Keywords: African Christians x
Cornell University Press (2)
NYU Press (2)
European History: BCE to 500CE (2)
Biblical Studies (1)
History of Christianity (2)
World Religions (1)
Missionaries and Prophets
Philip Jenkins
in The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity
10.1093/0195146166.003.0003
Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter looks at the nature of the religious changes involved in successful Christian missions and the resulting expansion of Christianity in Asia and Africa: success that is impossible to ... More
This chapter looks at the nature of the religious changes involved in successful Christian missions and the resulting expansion of Christianity in Asia and Africa: success that is impossible to understand if the new Christians were only responding out of fear or envy of imperial conquerors. The chapter starts by examining the view developing in the West in the mid-twentieth century that the Christian mission venture was solely misguided imperialism and an attempt to export Western culture. It goes on to analyse the reasons for Southern Christian expansion, and the synthesis of this Christianity into local cultures. The last two sections investigate the newer autonomous (independent) Christian churches in Africa; these are one of the most notable aspects of Southern Christianity and can be expected to play an increasing role in world Christianity.Less
This chapter looks at the nature of the religious changes involved in successful Christian missions and the resulting expansion of Christianity in Asia and Africa: success that is impossible to understand if the new Christians were only responding out of fear or envy of imperial conquerors. The chapter starts by examining the view developing in the West in the mid-twentieth century that the Christian mission venture was solely misguided imperialism and an attempt to export Western culture. It goes on to analyse the reasons for Southern Christian expansion, and the synthesis of this Christianity into local cultures. The last two sections investigate the newer autonomous (independent) Christian churches in Africa; these are one of the most notable aspects of Southern Christianity and can be expected to play an increasing role in world Christianity.
Keywords: Africa, African Christian churches, Asia, Christian missions, expansion of Christianity, export of Western culture, global Christianity, independent Christian churches, misguided imperialism, missionaries, prophets, Southern Christianity, Southern culture, success, Western culture, world Christianity
Domesticating a Religious Import: The Jesuits and the Inculturation of the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe, 1879-1980
Nicholas M. Creary
Catholic theologians have developed the relatively new term inculturation to discuss the old problem of adapting the church universal to specific local cultures. Europeans needed a thousand years to ... More
Catholic theologians have developed the relatively new term inculturation to discuss the old problem of adapting the church universal to specific local cultures. Europeans needed a thousand years to inculturate Christianity from its Judaic roots. Africans' efforts to make the church their own followed a similar process but in less than a century. This book provides an examination of the Catholic church's pastoral mission in Zimbabwe or of African Christians' efforts to inculturate the church. Ranging over the century after Jesuit missionaries first settled in what is now Zimbabwe, this book reveals two simultaneous and intersecting processes: the Africanization of the Catholic Church by African Christians and the discourse of inculturation promulgated by the Church. With great attention to detail, it places the history of African Christianity within the broader context of the history of religion in Africa. This work aims to contribute to current debates about the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe and throughout Africa.Less
Domesticating a Religious Import : The Jesuits and the Inculturation of the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe, 1879-1980
Catholic theologians have developed the relatively new term inculturation to discuss the old problem of adapting the church universal to specific local cultures. Europeans needed a thousand years to inculturate Christianity from its Judaic roots. Africans' efforts to make the church their own followed a similar process but in less than a century. This book provides an examination of the Catholic church's pastoral mission in Zimbabwe or of African Christians' efforts to inculturate the church. Ranging over the century after Jesuit missionaries first settled in what is now Zimbabwe, this book reveals two simultaneous and intersecting processes: the Africanization of the Catholic Church by African Christians and the discourse of inculturation promulgated by the Church. With great attention to detail, it places the history of African Christianity within the broader context of the history of religion in Africa. This work aims to contribute to current debates about the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe and throughout Africa.
