DECIPHERING THE NEXUS OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND AFRICAN RELIGION-CULTURE PHENOMENON: A SOCIO-ETHICAL INQUIRY

Abstract

It is the considered argument of this paper that Africans have demonstrated sublimity of thoughts in their quest for unlocking phenomena, especially from their immediate or distant worldviews. Religion and culture have remained the most visible vestige of the African way of life and it has offered them the dais for interrogating or interpreting realities (seen or unseen). Aptly, the African Religion-Culture phenomenon predates the African immigrant religions (Judaism, Islam and Christianity). In all, these faith systems from the onset, had laboured to change the landscape and the mindset of the natives in matters concerning their religion-culture system so as to lead them to the ‘true’ God or heaven. Africans’ realities are based on their progenitors’ time-tested experiences which led to a generational success without prejudice to some limitations of knowledge. The concepts of God, spirit, fate, life, death, judgment, community, consanguinity, marriage, etc, are not alien to Africans. The objective of this research is finding the middle point between the Christian theology and that of the African Religion-Culture phenomenon. The research derives its theme from the sociology of religion and the Christian ethics; and also, the study depends on logical syllogism rather than statistical formulae in its data collection and analysis, and discussion of findings. In other words, the researchers employed religious phenomenology as their tool of methodology. This paper finds out that some African Christians and/or theologians are not well informed about their religion-culture system which leads to misunderstanding or denigration of their heritage. In the end, the study establishes that belief in one God, Christian revelation of God in the Bible, and the pre-existent knowledge of God in the African Traditional experience as some of the links between Christianity and the African Religion-Culture praxis which will bring about authentic interreligious dialogue for sustainable development.