the centre of Christianity, at least in numbers, will be Africa. Such shift would not be possible without a prior firm religious base, which Africans have in their traditional religiosity.

To Black Africans the Great AncestorGod is so real that debate about this Ancestor's existence sounds not merely silly but almost blasphemous. The Ancestor God is good, cares about humanity and all creation, and through their particular ancestors and elders has given every family, clan, and tribe their traditions to sustain and lead them in this life.

There is no dispute either about the existence and role of the particular family, clan, and tribal ancestors and spirits. For where does a person go after death?

A good person, who has been an example and inspiration to the living concerning what and how "the good life" should be becomes an ancestor. All others become bad spirits, angry at everybody, and capable of causing harm to humanity unless constantly placated or totally expelled from society.

To humanity falls the responsibility of maintaining divine and ancestral tradition, under the guidance of the elders. The life of the community and that of the universe is either promoted or dimished depending on how well the members of that community are faithful to this tradition. This is the essence of African morality. It is for humanity's own best interest to observe it.

The Great Ancestor-God and the other ancestors are there to see to it that, by keeping to the dictates of tradition, order and balance are maintained in the universe.

Again, this is ultimately for the benefit of humanity, for humanity and the universe are one and form one community. Community includes all the elements of the visible and invisible worlds; it includes unity of both blood and possessions. Both must not be abused.

Rituals exist to restore universal balance which is so central to the continuation of life, whenever it has been disturbed. They exist to make sure that the divine ancestor as well as the other ancestors are wooed back on the side of humanity and life whenever they have been alienated by human pride and greed.

Sacrifices and libations are rituals that are designed to achieve this reconciliation, which must also be reflected concretely in human relations.

Anger, greed, laziness, lust, incest, lack of respect to elders, all anti-social behaviour, and especially witchcraft, must from time to time be cast out of human hearts and away from society.

The above elements that bring about disorder and destroy the growth of life. They interfere with cooperation, participation and sharing which are the very wellsprings of human and universal life. Neither rulers nor commoners are exempt from these demands of ancestral tradition.

These demands are real and are even today felt by every African person of any religious orientation. So, it is a mistake to think that African Religion is dead. It is misguided to wish it so. African Religion, in so far as it is God-given, is also a valid way to that Great Ancestor of all humanity.

My own book, "African Religion, the moral traditions of abundant life,"Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1977 and Nairobi: Paulines Publications, 1998) is an attempt to contribute to this effort from the ethical perspective.

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