Keywords: inculturation, church universal, local cultures, Zimbabwe, African Christians, Africanization, African Christianity, Catholic Church
Striking a Balance: Christianity and the Challenges of Long-Term Human Security in Zimbabwe
Gladys Ganiel
in Religion and Human Security: A Global Perspective
African evangelical/Pentecostal/charismatic (EPC) Christians—previously dismissed by scholars as apolitical—are becoming increasingly active socially and politically. This chapter presents a case ... More
African evangelical/Pentecostal/charismatic (EPC) Christians—previously dismissed by scholars as apolitical—are becoming increasingly active socially and politically. This chapter presents a case study of an EPC congregation in Harare. It demonstrates how the congregation provides short-term human security by responding to the needs of the poor, while at the same time creating space where people can develop the "self-expression values" necessary for long-term human security. The case study also demonstrates that even under authoritarian states, religious actors can actively choose to balance the immediate demands of short-term human security with the sometimes competing demands of long-term human security. Policymakers can benefit from a greater understanding of how religious actors strike this balance and from a greater appreciation of the variability, flexibility, and religious resources of EPC Christians in such contexts.Less
African evangelical/Pentecostal/charismatic (EPC) Christians—previously dismissed by scholars as apolitical—are becoming increasingly active socially and politically. This chapter presents a case study of an EPC congregation in Harare. It demonstrates how the congregation provides short-term human security by responding to the needs of the poor, while at the same time creating space where people can develop the "self-expression values" necessary for long-term human security. The case study also demonstrates that even under authoritarian states, religious actors can actively choose to balance the immediate demands of short-term human security with the sometimes competing demands of long-term human security. Policymakers can benefit from a greater understanding of how religious actors strike this balance and from a greater appreciation of the variability, flexibility, and religious resources of EPC Christians in such contexts.
Keywords: African Christians, human security, Evangelical Christians, Pentecostal Christians, Charismatic Christians, congregation, self-expression, religion
"Our Religion and Superstition Was All Mixed Up": Conjure, Christianity, and African American Supernatural Traditions
Yvonne P. Chireau
in Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition
10.1525/california/9780520209879.003.0002
Religion, Religious Studies
This chapter considers the centrality of supernatural traditions of Conjure in the African American spirituality, presenting examples from various historical contexts. Conjure is a magical tradition ... More
This chapter considers the centrality of supernatural traditions of Conjure in the African American spirituality, presenting examples from various historical contexts. Conjure is a magical tradition in which spiritual power is invoked for various purposes, such as healing, protection, and self-defense. From slavery days to the present, many African Americans have readily moved between Christianity, Conjure, and other forms of supernaturalism with little concern for their purported incompatibility. During the slavery period, persons believed to possess special powers were present in black populations throughout the United States, and African American practitioners of Christianity often mingled unusual practices with their traditions. African American testimonials describe how some slaves believed that the power of charms and amulets provided them with protection from abuse and racial subjugation by white slaveholders and affliction such as sickness and destitution. Supernatural practitioners often adopted symbols from Christian traditions for use in their own practices and rituals, such as protective charms and Christian accoutrements.Less
"Our Religion and Superstition Was All Mixed Up" : Conjure, Christianity, and African American Supernatural Traditions
This chapter considers the centrality of supernatural traditions of Conjure in the African American spirituality, presenting examples from various historical contexts. Conjure is a magical tradition in which spiritual power is invoked for various purposes, such as healing, protection, and self-defense. From slavery days to the present, many African Americans have readily moved between Christianity, Conjure, and other forms of supernaturalism with little concern for their purported incompatibility. During the slavery period, persons believed to possess special powers were present in black populations throughout the United States, and African American practitioners of Christianity often mingled unusual practices with their traditions. African American testimonials describe how some slaves believed that the power of charms and amulets provided them with protection from abuse and racial subjugation by white slaveholders and affliction such as sickness and destitution. Supernatural practitioners often adopted symbols from Christian traditions for use in their own practices and rituals, such as protective charms and Christian accoutrements.
Keywords: Conjure, African American Christians, supernatural traditions, Christianity, superstition, African American slaves
Persecution and the Limitsof Religious Allegiance
Éric Rebillard
in Christians and Their Many Identities in Late Antiquity, North Africa, 200-450 CE
Cornell University Press
10.7591/cornell/9780801451423.003.0003
Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter attempts to evaluate the degree of groupness associated with the category "Christians." It moves from an analysis of when and how Christianness mattered at the level of the individual to ... More
This chapter attempts to evaluate the degree of groupness associated with the category "Christians." It moves from an analysis of when and how Christianness mattered at the level of the individual to an analysis of when and how Christianness was a basis for group-formation. It considers, in particular, how Christians responded when they were targeted as a group by outsiders. A review of episodes of persecution in North Africa from the end of the second until the beginning of the fourth century shows that, despite of their leaders' incitement to do so, Christians seldom opposed a communal response to the persecutors, and that a significant number of them chose to suspend, if only temporarily, their Christian membership. Additionally, when Decius gave the order that all inhabitants of the Roman Empire must sacrifice to the gods for restoration of order and security, the majority of Christians complied. They considered the sacrifice a requirement of their membership in the imperial commonwealth, and they did not activate their Christian membership in this context. On the other hand, with the emergence of the strong figure of a "monarchical bishop," Christians began bonding around their leader.Less
This chapter attempts to evaluate the degree of groupness associated with the category "Christians." It moves from an analysis of when and how Christianness mattered at the level of the individual to an analysis of when and how Christianness was a basis for group-formation. It considers, in particular, how Christians responded when they were targeted as a group by outsiders. A review of episodes of persecution in North Africa from the end of the second until the beginning of the fourth century shows that, despite of their leaders' incitement to do so, Christians seldom opposed a communal response to the persecutors, and that a significant number of them chose to suspend, if only temporarily, their Christian membership. Additionally, when Decius gave the order that all inhabitants of the Roman Empire must sacrifice to the gods for restoration of order and security, the majority of Christians complied. They considered the sacrifice a requirement of their membership in the imperial commonwealth, and they did not activate their Christian membership in this context. On the other hand, with the emergence of the strong figure of a "monarchical bishop," Christians began bonding around their leader.
