PCT2223 Main Features of African Religion (4 credits) at United Lutheran Theological Seminary Paulinum

What is African Religion?

The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions.

Overview

African traditional religion refers to the indigenous or autochthonous religions of the African people. It deals with their cosmology, ritual practices, symbols, arts, society, and so on. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Africa’s religion called?

Islam is the dominant religion in North Africa and some of the Horn of Africa, which is majority Christian.

What are the beliefs of ATR?

ATR is a religion that was practised throughout Africa before the arrival of the Western missionaries. The core premise of ATR is the maintenance of African culture and its main feature is loyalty to the ancestors and the accompanying rituals that express this loyalty.

What is the origin of African traditional religion?

In the case of African traditional religion, it can be traced back to the very beginning of the emergence of African peoples. For Christianity, it is the first century AD, and maybe beyond; and for Islam the seventh century.

What were the 4 main parts of traditional African religions?

Rather, they have certain vital elements that function as core beliefs. Among these beliefs are origin myths, the presence of deities, ancestor veneration, and divination.

Who is the God of African?

Generally speaking, African religions hold that there is one creator God, the maker of a dynamic universe. Myths of various African peoples relate that, after setting the world in motion, the Supreme Being withdrew, and he remains remote from the concerns of human life.

What are the differences between African traditional religion and Christianity?

The Igbo people, who profess traditional religion, worship the Supreme Being through many minor gods or divinities. Those who profess Christianity, worship God directly through church services, prayers, songs, meditation, and through other various services.

What is the meaning of a traditional religion?

Traditional customs, beliefs, or methods are ones that have existed for a long time without changing. […] traditionally adverb.

What was the African religion before Christianity?

OLUPONA: Indigenous African religions refer to the indigenous or native religious beliefs of the African people before the Christian and Islamic colonization of Africa.

What is African Christianity?

African Christianity is a new development of African religion, shaped by the. parameters ofpre-ChristianAfrican religionas the Christian- ity of the Jerusalem Church of the Acts of the Apostles was rooted in the. religion of old Israel. 

Who is the founder of African traditional religion?

The founders of African traditional religion are the African ancestors. These are the men and women who have lived and died, handing over the religion to their descendants.

Who is Jesus in African religion?

This is what African Christians believe, because Jesus Christ, like any other ancestor, was created by God and he is also God’s Son. One can trust him as an ancestor with everything: from giving life, care, protection, guidance to even giving punishment.

Is African Traditional Religion a revealed religion?

There is widespread certainty in African scholarship that African religion is a revealed religion. This religion, according to many scholars, has no founder. The other side of the argument is that the religion is purported to have originated or born out of the experiences of our African forefathers.

What is sin in African traditional religion?

Sin is a prominent concept in both African Traditional Religion (ATR) and Christianity, which has attracted intellectual discourse among scholars today. Sin is any lack of conformity, either active or passive to the law of God. This may be a matter of act or thought.

When did slavery start in Africa?

Sometime in 1619, a Portuguese slave ship, the São João Bautista, traveled across the Atlantic Ocean with a hull filled with human cargo: captive Africans from Angola, in southwestern Africa.

Is African religion monotheistic or polytheistic?

Polytheism is one type of belief system found in Africa. There are many different polytheistic religions, but they all share a similar trait. People who follow polytheistic religions believe in, and worship, more than one god.