The history of African Traditional Religions (ATRs), both inside and outside academia, is one dominated by exclusions. These exclusions were created by the colonial framing of ATRs as primitive, irrational and inferior to other religions. This colonial legacy is in danger of being preserved by the absence of ATRs from the academic study of religion, legal definitions of religion, and global and local conversations about religion. This thesis will explore the ways that a more considered and accurate examination of the understudied religious dimensions within ATRs can potentially dismantle this legacy. It will do so by demonstrating what this considered examination might look like, through an examination of Yoruba divine conceptualizations and the insights they bring to our understanding of three concepts in Religious Studies discourse: Worship, Gender, and Syncretism. This thesis will demonstrate how these concepts have the ability to challenge and contribute to a richer understanding of various concepts and debates in Religious Studies discourse. Finally, it will consider the implications beyond academia, with a focus on the self-understanding of ATR practitioners and African communities. It frames these implications under the lens of the colonial legacy of ‘monstrosity’, which relates to their perception as primitive and irrational, and concludes that a more considered examination of ATRs within the Religious Studies framework has the potential to dismantle this legacy.

DOMINGOS, Reginaldo Ferreira. Religiões tradicionais de base africana no Cariri cearense: educação, filosofia e movimento social. 2015. 256f. – Tese (Doutorado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-graduação em Educação Brasileira, Fortaleza (CE), 2015. / Submitted by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-03-22T18:23:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_tese_rfdomingos.pdf: 4276408 bytes, checksum: 139e29d7bb22e0410278146f7e97a664 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo(marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-03-23T10:43:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_tese_rfdomingos.pdf: 4276408 bytes, checksum: 139e29d7bb22e0410278146f7e97a664 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-23T10:43:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_tese_rfdomingos.pdf: 4276408 bytes, checksum: 139e29d7bb22e0410278146f7e97a664 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / This research is a discussion about the black presence in the cities of Crato and Juazeiro and their traditional religious practices. Thus we aimed to understand the religion as a production locus of a philosophy and this, an educational act. He intended to also highlight the march for religious freedom as a social movement that aspires to act on the reality of the region. On the problems experienced by the black population in relation to history, culture, religion is what made us wake up to the following problem: as the black presence has performed in the region and how their religious spaces have been expressed and presented in the historical process with its symbolic and social relations settings? For this purpose we use as a methodology, the bibliographical studies; qualitative research; document analysis; oral history and oral tradition, through semi-structured interviews and use of digital recording equipment has been possible to collect the lines of social agents. The overall objective is to search for the historical bias, the black presence in the Cariri (Crato and Juazeiro), understanding of the African-based religious representation in analogy with philosophy, as well as analyze the walk for religious freedom as a movement social. We propose the following objectives: 1) To review studies on the region on the African history and the black population, its relation to Brazilian history and its religious representation in caririense society; 2) Investigate and make visible the black religious presence in the historical archives in the cities of Crato and Juazeiro do Norte; 3) Establish discussion analysis waging an analogy of African-based religion with philosophy; 4) To analyze the walk for religious freedom as a social movement space. Such assumptions made us realize that know the reality from history means understanding the social and historical organization of cities, ie what and how the sacred spaces contributed and the reason for non-participation in the social organization of the surveyed cities. The investigation of the role of religious communities and how they collaborated in the formation of local social realities is to note that the strength of the Afro-descendant population permeates other fields and other practices to resist the homogenization of the hegemonic culture. Therefore, the research concluded that the traditional religious practices of African-based religions and its historical-social constitution shows us a device to study when it comes to: transmission of teachings and resistance; of participation in the formation of the realities of the cities; and in enveredamento a philosophy. / Esta pesquisa faz uma discussão acerca da presença do negro nas cidades de Crato e Juazeiro do Norte e suas práticas religiosas tradicionais. Assim, teve o intuito de entender a