Keywords: North African Christians, religious groups, groupness, religious allegiance, group formation, Christianness, religious persecution
Afro-Christian Faiths: Revival Zion and Spiritual Baptists
Ennis B. Edmonds and Michelle A. Gonzalez
in Caribbean Religious History: An Introduction
Religion, World Religions
This chapter investigates Afro-Christian traditions that have fused African and Christian elements to create new religious traditions, including the emergence and evolution of such groups as Revival ... More
This chapter investigates Afro-Christian traditions that have fused African and Christian elements to create new religious traditions, including the emergence and evolution of such groups as Revival Zion in Jamaica and Spiritual Baptists in Trinidad. Revival Zion and Spiritual Baptists may be considered as Afro-Christian (or African-Christian) because, while the adherents of these traditions unambiguously identify themselves as Christians, they retain African orientations and aesthetics in the way in which they understand and deploy their faith to deal with the exigencies of life. Unlike Creole African religions such as Vodou and Santería that retain African pantheons of a Supreme God and a host of lesser deities that govern the various natural and social forces, Afro-Christian traditions such as Revival Zion and Spiritual Baptists abandoned these, affirming belief only in the Christian God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.Less
Afro-Christian Faiths : Revival Zion and Spiritual Baptists
Ennis B. EdmondsMichelle A. Gonzalez
This chapter investigates Afro-Christian traditions that have fused African and Christian elements to create new religious traditions, including the emergence and evolution of such groups as Revival Zion in Jamaica and Spiritual Baptists in Trinidad. Revival Zion and Spiritual Baptists may be considered as Afro-Christian (or African-Christian) because, while the adherents of these traditions unambiguously identify themselves as Christians, they retain African orientations and aesthetics in the way in which they understand and deploy their faith to deal with the exigencies of life. Unlike Creole African religions such as Vodou and Santería that retain African pantheons of a Supreme God and a host of lesser deities that govern the various natural and social forces, Afro-Christian traditions such as Revival Zion and Spiritual Baptists abandoned these, affirming belief only in the Christian God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Keywords: Afro-Christian traditions, African-Christian traditions, Christianity, religious traditions, Revival Zion, Spiritual Baptists, Caribbean religion
Women of Fire and Spirit: Faith, History, and Gender in Roho Religion in Western Kenya
Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton
Religion, History of Christianity
This book studies the African Christian Roho religion, or Holy Spirit movement, in Western Kenya. The book uses extensive oral histories and life narratives to provide a counterweight to existing ... More
This book studies the African Christian Roho religion, or Holy Spirit movement, in Western Kenya. The book uses extensive oral histories and life narratives to provide a counterweight to existing historical literature, and also brings to the fore the role of women in the evolution and expansion of the Church.Less
Women of Fire and Spirit : Faith, History, and Gender in Roho Religion in Western Kenya
This book studies the African Christian Roho religion, or Holy Spirit movement, in Western Kenya. The book uses extensive oral histories and life narratives to provide a counterweight to existing historical literature, and also brings to the fore the role of women in the evolution and expansion of the Church.
