[PDF] Christianity And Social Change In Contemporary Africa Volume One eBook

Author : B. Nyamnjoh
Publisher : African Books Collective
Page : 247 pages
File Size : 25,65 MB
Release : 2020-05-25
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9956551406

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This volume brings together seven empirically grounded contributions by African social scientists of different disciplinary backgrounds. The authors explore the social impact of religious innovation and competition in present day Africa. They represent a selection from an interdisciplinary initiative that made 23 research grants for theologians and social scientists to study Christianity and social change in contemporary Africa. These contributions focus on a variety of dynamics in contemporary African religion (mostly Christianity), including gender, health and healing, social media, entrepreneurship, and inter-religious borrowing and accommodation. The volume seeks to enhance understanding of religions vital presence and power in contemporary Africa. It reveals problems as well as possibilities, notably some ethical concerns and psychological maladies that arise in some of these new movements, notably neo-Pentecostal and militant fundamentalist groups. Yet the contributions do not fixate on African problems and victimization. Instead, they explore sources of African creativity, resiliency and agency. The book calls on scholars of religion and religiosity in Africa to invest new conceptual and methodological energy in understanding what it means to be actively religious in Africa today.

Author : Yaovi, Soede Nathanael
Publisher : Langaa RPCIG
Page : 588 pages
File Size : 32,55 MB
Release : 2018-09-17
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9956550035

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The dynamic nature of Christianity has necessitated its movement from the cathedral to the mountain top. This has occasioned a proliferation of Prayer Mountains throughout Africa. In Yorubaland of southwestern Nigeria, Prayer Mountain is known as Ori-Oke. Like many communities in Africa, the Yoruba are confronted with fundamental challenges in life for which people do not rest until they find solutions. Within the praxis of Nigerian Christian lexicon Ori-Oke is synonymous with the enactment of a sacred space on a mountain top characterised by various prayer regimes, rituals, exorcism and religious practices, aimed at eliciting the help of the divine to alleviate the existential challenges of devotees. This book explores the resacralisation of space on the mountains, highlighting how humans and the divine interact in Yorubaland. It brings into conversation 35 empirically rich scholarly essays on the role of Ori-Oke to those seeking divine intervention in their lives. Today, Ori-Oke have become centres of pilgrimage as a result of the lived experiences of devotees, creating unique religious value quite distinct from the aesthetic value of these mountain tops. The spirituality of Ori-Oke is anchored on the absolute belief in God and the infusion of traditional African worldview sensibilities in religious rites and worship. Ori-Oke spirituality employs resources of Christian tradition, introduced by the formal agents of Christianity, synthesised with traditional culture, to develop a life based on the precepts of an African Christianity. The book is an intellectual discourse on Ori-Oke spirituality, reflecting its contemporary relevance in a context of religious innovation and competition.

Author : Toyin Falola
Publisher :
Page : 704 pages
File Size : 50,58 MB
Release : 2005
Category : History
ISBN :

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Christianity and Social Change in Africa is the most comprehensive look at the African encounter with Christianity in recent years. The book's themes are drawn from the pioneering work of J.D.Y. Peel, building on his creative explanation of the African experience of Christianity. The volume covers a broad range of themes, including religious expansion, the rise of Pentecostalism, and the use of new media and technologies to convert people and reform believers. The various manifestations of religious impact run through all the chapters, covering aspects of culture, politics, the economy, and the landscape. The volume also explores the success of Africans in exporting Christianity to other parts of the globe, a phenomenon that has redefined both the message and meaning of this religion. The contributors are a distinguished roster of scholars who draw on years of experience and research to present remarkable ideas and original interpretations of the forces Christianity exerts in Africa. The essays reflect the importance of comparative historical inquiry, inter-disciplinary perspectives, Peel's contributions to the transformation of history and sociology, and the paths that a new generation of scholars must chart to comprehend the power of African Christianity. "For all interested in the processes and power relations of cultural (self)representation and (self)determination in the African context, this book is essential." -- The International Journal of African Historical Studies "The chapters are well written, persuasive and well structured. The book is a useful tool for the study of social transformation and cultural persistence in African, diaspora and cultural studies." -- Journal of African History "This is an important book for scholars of Nigeria and the Yoruba world, but also for those interested in the ongoing question of religious change in Africa and the diaspora. Indeed, some of the individual essays have the potential to become classics... This book is a fitting salute to the legacy of John Peel." -- African Studies Review "At a time when Christianity in Africa is experiencing a great leap forward, Christianity and Social Change in Africa facilitates an exploration of some of the themes more critical to this development... The book signals interesting directions for future research and should be welcomed by anyone interested in the still unfolding landscape that is Christianity in Africa." -- Pneuma

Author : Martin Munyao
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 25,67 MB
Release : 2022-01-21
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1793650993

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The African Church and COVID-19: Human Security, the Church, and Society in Kenya is a bold and incisive look at the African Church in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the book, contributors explore how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragilities of African society as well as the weaknesses in the Church’s role in helping and serving African communities. The African Church and COVID-19 analyzes the question of how the Church in Kenya should move forward in a post-COVID-19 era to address the vulnerabilities of socio-economic and political structures in Africa.

