among the different countries, it continued to attract signifi-
cant numbers of students.
Scholarly Organizations and Publications. The high
number of lecturers in the discipline facilitated the emer-
gence of scholarly organizations. These included the Nigeri-
an Association for the Study of Religions, founded in 1976;
the Association for the Study of Religions in Southern Africa,
initiated in 1979; and the African Association for the Study
of Religions (AASR), formed in 1992. The AASR has region-
al chapters and publishes a newsletter that keeps African
scholars abreast of developments in the field. It has also spon-
sored a few monographs and books that are widely distribut-
ed in Africa. Other theologically oriented organizations like
the Association of Theological Institutions in Southern Afri-
ca and the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theolo-
gians have contributed to the publication of some valuable
monographs on Christianity and indigenous religions. These
regional groupings have facilitated interaction across national
boundaries and rescued the study of religion from narrow na-
tionalistic agendas.
Despite the shortage of books, some impressive initia-
tives have been witnessed on the publication front. Follow-
ing the demise of apartheid in South Africa, a number of
texts that sought to describe religious pluralism in the coun-
try were published, such as Martin Prozesky and John W.
de Gruchy’s edited volume Living Faiths in South Africa
(1995). Launched in the 1990s in Malawi, the Kachere book
series sought to capture the religious scene in the country,
covering aspects of Christianity, indigenous religions, and
other themes. In Kenya, Acton Publishers, an initiative by
the scholar Jesse N. K. Mugambi, was launched in 1992.
Mambo Press of Zimbabwe publishes books on religion in
the region. Scholars like James Amanze of the University of
Botswana, Peter Kasenene in Swaziland and Uganda, and
Patrick Maxwell in South Africa produce material within the
discipline of religious studies. Monographs and articles on
Islam, indigenous religions and churches, new religious
movements, and other aspects of religion in Africa are also
being produced.
Among African countries in the 1990s, South Africa
had the highest number of journals that appeared consistent-
ly. These include the Journal for the Study of Religion, Mis-
sionalia, Religion and Theology, Scriptura, and others. Al-
though some of the journals have a theological slant, they
publish useful articles on the academic study of religion. In
Nigeria, the journal Orita has defied the odds and continues
to publish articles on the three dominant religions.
Contextualization. Although some scholars, such as
Donald Wiebe in The Politics of Studying Religion (1998),
have insisted on a rigid separation between the discipline and
communities of faith in the region, close cooperation has ex-
isted since the 1960s. Organized religious groups have used
scholarly services, with scholars responding to the felt needs
of the communities among whom they operated. They have
also published on those issues that were relevant to their con-
texts. Religious violence in Nigeria precipitated research into
the role of religion in curbing extremism. The reality of
HIV/AIDS in the region in the 1990s prompted research
into the appropriation of religion in the struggle against the
pandemic. In their pursuit of contextual relevance, most Af-
rican scholars have remained in dialogue with scholars from
other parts of the world through publications, conference at-
tendance, and other modern communication facilities.
Despite major challenges, the academic study of religion
in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa continue to be encourag-
ing. In their investigations into the religions of Africa and
methodological reflections, African scholars provide alterna-
tive interpretations regarding the nature and purpose of reli-
gious studies. Although they can be abrasive in the study of
indigenous religions and militant in protesting against their
peripheral position in global religious studies, they are con-
tributing to the shape of the field. Their commitment to pro-
ducing works of high quality in contexts characterized by re-
source deficiencies provides indications that a new era of
promise is dawning on the academic study of religion. Often
marginalized and portrayed as uncritical consumers of meth-
odological tenets developed elsewhere, scholars in sub-
Saharan Africa are taking up the challenge of interpreting the
significance of religion as full members of the guild.BIBLIOGRAPHY
Amanze, James. African Traditional Religion in Malawi: The Case
of the Bimbi Cult. Blantyre, 2002. Describes the vibrancy of
a specific African indigenous religion.
Chidester, David. Savage Systems: Colonialism and Comparative
Religion in Southern Africa. Charlottesville, Va., 1996. This
study highlights the power imbalances between indigenous
African people and Europeans, as well as the contestation re-
garding the concept of “religion.”
Hackett, Rosalind I. J. “The Academic Study of Religion in Nige-
ria.” Religion 18 (1988): 37–46. Describes the development
of religious studies in Nigeria.
Kasenene, Peter. Religion in Swaziland. Braamfontein, 1990. A
description of the religious situation in Swaziland.
Magesa, Laurenti. African Religion: The Moral Traditions of Abun-
dant Life. New York, 1997. An analysis of the centrality of
morality to the indigenous religions of Africa and how they
seek to promote well-being.
Mbiti, John S. African Religions and Philosophy. London, 1969. A
useful text that highlights efforts to bring some sense of unity
to the disparate indigenous religions of Africa.
Muller, Frederick Maximilian. The Sacred Books of the East. Ox-
ford, 1879–1910. Provides insights into the centrality of
scripture in the academic study of religion in the West.
p’Bitek, Okot. African Religions in Western Scholarship. Kampa-
la,1971. This work captures the insistence by African schol-
ars that they are best placed to study the indigenous religions
of Africa.
Platoon, Jan, James Cox, and Jacob Olupona, eds. The Study of
Religions in Africa: Past, Present, and Prospects. Cambridge,
U.K., 1996. A comprehensive analysis of the study of the
various religions of Africa, including reflections on metho-
dology.STUDY OF RELIGION: THE ACADEMIC STUDY OF RELIGION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 8795