Keywords: women, Church, African Christian, Roho religion, Holy Spirit movement, Western Kenya, oral histories, life narratives
This introductory chapter first outlines the theoretical considerations that inform the present study of North African Christians between the end of the second century and the middle of the fifth ... More
This introductory chapter first outlines the theoretical considerations that inform the present study of North African Christians between the end of the second century and the middle of the fifth century. It highlights the so-called linguistic or cultural turn in early Christian studies: the disaffection for social history that historical studies of other periods have known and overcome. It argues that the field is at the stage when most scholars either deliberately do not use texts as evidence of an "extra-textual social reality" or, if they do, they ignore that this is not a straightforward process. It then explores alternative interpretive approaches. The chapter also discusses the notion of the individual's "internal plurality" as well as the limits of the evidence used in the study. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less
This introductory chapter first outlines the theoretical considerations that inform the present study of North African Christians between the end of the second century and the middle of the fifth century. It highlights the so-called linguistic or cultural turn in early Christian studies: the disaffection for social history that historical studies of other periods have known and overcome. It argues that the field is at the stage when most scholars either deliberately do not use texts as evidence of an "extra-textual social reality" or, if they do, they ignore that this is not a straightforward process. It then explores alternative interpretive approaches. The chapter also discusses the notion of the individual's "internal plurality" as well as the limits of the evidence used in the study. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
Keywords: Christianity, North African Christians, Christian identity, religious groups, social history
This chapter provides the conclusion to this study of the relationship between African American religion and conjuring practices, discussing the origin and development of supernatural beliefs and ... More
This chapter provides the conclusion to this study of the relationship between African American religion and conjuring practices, discussing the origin and development of supernatural beliefs and practices such as Conjure among enslaved African black communities in the United States as a means of healing and harming. In earlier periods, conjuring provided a conceptual and practical framework by which slaves confronted misfortune and evil in their lives. Later, Conjure coexisted with Christianity among African Americans as an alternative strategy for interacting with the spiritual realm. In the present day, African American conjuring traditions have given way to more diverse forms of supernatural practice. African American supernaturalism resonates in contemporary manifestations of Hoodoo, in the ritual creations of African diasporic religions, and in artistic forms that utilize conjuring themes. African American supernatural traditions are dynamic products of black spirituality, and a study of these traditions can open a window onto the many levels at which black life has been suffused with religious meaning.Less
This chapter provides the conclusion to this study of the relationship between African American religion and conjuring practices, discussing the origin and development of supernatural beliefs and practices such as Conjure among enslaved African black communities in the United States as a means of healing and harming. In earlier periods, conjuring provided a conceptual and practical framework by which slaves confronted misfortune and evil in their lives. Later, Conjure coexisted with Christianity among African Americans as an alternative strategy for interacting with the spiritual realm. In the present day, African American conjuring traditions have given way to more diverse forms of supernatural practice. African American supernaturalism resonates in contemporary manifestations of Hoodoo, in the ritual creations of African diasporic religions, and in artistic forms that utilize conjuring themes. African American supernatural traditions are dynamic products of black spirituality, and a study of these traditions can open a window onto the many levels at which black life has been suffused with religious meaning.
Keywords: African American supernaturalism, Conjure, spirituality, African American Christians, black slaves, United States
Richard Lischer
in The Preacher King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Word that Moved America, revised edition
10.1093/oso/9780190065119.003.0001
This chapter describes Martin Luther King, Jr.'s religious environment. Twenty-one-year-old King characterized his religious environment as a "universe," a socially constructed world that shaped his ... More
This chapter describes Martin Luther King, Jr.'s religious environment. Twenty-one-year-old King characterized his religious environment as a "universe," a socially constructed world that shaped his identity and outlook on life. The moral and physical center of that universe was the sanctuary of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where his father presided from the pulpit and the son had been baptized. The sanctuary dictated the boundaries within which African-American Christians, including Martin Luther King, Jr., sorted out the relationship of suffering and hope. Throughout his career, King carried the sanctuary with him as a state of mind and soul; he also repeatedly returned to it like a grateful soldier home from the front.Less
This chapter describes Martin Luther King, Jr.'s religious environment. Twenty-one-year-old King characterized his religious environment as a "universe," a socially constructed world that shaped his identity and outlook on life. The moral and physical center of that universe was the sanctuary of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where his father presided from the pulpit and the son had been baptized. The sanctuary dictated the boundaries within which African-American Christians, including Martin Luther King, Jr., sorted out the relationship of suffering and hope. Throughout his career, King carried the sanctuary with him as a state of mind and soul; he also repeatedly returned to it like a grateful soldier home from the front.
