concludedthatthethirdandlaststageinhumans’
development is the age of science.
In African religion, some rituals follow certain
setpatternsinconsequenceoftheirlongtradition.
Also, some medicine men attach the practice of
their medicine to some tutelary spirits/gods like
Esu (Yoruba), Agwu (Igbo), and Sasabonsam
(Akan). However, many divinities likeSoponna
(Yoruba),Sagbata(Dahomey),andTano(Asante),
amongothers,loathemagic.TheAsantesaysuman
(fetishes/magic) “spoil the gods.” The Asante
believe that the possession of bad suman is a sin
punishable by some deities with death.
The Emotional Theories
Emotional theorists propose that religious
beliefs arose from emotions. They maintain that
earlyAfricanreligionwasnotsomething“thought
out,” but rather “danced out” to forestall the
mounting of fear and anxiety in conditions where
success is uncertain.
Peter Sarpong observes that the African
approach to the Supreme Being is practical. The
Asante call Godabomobuafre(the one you go to
with your problems). The deities are also easily
available to attend to their adherents. Second,
crude emotion of fear alone cannot account for
the universality of religion. Among the Yoruba,
Ogun, the god of iron, also known asGuin the
RepublicofBeninandOguninBrazil,isthemost
feared deity. However, this deity is worshipped
particularly by drivers, hunters, and blacksmiths
during the Ogun festivals. The worshippers
acknowledgethroughnameslikeOgunbiyi(Ogun
gave birth to this) andOgundeyi(Ogun turned
out to be this) that Ogun blesses his adherents
with exceptional things. It is only when fear is
considerably modified by wonder and submission
that there can be the acceptance of ritual.
Feartendstoabateasonegetsacquaintedwith
or subdues the object that inspired the fright. For
instance,Soponna, the goddess of smallpox, is an
awful dread to the Yoruba. When there is small-
pox,thegoddessreceivesagreatdealofdevotion,
but when the danger subsides, the dedication
diminishes. In such circumstances, fear could
at best have given rise to occasional or seasonal
gods. Consequently, there will be no gods when
there is nothing to fear.
Oedipal Complex
ThepsychologistSigmundFreudcontributedto
the debate on the genesis of religion when he the-
orized that the earliest religion grew out of what
he termed afather-figure neurosisor theOedipus
Complex.
He argued, first, that religion is a neurosis
because it arose from repressed desires and uncon-
sciousguiltfeelings(asdemonstratedinhisOedipal
story). He held, second, that religion is an illusion,
implying that it is through projection that the idea
of God was derived from that of the father figure
who was magnified to infinity. Third, it is because
of early creatures’ helplessness and needs that they
personified the forces of nature to protect human
beings against the strange superior powers of
nature.Thesepowerswerethenassignedwithfunc-
tionsparalleltohumans’wishes.
Many theorists believe that Freud may have
madeupthepracticesoftheearlypeoplehehadin
his mind. Besides, the neurotics that Freud had in
his clinic are in a class apart from the people
he wrote about. Freud’s psychoanalytic hypothesis
hasbeencriticizedbyprehistoriansandanthropol-
ogistswhohavedeclaredthatthehistoricityofthe
“Oedipal situation” in the primal horde is unten-
able. Also, Freud’s theory that religion is a vain
illusion has also been denounced. Some scholars
argue that it is purely philosophical speculation
that is not rooted in empirical methods.The Sociological Theories
Thesetheoriesseekanexplanationofthegene-
sis of religion in certain needs and features of
religioninthesociety.Theyexplainreligionessen-
tially in terms of its functions and persistence as a
social phenomenon rather than its origin.Religion as the Worship of the Society
Émile Durkheim is probably the best-known
representativeofthesociologicalschoolofthought.
In his monumental work,Formes Éle ́ mentaires de
la Vie Religieuse, he observed that religion is
essentially a social and purposeful institution.
According to him, three features demonstrate
clearly the social character of religion. First, it is
passedonfromonegenerationtoanother.Second,
it is accepted and believed by all especially in the502 Origin of Religion