Author : Laura S. Grillo
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 37,71 MB
Release : 2019-03-28
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1351260707

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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.

Author : Dyron B. Daughrity
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 154 pages
File Size : 30,33 MB
Release : 2024-10-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1040157246

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Christianity has grown dramatically over the last few centuries and is now the largest religion in the world, embraced by more than 2.5 billion people from all over the globe. No longer just a European faith, Christianity is now border-less, with heartlands in Brazil, the Congo, and the Philippines. Christ and Culture: A Global Perspective introduces students to how Christianity has been adopted by some of the world's cultures in surprising and fascinating ways. Case studies include: Nairobi, Kenya Lake Tana, Ethiopia Bangalore, India Stockholm, Sweden Buenos Aires, Argentina Jerusalem, Israel Turin, Italy Los Angeles, USA Within these chapters, topics such as global Pentecostalism, Catholic–Protestant relations, Orthodoxy, reverse missions, secularization, and urbanization are discussed, with allusions to H. Richard Niebhur's classic text (1951) on the topic throughout. Using engaging case studies, this book will be essential reading for students introduced to Christianity, Christianity and culture, and global Christianity for the first time.

Author : Samuel K. Elolia
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 386 pages
File Size : 41,20 MB
Release : 2012-03-02
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1621891712

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Spanning various regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, the authors of this volume come together to explore the complex relationship between religion and democracy in contemporary Africa. As a result of the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, many African countries have come to the realization, however partial, that political and social change is inevitable in spite of government heavy-handedness and threats. It has also become evident that no political system that refuses to permit freedom of political expression and alternative systems of governance could continue to be sustained. It is in precisely this political climate that religious institutions have collaborated with other elements of civil society to call for political reforms, with the church often becoming the prominent voice against oppressive governments in countries such as Kenya and South Africa. It is the purpose of this book to assess how religion shapes political issues and to what extent religious forces influence the civil society. By acknowledging the role of the civil society, the essays recognize the resilience that comes out of Africa even when the sociopolitical situation seems unbearable.

Author : Caleb Oluremi Oladipo
Publisher : Peter Lang
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 17,56 MB
Release : 2006
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780820463896

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One of the most important developments of Christianity in the twentieth century was its transformation in South Africa, where it became a vibrant religion rooted in African idioms and cultures. The church also became engaged in the struggle against social and political injustice, and church leaders employed the vocabularies of faith to secure civil liberty. This hard-hitting book focuses on post-apartheid Christian character and establishes the theological and spiritual authority of African Christians, calling contemporary Christians to renew their faith and Christian identity. It shows, too, that one cannot seriously consider contemporary Christianity apart from the African experience.

Author : Kenneth R. Ross
Publisher : Edinburgh University Press
Page : 538 pages
File Size : 22,37 MB
Release : 2017-05-18
Category : Religion
ISBN : 147441205X

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This comprehensive reference volume covers every country in Sub-Saharan Africa, offering reliable demographic information and original interpretative essays by indigenous scholars and practitioners. It maps patterns of growth and decline, assesses major traditions and movements, analyses key themes and examines current trends.

Author : Ezra Chitando
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 233 pages
File Size : 14,91 MB
Release : 2016-05-12
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1317166566

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Issues of homosexuality are the subject of public and political controversy in many African societies today. Frequently, these controversies receive widespread attention both locally and globally, such as with the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda. In the international media, these cases tend to be presented as revealing a deeply-rooted homophobia in Africa fuelled by religious and cultural traditions. But so far little energy is expended in understanding these controversies in all their complexity and the critical role religion plays in them. Complementing the companion volume, Public Religion and the Politics of Homosexuality in Africa, this book investigates Christian politics and discourses on homosexuality in sub-Saharan Africa. The contributors present case studies from various African countries, from Nigeria to South Africa and from Cameroon to Uganda, focusing on Pentecostal, Catholic and mainline Protestant churches. They critically examine popular Christian theologies that perpetuate homophobia and discrimination, but they also discuss contestations of such discourses and emerging alternative Christian perspectives that contribute to the recognition of sexual diversity, social justice and human rights in contemporary Africa.