Keywords: Martin Luther King, Jr., religion, sanctuary, Ebenezer Baptist Church, African-American Christians
Divine Callings: Understanding the Call to Ministry in Black Pentecostalism
Richard N. Pitt
One of the unique aspects of the religious profession is the high percentage of those who claim to be "called by God" to do their work. This call is particularly important within African American ... More
One of the unique aspects of the religious profession is the high percentage of those who claim to be "called by God" to do their work. This call is particularly important within African American Christian traditions. This book offers a rare sociological examination of this markedly understudied phenomenon within black ministry. It draws on over one hundred in-depth interviews with Black Pentecostal ministers in the Church of God in Christ—both those ordained and licensed and those aspiring—to examine how these men and women experience and pursue "the call." Viewing divine calling as much as a social process as it is a spiritual one, the book delves into the personal stories of these individuals to explore their work as active agents in the process of fulfilling their calling. In some cases, those called cannot find pastoral work due to gender discrimination, lack of clergy positions, and educational deficiencies. The book looks specifically at how those who have not obtained clergy positions understand their call, exploring the influences of psychological experience, the congregational acceptance of their call, and their response to the training process. It emphasizes how those called reconceptualize clericalism in terms of who can be called, how that call has to be certified, and what those called are meant to do, offering insight into how social actors adjust to structural constraints.Less
Divine Callings : Understanding the Call to Ministry in Black Pentecostalism
One of the unique aspects of the religious profession is the high percentage of those who claim to be "called by God" to do their work. This call is particularly important within African American Christian traditions. This book offers a rare sociological examination of this markedly understudied phenomenon within black ministry. It draws on over one hundred in-depth interviews with Black Pentecostal ministers in the Church of God in Christ—both those ordained and licensed and those aspiring—to examine how these men and women experience and pursue "the call." Viewing divine calling as much as a social process as it is a spiritual one, the book delves into the personal stories of these individuals to explore their work as active agents in the process of fulfilling their calling. In some cases, those called cannot find pastoral work due to gender discrimination, lack of clergy positions, and educational deficiencies. The book looks specifically at how those who have not obtained clergy positions understand their call, exploring the influences of psychological experience, the congregational acceptance of their call, and their response to the training process. It emphasizes how those called reconceptualize clericalism in terms of who can be called, how that call has to be certified, and what those called are meant to do, offering insight into how social actors adjust to structural constraints.
Keywords: religious profession, God's calling, African American Christian tradition, black ministry, Church of God in Christ, clergy positions, clericalism
1–2 Samuel and 1 Kings: The United Monarchy: The Hope That (Mostly) Failed—Preface
Ellen F. Davis
in Opening Israel's Scriptures
Religion, Biblical Studies
The semihistorical dramas in 1–2 Samuel and 1 Kings reflect complex and sometimes competing perspectives on the past, woven together into a large textured statement about human character, social ... More
The semihistorical dramas in 1–2 Samuel and 1 Kings reflect complex and sometimes competing perspectives on the past, woven together into a large textured statement about human character, social change, and political division. They also explore the ambiguity of God's role in those social processes. The account of Saul's rejection should be read on multiple levels—political, theological, and symbolic. David's story is told with a measure of skepticism, and the account of Solomon likewise prompts a fresh appraisal of his reputation for wisdom. Yet the text points to their lasting legacy in the worship tradition and Zion theology associated with the temple and the book of Psalms. Narratives in Kings—stories of Elijah and also the anonymous man of God who confronted Jeroboam at Bethel—focus on prophets and YHWH's word itself as primary shapers of history. The YHWH-alone movement in ninth-century Israel, associated with Elijah, bears some resemblance to the spread of indigenous African Christianity in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.Less
1–2 Samuel and 1 Kings : The United Monarchy: The Hope That (Mostly) Failed—Preface
The semihistorical dramas in 1–2 Samuel and 1 Kings reflect complex and sometimes competing perspectives on the past, woven together into a large textured statement about human character, social change, and political division. They also explore the ambiguity of God's role in those social processes. The account of Saul's rejection should be read on multiple levels—political, theological, and symbolic. David's story is told with a measure of skepticism, and the account of Solomon likewise prompts a fresh appraisal of his reputation for wisdom. Yet the text points to their lasting legacy in the worship tradition and Zion theology associated with the temple and the book of Psalms. Narratives in Kings—stories of Elijah and also the anonymous man of God who confronted Jeroboam at Bethel—focus on prophets and YHWH's word itself as primary shapers of history. The YHWH-alone movement in ninth-century Israel, associated with Elijah, bears some resemblance to the spread of indigenous African Christianity in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Keywords: semihistorical dramas, Saul's rejection, Solomon's wisdom, temple, Zion OR Zion theology, Elijah, YHWH-alone movement, African Christians