Religious Studies: A Global View

It should be admitted that due to historical reasons, courses related to

Christianity tend to dominate the curricula of most institutions of higher

learning in sub-Saharan Africa. To this day, ‘scripture’ is exclusively associated

with Christian sacred texts. Bible knowledge and religious education are taught

at primary and secondary levels. While there have been efforts to develop and

instill multifaith approaches, Christianity continues to enjoy wider coverage.

Writing about Southern Africa in general, Clasquin (2005: 16) notes, ‘The need

for qualified educators to teach a multi-faith curriculum created the need for

universities in these countries to present religious studies at tertiary levels.’

Religious studies tends to be a popular subject at tertiary institutions in

some countries because most students would have been introduced to religious

education earlier on in their studies. This is reflected in countries such as

Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Some teacher-training

institutions also offer religious studies as a major. Alongside graduates from

universities, qualified teachers have played a major role in introducing the

subjects to students. As a result, in some countries pupils are introduced to

religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and others at an early stage.

Zimbabwe provides a good example of a country that has sought to adopt a

multifaith approach to the study of religions at the primary level (Nondo 1991).

The spirit of decolonization also inspired some African educationists to agitate

for the implementation of multifaith approaches.

Aspects of religious studies are also found in Islamic learning centers and

theological training institutions. In the case of the latter, some of the programs

are quite competitive. In Nigeria, Islamic centers do provide high level

instruction on the religion. In some countries, theological training institutions

offer programs at diploma level. This is the case in Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Candidates who do well in these programs proceed to do degrees in religious

studies. Other countries, such as Nigeria and South Africa, have competitive

doctoral programs. Although African institutions continue to send their

graduates for higher degrees outside the continent, in some countries there is

enough personnel to supervise such students. In Kenya, some departments of

religious studies supervise doctoral students.

Intraregional divisions and interregional connections

As indicated in ‘The Emergence of the Study of Religion’, there are salient

intraregional divisions in sub-Saharan Africa. West Africa, East Africa, and

Southern Africa have all developed distinctive traditions in the study of

religions. Having a significant Muslim population, West Africa has tended to

include Islam in its programs in a more systematic manner. In East Africa,

ATRs have received greater attention. Southern Africa experienced colonial

domination for a much longer period than the other two regions. Furthermore,

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EZRA CHITANDO