Thomas Gaudio

Andrea Ng’weshemi

African Religion

19 March 2018

African Religion or Western Culture?

African religion is a tradition that dates back more than one thousand five hundred

years and has been a staple in the lives of native African people. They have created so

many traditions and events that center around every single aspect of the way they think,

from birth, through puberty, adolescence and adulthood, all the way to the end of life. Each

of these times in one’s life is a milestone that is celebrated by the family and community,

but also with the departed family members and ancestors, or family members who have

been elevated to a higher status once they have passed on to the next life. The connection

between religion and everyday life in African is astounding and it is a base for a culture that

may not be rich in possessions, but they have an abundance of happiness. There is a strong

connection between community and happiness and the religious aspect of life in Africa is so

intertwined with everyday life that it is impossible to find these ideas separately. The idea

of separation of church and state, as we as citizens of the United States are used to, is an

outdated and old system of belief. The African way is a far more efficient and effective form

of society and it would behoove others to follow in their footsteps. Government and

religion work much better in unison than at odds with one another and there are many

examples of this in African Culture.

The first method in which church and state are tied together in African culture that

makes for an effective society is through the use of milestones. There are many
benchmarks that are met throughout one’s life and there is a specific ritual to accompany

each of these special times. These events coincide with every milestone imaginable, from

events like the naming and birthing of a child to others, such as bride wealth and

circumcision. The text African Religion: The Moral Traditions of Abundant Life states, “For

Africans, conception and birth in the human species correspond very closely to the same

activities in the plant and animal species. They correspond to human contact with the soil

and its fertility, that is, cultivation, planting and harvesting. Similarly, they are related to

the cosmological realities of the seasons, in Africa the rainy and dry seasons”(Magesa,

1997: 82). This example from the text shows how interconnected every aspect of human

life is to African religion. Every decision these people make plays a part, not only in their

religious lives, but also in their social lives and the lives of the members of the community.

This connection means that they must think about how the outcome will affect them

socially, as well as religiously. This is the most important aspect of the connection between

these two ideologies. The relationship causes African people to think about how their

decision will affect those around them morally, as well as legally and this type of deep

thinking is just not present in Western society. The division of church and state does not

allow for this kind of higher critical thinking and is a weakness of places like America

compared to native African tribes. Western schools are not allowed to speak of religion in

the classroom and churches do not discuss politics during mass. With less barriers in

African society, the people can focus on growing spiritually and socially as opposed to

finding ways to interact without saying something that will upset the balance between

religion and government. This shows how African society creates a more favorable
environment for its people to learn and grow with fewer restrictions than in the Western

World.

The second reason why a society with a lack of division between church and state is

more effective than one that has implemented this system is because the religion builds a

strong sense of community. Whenever an activity or event is held, it is direct at one person,

but it also affects the rest of the community. Any decision that is made by one person in a

clan, more often than not has some kind of impact on everyone else in the village.

According to the chapter titled “The Mystique of Life”, “The boys are watched for signs of

flinching or faltering… If one of them tries to catch the operator’s hand or to run off at the

last moment he is held by his clansmen… to stamp the boy as a coward, the operator

bedaubs his face with streaks of blood which he must not wash off for several

days”(Magesa, 1997: 99). Even ceremonies and milestones that are personal, like a boy

being circumcised and becoming a man affects the whole clan. If the boy shows cowardice,

he is put on display for everyone to see and everyone in the village shames him. People in

the village are responsible for taking care of each other and if one person is struck by bad

fortune or tragedy, then everyone is responsible for supporting and helping out. Another

aspect of community that is prominent in African culture is the care of children. Similar to

the milestone rituals, when a child is born into the tribe, it affects everyone in said tribe.

Any adult is the tribe is able and compelled to care for the new child in any way that they

can. There are simple examples of this; such as the ability to discipline the child if they do

something wrong, even if the adult is not the child’s biological parent. It can even be as

extreme as caring for the child if tragedy strikes and both of the parents die. This sense of

community is excellent and this ensures that everyone in the tribe feels safe, secure and
loved, no matter how many people are in the clan. The overwhelming amount of love and

community in African culture is a large part of what separates it from other places around

the world.

The final reason why African culture is so much more effective and efficient than

other places around the globe is because religion and culture are so deeply rooted together

that they are essentially one in the same. This means that there is no line between

everyday life and religion and they are blended together in perfect harmony. The book

African Traditional Religion by Aloysius Lugira states, “Among African peoples community,

culture, and religion are tightly bound together. The African view of the world is

fundamentally one of being part of a communal group” (Lugira, 2009: 17). Every aspect of

African life that was discussed is connected and this means there is no distinction or

partition between sections of one’s life. This is the complete opposite of Western Culture

where religion and government rule over a person’s life at certain times. People are

allowed to believe in different things and people from similar groups are allowed to believe

separate things. In Africa, everyone believes in the same things and they work as a

cohesive unit to make sure everyone is doing what they should be doing. The bottom line is

that there is no difference between everyday life and religious aspects of life.

The way societal norms and religion rituals are practiced in the Western world

differ greatly from the structure in African countries and tribes that practice traditional

religions. There is a clear division between church and state in the west, where these two

important aspects of life are deeply intertwined with one another. This style of living is

much more effective and efficient for a few reasons. There is an incredible sense of

community and caring for all members of the clan, milestones in life are celebrated and
appreciated by everyone and religion and culture are so deeply tied together, they become

one in the same. Overall, religion in Africa is not only a particular system of faith and

worship accompanied by the belief of a higher power, it is simply the everyday life that

these people live out. There is no society, there is no culture and there is no religion. In

Africa, there is only life.