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African religions are distinct to Africa n Ethnic groups. In certain respects the term is awkward as traditional African religions have a wide cultural variety that makes virtually any overall statement a sweeping generalization, but the majority of African Religion s do share some commonalities. There is no universal aspect found in all African religions. Not all people of African descent are known to follow these gods, however. Many tribes in Africa have been converted to Islam and the Nation of Islam group tries to convert Africans to Islam(Islam, it should be noted, is not an African religion). There is also a substantial Christian population and in the South this is often larger than the Muslim population. The Gospels would seem to indicate Jesus did spend part of his childhood in Africa so whether it is a non-native religion is sometimes debated. ANIMISM See Also: Animism They are deemed to follow Animism . Many of these religions teach a belief in a single supreme god and many lesser gods. At times these gods have a Totem . Animals are worshipped as the earthly representative of certain gods. Each lesser god is given a specific function and power to be able to control a particular area of the worshipper's life. Although they place one God above a host of lesser gods or semi-divine figures that High God maybe relatively uninvolved in life. As in animism nature is full of spirits. The idea of animal sacrifice is widespread to ensure divine protection and generosity. Also to gratify or placate spirits and the forces of nature. THE ANCESTORS See Also: Ancestor veneration Many of the people in Africa share a belief in ancestral spirits. These ancestors can be honored and good figures who have a kindly role as spirits. Still in certain cases the ancestors can be mischievous or outright destructive. In Southern Africa they placed emphasis on exorcism and this had some role elsewhere as well. SPIRITUAL HARMING AND HEALING Humans as well are sometimes deemed to have the power to heal or harm. This power can involve aspects we would deem non-spiritual. For example people who use herb lore to heal or poison to harm. (Or sometimes both to different people.) However at times these involve purely spiritual notions. Certain people are deemed to have strong connection to the spirits. They can use this for benefit or for harm. Among various traditional African religions twisted sorcerers or witches are to this day feared. Although it should be mentioned "witch", in many cultures, is a blanket term which actually does include those who actually commit poisonings or torture. Although it should be stated this is sometimes not the case and false allegations of witchcraft have at times damaged the image of traditional African faiths. RITUALS There are often rites of passage to move from childhood to adulthood, and from the land of the living to the land of the dead. INTERMIXTURE WITH OTHER RELIGIONS Some of these religions have been Syncretized with Folk Catholicism in the Western Hemisphere , or with Islam in Africa itself. This emphasis on lesser gods in syncretized Christianity can be seen in aspects of the Celestial Church Of Christ 's view of Angel s and in Islam some of the African Sufi reverence for saints or views of angels may have adopted African elements. Syncretic religions based on African religions include Voodoo , Santeria , Candomble , Umbanda , Macumba , Quimbanda , Abacua , Palo Mayombe , Palo Monte , etc. In the Americas African derived religions are generally derived from the traditional religions of West Africa and the Congo . This is due to the Atlantic coast of Africa being the main source of the Atlantic Slave Trade . The Lord's Resistance Army of Acholiland in northern Uganda combined the Catholic use of Rosaries and making Communion with the Islamic practice of praying towards Mecca . In addition, he retained local Spiritist beliefs regarding ''jogi''; personal spirits. EXTERNAL LINKS http://www.scn.org/rdi/kw-gods.htm |
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