Saharan Africa to underscore what he considers an all-pervasive religiosity.
The following passage has been widely cited as it captures his interpretation
of religion in Africa. He writes:
Wherever the African is, there is his [sic] religion: he carries it to the fields
where he is sowing seeds or harvesting a new crop; he takes it with him
to the beer party or to attend a funeral ceremony; and if he is educated,
he takes religion with him to the examination room at school or in the
University; if he is a politician, he takes it to the House of Parliament.
(Mbiti 1969: 2)
Although his work has been sharply criticized for its theological slant, hasty
generalizations, and ideological convictions, Mbiti has emerged as a leading
voice in the study of ATRs. He has numerous publications to his name,
covering diverse fields (Olupona and Nyang 1993). His reflections on the study
of indigenous religions, their encounter with Christianity, and other themes
are quite useful, even for religious studies. At any rate, one can separate Mbiti’s
expressly theological works from those of a descriptive nature, such as African
Religions and Philosophy.
E. Bolaji Idowu, another theologian from Nigeria, is a prominent name in
religious studies in sub-Saharan Africa. A student of Parrinder, Idowu sought
to provide methodological guidelines for the study of religion in general and
ATRs in particular. Formulating general principles for the study of religion,
Idowu placed emphasis on avoiding biased comparison and the need to select
the right person to execute the study. His African Traditional Religion: A
Definition(Idowu 1973) is a key text in the field. He developed a ‘highway
code’ in which he called for caution, openness, sympathy, and reverence.
Idowu was unrelenting in his criticism of the inappropriate terminology that
has been applied to ATRs. He contended that terms such as ‘primitive’, ‘savage’,
and ‘native’ did not do justice to the complexity of ATRs (Idowu 1973: 108).
Idowu’s contribution to the study of ATRs is quite significant. From early
on, he detected the challenges that confront African scholars of religion. He
maintained that a lack of financial resources reduced the African academic to
‘a beggar’ (Idowu 1973: 99). He also called upon African researchers to avoid
adopting defensive and ultimately distorting postures. He attacked casual
observers who proceeded to give inaccurate descriptions of ATRs and religion
in general. Although he went on to publish in the area of African theology,
his reflections on the study of ATRs and religion provide valuable insights.
His earlier work, Olódùmarè: God in Yoruba Belief(Idowu 1962), had drawn
attention to the importance of the Supreme Being in a particular African
indigenous religion.
The theological framework that informed the contributions by Mbiti and
Idowu was sharply criticized by Okot p’Bitek, an anthropologist and creative
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
115
