What are African Religions:

There is no such thing as an “African Religion.” The African continent is home to thousands of diverse tribes and cultures and the various African Religions are as diverse as the continent itself. Despite its diversity, many of the African Religions share common threads.

These commonalities within the African Religions include:

• A belief in a supreme God represented by many lesser gods or god figures.
• A strong emphasis on animism (the belief that souls or spirits inhabit all living things and nonliving objects)
• A reverence for past ancestors and the belief that ancestors continue to interact with the living.
• The belief in a strong connection between the natural and supernatural.
• The belief that the unity of the natural and supernatural must be maintained through rituals, sacrifices and rites of passage.
• Creation stories describing a early world where God was close to man and humans were immortal.
• The belief that human misconduct caused God to retreat from man and introduce death.

Many misconceptions regarding the African Religions exists today. For example: Most African Religions do not condone the use of witchcraft for malicious purposes. African Religions do generally agree that witchcraft and sorcery can have an effect upon others. However, its use is considered an offense against the balance between the natural and supernatural. African Religions reserve the practice of witchcraft and sorcery for the purpose of defeating other’s malicious use of the practice.

Today, many of the African Religions have been strongly influenced by the rise of Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism within the continent. These influences have given rise to several new churches and movements. With the spread of Africans and African Religions across the globe (primarily by means of slave trading) varying African-based religions and Churches have risen in America, Central America, and South America.

Some African Based Churches include:

• African Israel Church Nineveh
• The African Instituted Churches
• African-Brazilian Religions
• Santeria
• African-Jamaican Religions
• African-American Religions
• Voodoo

African Israel Church Nineveh:

The African Israel Church Nineveh was founded in Kenya by David Zayako Kivuli (1896-1974) in 1942 after separating from the Pentecostal Assemblies of East Africa (a Canadian based mission). According to the African Israel Church Nineveh David Zayako Kivuli experienced a mystic event in 1932 leading to a life of evangelizing. After separating, members of the African Israel Church Nineveh spread the new church into Uganda and Tanzania.

In 1975 the African Israel Church Nineveh joined the World Council of Churches with over 75,000 members.

African Instituted Churches:

Generally referred to by their initials AIC the African Instituted Churches are also sometimes referred to as the African Indigenous Churches. The African Instituted Churches emphasize their independence from Western Churches, Denominations and Missions. They also stress their foundation as being strictly African.

Popular African Instituted Churches include:

Church of Jesus Christ on Earth:

Established in the name of Simon Kimbangu (a spiritual healer from Congo) it began with approximately 3 million followers after the Zairean independence.

Apostolic Sabbath Church of God:

Established by John Masowe (?1910-1973) and his followers (the Masowe Apostles) in 1947, they began strongly opposed to government and established churches. After migrating to South Africa due to persecution, they became known as the “Basketmakers’ Church” because of their above average manual skills. After being deported from South Africa in 1962 the Apostolic Sabbath Church of God moved north to Ethiopia, Jerusalem, and Zimbia.

The Maranke Apostles:

Founded by Johane Maranke (1912-1963) in 1932 after experiencing visions of going to Heaven. His followers, The Maranke Apostles, recorded his visions and included them into the Bible as the “New Revelation of the Apostles.” The Apostolic Sabbath Church of God and the Maranke Apostles, although independent of each other, are collectively called the African Apostles.

Harris Movement:

The Harrist Churches, found along the Ivory Coast and Ghana were founded on the teachings of William Wade Harris (?1860-1929) and the Harris Movement (a spread of Christianity into the Ivory Coast and Ghana in 1913). William Wade Harris stressed the fundamentals of Christianity. Harris’ teachings ultimately led to the formation of several African Instituted Churches including the Church of Twelve Apostles formed by Grace Thannie (?1880-1959) in West Ghana. Harris’ teachings also inspired the teaching of Albert Atcho, a healer and prophet, in the village of Bergbo in the Ivory Coast.

African-Brazilian Religions:

With the slaves brought to the West came their various African Religions. While most slaves adopted Christian beliefs and incorporated them into their own African beliefs, African-Brazilian Religions were almost an exception. Many African-Brazilians did adopt Christian beliefs. However, the influence of Christianity upon the African-Brazilians was relatively small.

Today, the traditional beliefs of the Africans remains fairly obvious in many African-Brazilian Religions.

Popular African-Brazilian Religions include:

Candomble:

Also known as Xango (After the Yoruba god Shango), Candomble is the original African-Brazilian Religion and most similar to the traditional African beliefs.

Macumba:

Found around Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo emphasizes the possession of ancestral spirits. The Macumba also practice magic and Quimbanda (a mix of African and Catholic traditions)

Umbanda:

A relatively new African-Brazilian Religion is a combination of the various religions and cultures found in Brazil.

Batuque:

Found in Belem, the Batuque are heavily influence by the Brazilian traditions. Many of their songs are sung in Portuguese (the language of Brazil)

Santeria:

Meaning “The way of the Saints,” Santeria was made popular in Cuba by African-Cubans and is practiced by some Cuban-Americans. Santeria is a descendant of traditional African Religions. Many of the traditions observed by followers of Santeria are African in origin, including Animal Sacrifice.

Santeria is also heavily influenced by Catholicism. The powers and domains of African Yoruban gods are ascribed to Catholic saints. Worship and prayer within Santeria is spoken in Yoruba. Worship sessions include drumming which speaks on behalf of the spirits, and sacred stones of power (representing the spirits) are kept under an alter. These sacred stones are baptized and fed every year with herbs and animal blood.