religiosidade como locus de produção de uma filosofia e, esta, um ato educativo. Pretendeu-se também destacar a marcha pela liberdade religiosa como movimento social que aspira atuar sobre a realidade da região. Diante das problemáticas vivenciadas pela população negra no que se refere à história, cultura, religião é que se fez o despertar para o seguinte problema: como a presença negra tem se apresentado na região e como seus espaços religiosos têm se manifestado e apresentado, no processo histórico, com suas configurações simbólicas e nas relações sociais? Para tal intento recorremos, como metodologia, aos estudos bibliográficos; à pesquisa qualitativa; análise documental; história oral e oralidade, por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas e uso de equipamento digitais de gravação foi possível coletar as falas dos agentes sociais. O objetivo geral é pesquisar, pelo viés histórico, a presença negra na região do Cariri (Crato e Juazeiro do Norte), a compreensão da representação religiosa de base africana de forma análoga com a filosofia, bem como analisar a caminhada pela liberdade religiosa como movimento social. Como objetivos específicos propuseram-se: 1) Analisar estudos realizados sobre a região acerca da história africana e da população negra, sua relação com a história brasileira e sua representação religiosa na sociedade caririense; 2) Investigar e visibilizar a presença religiosa negra nos arquivos históricos nas cidades de Crato e Juazeiro do Norte; 3) Constituir análise de discussão empreendendo uma analogia da religião de base africana com a filosofia; 4) Analisar a caminhada pela liberdade religiosa como espaço de movimento social. Tais conjecturas fizeram perceber que conhecer a realidade a partir da história significa entender a organização social e histórica das cidades, ou seja, o que e como os espaços sacros contribuíram e o porquê da não participação na organização social das cidades pesquisadas. A investigação da função dos terreiros e como eles colaboraram na formação das realidades sociais locais é notar que a resistência da população afrodescendente perpassa outros campos e outras práticas de resistir à homogeneização da cultura hegemônica. Portanto, a pesquisa permitiu concluir que as práticas religiosas tradicionais de religiões de base africana e sua constituição histórico-social revelam um artifício para estudo quando se trata de: transmissão de ensinamentos e de resistência; de participação na constituição das realidades das cidades; e, no enveredamento de uma filosofia.

FundaÃÃo de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Cearà / nÃo hà / Esta pesquisa faz uma discussÃo acerca da presenÃa do negro nas cidades de Crato e Juazeiro do Norte e suas prÃticas religiosas tradicionais. Assim, teve o intuito de entender a religiosidade como locus de produÃÃo de uma filosofia e, esta, um ato educativo. Pretendeu-se tambÃm destacar a marcha pela liberdade religiosa como movimento social que aspira atuar sobre a realidade da regiÃo. Diante das problemÃticas vivenciadas pela populaÃÃo negra no que se refere à histÃria, cultura, religiÃo à que se fez o despertar para o seguinte problema: como a presenÃa negra tem se apresentado na regiÃo e como seus espaÃos religiosos tÃm se manifestado e apresentado, no processo histÃrico, com suas configuraÃÃes simbÃlicas e nas relaÃÃes sociais? Para tal intento recorremos, como metodologia, aos estudos bibliogrÃficos; à pesquisa qualitativa; anÃlise documental; histÃria oral e oralidade, por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas e uso de equipamento digitais de gravaÃÃo foi possÃvel coletar as falas dos agentes sociais. O objetivo geral à pesquisar, pelo viÃs histÃrico, a presenÃa negra na regiÃo do Cariri (Crato e Juazeiro do Norte), a compreensÃo da representaÃÃo religiosa de base africana de forma anÃloga com a filosofia, bem como analisar a caminhada pela liberdade religiosa como movimento social. Como objetivos especÃficos propuseram-se: 1) Analisar estudos realizados sobre a regiÃo acerca da histÃria africana e da populaÃÃo negra, sua relaÃÃo com a histÃria brasileira e sua representaÃÃo religiosa na sociedade caririense; 2) Investigar e visibilizar a presenÃa religiosa negra nos arquivos histÃricos nas cidades de Crato e Juazeiro do Norte; 3) Constituir anÃlise de discussÃo empreendendo uma analogia da religiÃo de base africana com a filosofia; 4) Analisar a caminhada pela liberdade religiosa como espaÃo de movimento social. Tais conjecturas fizeram perceber que conhecer a realidade a partir da histÃria significa entender a organizaÃÃo social e histÃrica das cidades, ou seja, o que e como os espaÃos sacros contribuÃram e o porquà da nÃo participaÃÃo na organizaÃÃo social das cidades pesquisadas. A investigaÃÃo da funÃÃo dos terreiros e como eles colaboraram na formaÃÃo das realidades sociais locais à notar que a resistÃncia da populaÃÃo afrodescendente perpassa outros campos e outras prÃticas de resistir à homogeneizaÃÃo da cultura hegemÃnica. Portanto, a pesquisa permitiu concluir que as prÃticas religiosas tradicionais de religiÃes de base africana e sua constituiÃÃo histÃrico-social revelam um artifÃcio para estudo quando se trata de: transmissÃo de ensinamentos e de resistÃncia; de participaÃÃo na constituiÃÃo das