AFRICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY 

THE SEARCH FOR INDIGENOUS AFRICAN RELIGIONS 

Up until this point, our coverage of African Liberation Theology has focused on South Africa.  Now we move outside of South Africa in order to focus on the search for indigenous African religions.  As part of this search, we will pay attention to African theologians outside South Africa.  

In doing so we shall see that their dominant concern is not so much basic contemporary social and political issues as it is the search for an indigenous African religion.  One of the real problems in uncovering the native African religions has been the dearth of written accounts and the dependence on oral tradition.  There is general agreement that a written African theology has largely been a by-product of the introduction of the Bible by Western missionaries.  As late as the mid-1960's, Bolaji Idowu of Nigeria had chastized African theologians for their failure to relate Christianity to its African context, a charge later reinforced by John Mbiti of Kenya, who has said that "the Church in Africa is a Church without a theology and a Church without theological concern ("Some African Concepts of Christology," in G.F. Viceroy, ed. Christ and the Younger Churches. London, SPCK, 1972, pp. 51-52)."

Bengt Sundkler had earlier pleaded for an interpretation of Christianity that would be indigenous to the African situation:  Theology in Africa has to interpret...Christ in terms that are relevant and essential to African existence....A theologian who with the Apostle Paul is prepared to become...unto Africans as African must start with the fundamental facts of the African interpretation of existence and the universe (Bantu Prophets in South Africa (London: Lutterworth, 2nd ed., 1961, p. 281).

Similarly, Harry Sawyerr maintained:  Once it is realized that it is not necessary for the African to become detribalized to become a Christian, the Christianization of pagan customs and beliefs would seem to be the the most natural and reasonable means of re-establishing culture (Harry Sawyerr, Creative Evangelism: Toward a New Encounter with Africa. London, Lutterworth, 1968).

Here we shall explore if indigenous African religions had an impact on Christianity, and if so what type of impact.  Along with that, we shall also explore if Christianity in some ways "borrowed" from indigenous African religions.

In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Juan A. Carmona