Zimbabwe has a strong tradition in religious studies (Chitando 2002).
McKenzie (1989: 104) maintains that Zimbabwe ‘has a good claim to a degree
of pre-eminence in the whole continent for its attention to the study of religion
and its branch disciplines as understood by the IAHR’. However, with the
political and economic crisis facing the country after 2000, maintaining these
standards has become a major challenge. Other countries in the region,
including Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland have also promoted religious
studies. Namibia has endeavored to emancipate religious studies from theology
(Lombard 1995). In Malawi, the department of theology and religious studies
has been active in the areas of research and publication. Zambia has not seen
the emergence of a department of religious studies, although religious education
is offered in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zambia.
The development of the study of religions
Major ideas and problems
In addition to providing data on the religions found within the region,
scholars in religious studies in sub-Saharan Africa have made significant
contributions to method and theory (Platvoet 1993). For the purposes of this
survey, I have selected three main themes for analysis. These are: the study
of ATRs, efforts to clarify the meaning of religion, and adoption of multi-
disciplinary approaches to the study of religion. Other areas of emphasis that
may be pursued include the study of African Christianity and other religions
of the world found in Africa, religion and ecology, religion and healing, and
New Religious Movements.
Major ideas. One of the major ideas emerging from religious studies in Africa
is the contention that African indigenous religions are an integral part of human
religious history. Generations of European writers had dismissed ATRs as
superstition, magic, idolatry, and a host of other condescending labels. African
scholars have re-positioned the study of ATRs as a viable academic undertaking.
While European scholars such as Parrinder laid the foundation in the 1950s,
it was Africans such as John Mbiti and E. Bolaji Idowu who proceeded to
formulate principles for the study of ATRs. They provided a more balanced
perspective and illustrated the centrality of religion to African life.
In their reflections on the study of ATRs, African scholars have made
valuable contributions to methodology in the study of religion in general (Uka
1991). While religious studies in Europe and North America has been
predominantly the study of written texts, African scholars have drawn attention
to the need to examine oral texts. The focus on sacred writings by scholars
based in Europe and North America has textualized religious studies. The result
has been a concentration on the religion of the text, rather than the lived
1111
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1011
1
2
3111
4 5 6 7 8 9
20111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
30111
1
2
3
4
35
6
7
8
9
40111
42222
3
411
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
109