realidades das cidades; e, no enveredamento de uma filosofia. / This research is a discussion about the black presence in the cities of Crato and Juazeiro and their traditional religious practices. Thus we aimed to understand the religion as a production locus of a philosophy and this, an educational act. He intended to also highlight the march for religious freedom as a social movement that aspires to act on the reality of the region. On the problems experienced by the black population in relation to history, culture, religion is what made us wake up to the following problem: as the black presence has performed in the region and how their religious spaces have been expressed and presented in the historical process with its symbolic and social relations settings? For this purpose we use as a methodology, the bibliographical studies; qualitative research; document analysis; oral history and oral tradition, through semi-structured interviews and use of digital recording equipment has been possible to collect the lines of social agents. The overall objective is to search for the historical bias, the black presence in the Cariri (Crato and Juazeiro), understanding of the African-based religious representation in analogy with philosophy, as well as analyze the walk for religious freedom as a movement social. We propose the following objectives: 1) To review studies on the region on the African history and the black population, its relation to Brazilian history and its religious representation in caririense society; 2) Investigate and make visible the black religious presence in the historical archives in the cities of Crato and Juazeiro do Norte; 3) Establish discussion analysis waging an analogy of African-based religion with philosophy; 4) To analyze the walk for religious freedom as a social movement space. Such assumptions made us realize that know the reality from history means understanding the social and historical organization of cities, ie what and how the sacred spaces contributed and the reason for non-participation in the social organization of the surveyed cities. The investigation of the role of religious communities and how they collaborated in the formation of local social realities is to note that the strength of the Afro-descendant population permeates other fields and other practices to resist the homogenization of the hegemonic culture. Therefore, the research concluded that the traditional religious practices of African-based religions and its historical-social constitution shows us a device to study when it comes to: transmission of teachings and resistance; of participation in the formation of the realities of the cities; and in enveredamento a philosophy.

Ubuntu is a worldview and a way of life shared by most Africans south of Sahara. Basically Ubuntu underlines the often unrecognized role of relatedness and dependence of human individuality to other humans and the cosmos. The importance of relatedness to humanity is summarized by the two maxims of Ubuntu. The first is: a human being is human because of other human beings. The second maxim is an elaboration of the first. It goes; a human being is human because of the otherness of other human beings. John Mbiti combines those two maxims into, "I am because we are, and we are because I am." Ubuntu worldview can provide insights about relationships with communities and the world that contribute to the meaning of Global Bioethics. <br>Ubuntu can be described as involving several distinct yet related components that can be explored in relation to major strands of discourse in contemporary Bioethics. The first component of Ubuntu deals with the tension between individual and universal rights. The second component of Ubuntu deals with concerns about the cosmic and global context of life. The third component of Ubuntu deals with the role of solidarity that unites individuals and communities. Ubuntu has a lot in common with current discourse in bioethics. It can facilitate global bioethics. It can inspire the on-going dialogue about human dignity, human rights and the ethics that surround it. It can inspire and be inspired by global environmental concerns that threaten the biosphere and human life. Ubuntu can critique the formal bioethical principles of autonomy, justice, beneficence and non-maleficence. Above all, Ubuntu can create a basis for dialogue and mutually enlightening discourse between global bioethics and indigenous cultures. Such a dialogue helps make advancements in bioethics relevant to local indigenous cultures, thereby facilitating the acceptability and praxis of global bioethical principles. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Philosophy / PhD / Dissertation;