African-Jamaican Religions:

With the introduction of slaves from Africa into Jamaica came the African Religions of the slaves. African-Jamaican Religions did retain a lot of the African traditional beliefs and practices. However African-Jamaican Religions were strongly influenced by the Protestant Churches.

The most common African-Jamaican Religions include:

Pukkumina:

Also known as Pocomania (meaning “little madness”) is a mix of Protestant and African influences. Followers of Pukkumina practice African spirit worship and faith healing. Followers also practice faith healing and possessions by ancestors.

Convince:

The Convince primarily celebrate rites of passage. Spirit possession, including possession by demons, is common practice in Convince.

Myal:

The Myal traditions are strongly influenced by African and Voodoo traditions.

Rastafarians:

Influenced by Marcus Garvey and the “Back to Africa” movement, Rastafarianism was formed by impoverished young Jamaican black nationalists in the 1930s.

African-Jamaican’s, believing they were exiled to Jamaica as divine punishment for their sins, viewed the appointment of Crown Prince (Ras) Tafari (Haile Sellasie) as Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930 as a sign their punishment was over.

According to Rastafarians, this signaled the beginning of the Millennium (a one thousand year reign of Christ) and their imminent return to Africa. In 1955, in preparation for the return to Africa, Ras Tafari set aside 500 acres to be inhabited by returning African-Jamaicans. However, by 1970 only twelve people inhabited the 500 acres. Ras Tafari was ultimately dethroned in 1974 and died a year later. Representatives of Rastafarianism were sent to Africa in the 1960s. However, they were largely unaccepted by the Africans. Later, Rastafarians began to seek Africa within Jamaica by means of rehabilitation.

At the origin of Rastafarianism, many Rastafarians living in Kingston began using their own distinctive dialect, dress, Dreadlock hair form, and music (reggae). Rastafarians also adopted Marijuana (ganja) as a sacramental herb. They rejected the European cultures and Christian Churches, viewing them as the new Babylon. Rastafarians selected their own text from the Bible, removing what they believed were distortions made by white people.

African-American Religions:

African-American Religions are enormously diverse. However, they generally fall into one of two categories; Christian-based and Muslim-based.

Christian Based:

Christian based African-American Religions began immediately following the beginning of slave trading within America. While many Africans preserved the traditions of their African Religions, many more incorporated their African Religions and African identity into their new found Christian faith. These so called “Slave Religions” often associated the salvation offered by Jesus Christ with eventual freedom from slavery.

African Methodist Episcopal Church:

The African Methodist Episcopal Church was the first African-American Church composed entirely of African-Americans. The African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1787 when African-Americans refused to be segregated from the whites in St. George’s Church in Philadelphia. After a brief dispute Richard Allen led his soon to be congregation out of the church. This was the birth of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Richard Allen would become the first bishop.

African Orthodox Church:

The African Orthodox Church, founded by Marcus Garvey and G.A. McGuire in 1921, were the first to teach that the Hebrews of the Old Testament were black and Africans were God’s chosen people. This belief became a popular belief among the African-American community.

The African Orthodox Church also believed Jesus was black, as was his mother. Marcus Garvey’s most popular teaching was Black Exceptionalism: the belief that Africans were the superior race and enslaved because of their sins.

After hearing about Marcus Garvey’s African Orthodox Church, Reuben Mukasa (1899-1982), also known as Spartas, began a counterpart church within Uganda called the African Greek Orthodox Church in 1929. Reuben Mukasa later separated from the African Greek Orthodox Church due to disagreements with the teachings of the African Orthodox Church and Marcus Garvey in 1933.

Muslim Based:

In Detroit in the 1930s, Wallace D. Fard (also known as Wali Farad) began The Lost-Found Nation of Islam, later known as The World Community of Islam in the West. Wallace Fard taught that Africans were the founders of civilization and that Whites and Christians would be destroyed during the judgment of the white race. Following the judgment of the white race, the Black Nation would be established.

In 1934 Wallace Fard disappeared. Following his disappearance, Elijah Muhammad assumed the position of leader. Elijah Muhammad took the titles “Minister of Islam” and “Prophet.” In 1963 Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little) became Elijah Muhammad’s right hand man before separating to form the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity.

Following the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975 his son, Warith Deen (Wallace D.) took over the organization. Under Warith Deen, The World Community of Islam in the West adopted more traditionally Muslim beliefs and deemphasized black superiority.

Louis Farrakhan later formed a splinter group and named themselves The Nation(s) of Islam. Louis Farrakhan continued the belief of black superiority and adopted anti-Semitism.

Voodoo:

Voodoo, meaning “God” or “Spirit”, is also known as Vodou, Vodum, Vodun, and Voudou. Found primarily in Haiti, Voodoo is largely derived from French Catholicism and Dahomean (West African) traditions and progressively arose from the folk religions of Haiti, beginning in the 1700s. Retaining much of the traditions of the African Religions, Voodoo places a lot of emphasis on the relationship between the natural and supernatural.

The worship of, and possession by, spirits and ancestors is central to Voodoo. Viewing the body as a “horse” on whom a spirit (lao) “rides,” many practitioners of Voodoo attain trance like states or place symbolic patterns specific to a spirit on the floor in an attempt to be ridden (or possessed) by a spirit or to be visited in a dream.