Religious Conversion An African Perspective

Religious Conversion: An African Perspective includes a selection of key texts which are not easily accessible elsewhere. Most of the chapters discuss the long-standing thesis of Robin Horton who argues that religious change results from social transformation. The contributors provide different perspectives on what remains an ongoing provocative, though inconclusive debate. The book has chapters on conversion in Africa from such authorities as Robin Horton, Humphrey Fisher, and Richard Gray. It also contains chapters on Zambia by Elizaebeth Colson, Brendan Carmody, Austin Cheyeka, Felix Phiri and W Van Binsbergen. This collection of chapters provides an introduction to the discussion surrounding the query: Did the Christian and Muslim messages bring something fundamentally new to the African religious horizon? What has indigenisation meant? What is the role of traditional religion?

One of the most striking developments in the history of modern civilizations has been the conversion of tribal peoples to more expansively organized "world" religions. There is little scholarly consensus as to why these religions have endured and why conversion to them has been so widespread. These essays explore the phenomenon of Christian conversion from this world-building perspective. Combining rich case studies with original theoretical insights, this work challenges sociologists, anthropologists and historians of religion to reassess the varieties of religious experience and the convergent processes involved in religious change.

This collection brings together a diverse range of scholars, including historians of pre-colonial, colonial, and contemporary Africa, along with anthropologists, who develop fresh arguments and reassessments of religious, cultural, and social change pertaining to Africa. The result is a fascinating array of research that offers critical, creative, and constructive analyses of religious change on the African continent, from the medieval period to the present.

This collection brings together a diverse range of scholars, including historians of pre-colonial, colonial, and contemporary Africa, along with anthropologists, who develop fresh arguments and reassessments of religious, cultural, and social change pertaining to Africa. The result is a fascinating array of research that offers critical, creative, and constructive analyses of religious change on the African continent, from the medieval period to the present.

Faith in African Lived Christianity – Bridging Anthropological and Theological Perspectives offers a comprehensive, empirically rich and interdisciplinary approach to the study of faith in African Christianity. The book brings together anthropology and theology in the study of how faith and religious experiences shape the understanding of social life in Africa. The volume is a collection of chapters by prominent Africanist theologians, anthropologists and social scientists, who take people’s faith as their starting point and analyze it in a contextually sensitive way. It covers discussions of positionality in the study of African Christianity, interdisciplinary methods and approaches and a number of case studies on political, social and ecological aspects of African Christian spirituality.

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With two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africa professing to be Christian it should be a concern to all Christians that the biblical worldview has had little impact on the shaping of contemporary African culture. In this book Jack Chalk analyses the belief systems of the worldviews that are based on Christianity and African Traditional Religion. The analysis, conclusion and recommendations are presented with the view to helping the church in Africa deal with syncretism and the effect it has on the beliefs and practices of its members.