Ce mémoire présente une réflexion critique sur différentes représentations des religions traditionnelles africaines (RTA) au sein de réseaux régionaux et disciplinaires africains et occidentaux. Dans un premier temps, plusieurs formes de représentations (cartographiques et graphiques) issues de milieux universitaires occidentaux sont explorées pour comparer le traitement des RTA. Cette exploration soulève le problème des catégorisations employées qui ne rendent pas compte de la diversité, du dynamisme, de la complexité et de l’importance des RTA; et de manière plus générale, cette analyse révèle un problème sur le plan de l’équité dans les représentations des religions du monde. À l’aide d’une analyse conceptuelle, un certain nombre de catégories utilisées pour définir les RTA, notamment celle de « religion ethnique », sont remises en question, tout comme la notion de religion du monde (world religion). Dans un deuxième temps, les stratégies de recherche utilisées pour retracer des réseaux de chercheurs africains sont présentées. Différents outils et ressources documentaires occidentaux sont analysés et évalués selon qu’ils donnent accès ou non à la production de chercheurs africains sur les RTA. L’analyse de ces documents, laquelle est inspirée d’une démarche d’analyse de discours, révèle à quel point la contribution des chercheurs africains est peu prise en compte à l’intérieur du corpus sélectionné. Or, l’exploration de la situation actuelle de l’enseignement et de la recherche sur les RTA dans certaines universités du Nigéria met en lumière la somme importante de travaux sur les RTA et la diversité des canaux de communication. En somme, ce mémoire démontre à quel point le savoir est localisé et lié aux ancrages culturels, disciplinaires et idéologiques des chercheurs. Il ouvre, à partir de l’analyse de textes africains, sur la question plus large de la difficulté de la représentation de l’unité et des particularismes des RTA. / This thesis provides a critical analysis of several different representations of African Traditional Religions (ATR) as found within a number of regional and disciplinary networks in Western and African countries. First, numerous means of representation (geographical maps and graphics) from different western scientific media were used to examine different ways in which ATR are represented. This analysis reveals that the categorization systems employed in these media to represent ATR do not reflect the variety, vitality, complexity and significance of ATR; and, on a more general level, reveals a lack of equity in the representations of different world religions. A conceptual analysis puts into question a number of categories (e.g. “ethnic religion”) used to define ATR as well as the notion of world religion. Second, the research strategies that were used to identify African research networks are presented. Several different Western tools and documentary resources (Database, encyclopedic articles, etc) were evaluated on their usage and citations of African research on ATR. This analysis, which was drawn from a qualitative discourse analysis approach, highlights the limited importance that is given to African researchers. In contrast, our evaluation of RTA-related education and research in Nigerian universities reveals an enormous amount of RTA-related research as well as a diversity of communication channels. On a more general level, this thesis demonstrates the extent to which knowledge is localized and linked to the cultural, disciplinary, and ideological presuppositions of researchers, and, from the analysis of African documents, opens to the larger question of the difficulty to represent the unity and specificities of ATR.

Ce mémoire présente une réflexion critique sur différentes représentations des religions traditionnelles africaines (RTA) au sein de réseaux régionaux et disciplinaires africains et occidentaux. Dans un premier temps, plusieurs formes de représentations (cartographiques et graphiques) issues de milieux universitaires occidentaux sont explorées pour comparer le traitement des RTA. Cette exploration soulève le problème des catégorisations employées qui ne rendent pas compte de la diversité, du dynamisme, de la complexité et de l’importance des RTA; et de manière plus générale, cette analyse révèle un problème sur le plan de l’équité dans les représentations des religions du monde. À l’aide d’une analyse conceptuelle, un certain nombre de catégories utilisées pour définir les RTA, notamment celle de « religion ethnique », sont remises en question, tout comme la notion de religion du monde (world religion). Dans un deuxième temps, les stratégies de recherche utilisées pour retracer des réseaux de chercheurs africains sont présentées. Différents outils et ressources documentaires occidentaux sont analysés et évalués selon qu’ils donnent accès ou non à la production de chercheurs africains sur les RTA. L’analyse de ces documents, laquelle est inspirée d’une démarche d’analyse de discours, révèle à quel point la contribution des chercheurs africains est peu prise en compte à l’intérieur du corpus sélectionné. Or, l’exploration de la situation actuelle de l’enseignement et de la recherche sur les RTA dans certaines universités du Nigéria met en lumière la somme importante de travaux sur les RTA et la diversité des canaux de communication. En somme, ce mémoire démontre à quel point le savoir est localisé et lié aux ancrages culturels, disciplinaires et idéologiques des chercheurs. Il ouvre, à partir de l’analyse de textes africains, sur la question plus large de la difficulté de la représentation de l’unité et des particularismes des RTA. / This thesis provides a critical analysis of several different representations of African Traditional Religions (ATR) as found within a number of regional and disciplinary networks in Western and African countries. First, numerous