African Pilgrimage

African Pilgrimage
Author: Retief Müller
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2016-04-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1317184238

Years after the end of Apartheid South Africa remains racially polarized and socially divided. In this context pilgrimage and travelling rituals serve to help those who often find themselves at the bottom end of the social ladder to make sense of their world. This book describes a South Africa that is made up of a number of different fragmented worlds. The focus is on the Zion Christian Church, one of the largest religious movements in southern Africa, and a good example of indigenized African Christianity. Pilgrimage plays an important role in reintegrating some of those fragmented worlds into something approaching wholeness. This book tells the story of how the enduring ritual of pilgrimage is transforming African religion, along with the lives of ordinary South Africans.

The Black Jews of Africa

The Black Jews of Africa
Author: Edith Bruder
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2008-06-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 019533356X

"This book presents, one by one, the different groups of Black Jews in Western central, eastern, and southern Africa and the ways in which they have used and imagined their oral history and traditional customs to construct a distinct Jewish identity. It explores the ways in which Africans have interacted with the ancient mythological sub-strata of both western and African ideas of Judaism."--Résumé de l'éditeur.

The Spirit in Worship-Worship in the Spirit

The Spirit in Worship-Worship in the Spirit
Author: Teresa Berger
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Total Pages: 410
Release: 2009-12-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 081466234X

The Spirit in Worship-Worship in the Spirit represents an essential contribution, from the field of liturgical studies, to the vibrant retrieval of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in contemporary theology. The fifteen authors of this volume are scholars and practitioners from a wide range of traditions, including Pentecostal and charismatic communities as well as voices from outside the modern West. Together they articulate a richly diverse understanding of the presence of the Holy Spirit, grounded both in the practice of worship and in the scholarly reflection that attends to this practice of faith. Contributors include: N. T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, U.K. Paul F. Bradshaw, University of Notre Dame Teresa Berger, Yale University Maxwell E. Johnson, University of Notre Dame Teresa Berger is professor of liturgical studies at Yale's Institute of Sacred Music and at Yale Divinity School. She holds doctorates in both dogmatic theology and liturgical studies. Her recent books include Women's Ways of Worship (1999), andFragments of Real Presence (2005). She is also coproducer, of the interactive CD-ROM Ocean Psalms. Bryan D. Spinks, DD (Dunelm, UK), is Goddard Professor of Liturgical Studies and Pastoral Theology at Yale Divinity School. He is the author of numerous books and articles, and is coeditor of the Scottish Journal of Theology. Spinks is a former consultant to the Church of England Liturgical Commission, president emeritus of the Church Service Society of the Church of Scotland, and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Shembe, Ancestors, and Christ

Shembe, Ancestors, and Christ
Author: Edley J. Moodley PhD
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2008-08-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1630879967

The Christian axis has shifted dramatically southward to Africa, Asia, and Latin America, so much so that today there are more Christians living in these southern regions than among their northern counterparts. In the case of Africa, the African Initiated Churches-founded by Africans and primarily for Africans-has largely contributed to the exponential growth and proliferation of the Christian faith in the continent. Yet, even more profoundly, these churches espouse a brand of Christianity that is indigenized and thoroughly contextual. Further, the power and popularity of the AICs, beyond the unprecedented numbers joining these churches, are attributed to their relevance to the existential everyday needs and concerns of their adherents in the context of a postcolonial Africa. At the heart of Christian theology is Christology-the confessed uniqueness of Christ in history and among world religions. Yet this key feature of Christianity, as with other important elements of the Christian faith, may be variously understood and re-interpreted in these indigenous churches. The focus of this study is the amaNazaretha Church, an influential religious group founded by the African charismatic prophet Isaiah Shembe in 1911 in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The movement today claims a following of some two million adherents and has proliferated beyond the borders of South Africa to neighboring countries in Southern Africa. The book addresses the complex and at times ambivalent understanding of the person and work of Christ in the amaNazaretha Church, presenting the genesis, history, beliefs, and practices of this significant religious movement in South Africa, with broader implications for similar movements across the continent of Africa and beyond.

The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa

The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa
Author: Leroy Vail
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 454
Release: 1991-01-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780520074200

Despite a quarter century of "nation building," most African states are still driven by ethnic particularism—commonly known as "tribalism." The stubborn persistence of tribal ideologies despite the profound changes associated with modernization has puzzled scholars and African leaders alike. The bloody hostilities between the tribally-oriented Zulu Inkhata movement and supporters of the African National Congress are but the most recent example of tribalism's tenacity. The studies in this volume offer a new historical model for the growth and endurance of such ideologies in southern Africa.

New Religions [2 volumes]

New Religions [2 volumes]
Author: Eugene V. Gallagher
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 781
Release: 2021-02-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1440862362

A valuable resource for students and general audiences, this book provides a unique global perspective on the history, beliefs, and practices of emergent faith communities; new religious traditions; and religious movements worldwide, from the 19th century to the present. New Religions: Emerging Faiths and Religious Cultures in the Modern World provides insightful global perspectives on the emergent faith communities and new traditions and movements of the last two centuries. Readers will gain access to the information necessary to explore the significance, complexities, and challenges that modern religious traditions have faced throughout their history and that continue to impact society today. The work identifies the themes and issues that have often brought new religions into conflict with the larger societies of which they are a part. Coverage includes new religious groups that emerged in America, such as the Seventh-day Adventists, the Latter-day Saints, and the Jehovah's Witnesses; alternative communities around the globe that emerged from the major Western and Eastern traditions, such as Aum Shinrikyo and Al-Qaeda; and marginalized groups that came to a sudden end, such as the Peoples Temple, Heaven's Gate, and the Branch Davidians. The entries highlight thematic and broader issues that run across the individual religious traditions, and will also help students analyze and assess the common difficulties faced by emergent religious communities.

An Introduction to Pentecostalism

An Introduction to Pentecostalism
Author: Allan Anderson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2004-05-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780521532808

Global Pentecostalism and Charismatic Christianity in all its diversity is the fastest expanding religious movement in the world today. Allan Anderson, a former Pentecostal minister and a leading authority on global Pentecostalism, aims to make more visible the 'non-western' nature of Pentecostalism without overlooking the importance of the movement emanating from North America. Offering an innovative interpretation of Pentecostalism, he takes seriously the contributions of the Majority World to its development and, concentrating on its history and theology, reflects on the movement's development and significance throughout the world. Anderson also examines those theological issues that helped form a distinctive spirituality and how this relates to different peoples and their cultures. Finally, Anderson discusses the development of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity in the different countries from its origins at the beginning of the twentieth century to its theological emphases in the present, together with the impact of the processes of globalization.

The Healer-Prophet in Afro-Christian Churches

The Healer-Prophet in Afro-Christian Churches
Author: Gerhardus C. Oosthuizen
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2016-05-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004319840

Apart from the mainline, Pentecostal, and Zionist churches, there are different types of African Independent/Indigenous Churches (AIC). The greater part of the more than four thousand denominations and eight million adherents came into the AIC during the past three decades, mainly from the traditional African religious background. The important role of the diviner in the traditional society has been replaced by the prophet in the AIC; the prophet understands the worldview of his/her people, especially the cultural diseases. In some churches the office of prophet cum diviner is represented by one person. The AIC movement is the most dynamic church movement in many parts of Africa, especially Southern Africa. The consistent growth of these churches can largely be accounted for by the healing procedures they use, which ar highlighted in this study. Dr. Oosthuizen approaches healing from various angles, as sickness is not only determined by physical and psychological factors, but also by disturbed human relationships and socio-political and economic tensions.