means of representation (geographical maps and graphics) from different western scientific media were used to examine different ways in which ATR are represented. This analysis reveals that the categorization systems employed in these media to represent ATR do not reflect the variety, vitality, complexity and significance of ATR; and, on a more general level, reveals a lack of equity in the representations of different world religions. A conceptual analysis puts into question a number of categories (e.g. “ethnic religion”) used to define ATR as well as the notion of world religion. Second, the research strategies that were used to identify African research networks are presented. Several different Western tools and documentary resources (Database, encyclopedic articles, etc) were evaluated on their usage and citations of African research on ATR. This analysis, which was drawn from a qualitative discourse analysis approach, highlights the limited importance that is given to African researchers. In contrast, our evaluation of RTA-related education and research in Nigerian universities reveals an enormous amount of RTA-related research as well as a diversity of communication channels. On a more general level, this thesis demonstrates the extent to which knowledge is localized and linked to the cultural, disciplinary, and ideological presuppositions of researchers, and, from the analysis of African documents, opens to the larger question of the difficulty to represent the unity and specificities of ATR.

This study investigates how Mbiti and Oduyoye articulate their understanding of God in connection with the African traditional religio-cultural heritage to make the concept of God to become relevant to African Christians and to help African Christians feel at home in the Christian faith. Chapter 1 briefly describes the background of the study, the problem statement, the purpose of the study, the research hypothesis, methodology, delimitation, and structure of the study. Chapter 2 provides a historical sketch of origins and development of African theology and diverse types of African theology. This chapter maintains that African theology emerged not only as a theological reaction to the dominant Western interpretation of the gospel in Africa, but also as a theological attempt to secure the African cultural identity by reaffirming the African past. Chapter 3 describes the basic beliefs in African traditional religions, several African ethnic groups’ concepts of God, and the African theologians’ Christianization of the African God by employing Christian theological terms. This chapter concludes that it is not possible to presume a homogenous or one unified concept of God in Africa. One and the same God whom all Africans have worshipped is not real. In chapter 4, Mbiti’s understanding of God is scrutinized in relation to his methodology, the African concept of time, his understanding of revelation and of salvation. Mbiti has maintained African monotheism and ATR(s) as a praeparatio evangelica and has arrived at his conclusion that the God revealed in the Bible is the same as the God worshipped in ATR(s). This chapter criticizes Mbiti’s way of Christian theological interpretation of anthropological data of the African concepts of God. Chapter 5 presents Oduyoye’s understanding of God, her methodology, the status of African women in ATR(s) and the African church, her appreciation of salvation, of the Bible, and of the locus of experience. In Oduyoye’s theology, women’s experience becomes a crucial factor for doing theology, and salvation is understood as liberation from all oppressive conditions. Her understanding of God is closely connected with the theme of liberation. Chapter 6 examines the similarities and differences between the two theologians’ understanding of God, critically compares their way of understanding the interplay of the gospel and African culture, and categorizes the two theologians’ ways with their models of contextualization: Mbiti’s gospel-culture oriented model of contextualization and Oduyoye’s gospel-liberation oriented model of contextualization. By a comparative-dialogical study of the two theologians’ models of contextualization, this chapter attempts to make a dialogue possible between the two, and suggests the interculturation model of contextualization in which each theology keeps its own theological characteristic and has an open mind to learn from the other through mutual understanding. It aims to overcome the absolutism of contextualization, syncretism, cultural relativism, and provincialism, to keep a balance between locality and catholicity, and to affirm cultural identity and Christian identity. On the basis of the interculturation model of contextualization, this chapter proposes some criteria for African Evangelical theology in order to do a biblically faithful and practically relevant theology in Africa. This study also suggests some guidelines to articulate the understanding of God so that it has theological relevance and legitimacy to African Christians as well as to Christians worldwide. Chapter 7, as the final chapter, gives a general summary and concluding suggestions for further research related to the subject of African theology. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted