Misrepresentations of African religion

Exploring the poverty of Western religious experience

Bibliographic Data

ID12857213
AuthorsJulius Gathogo (0000-0002-1718-0082, University of South Africa, corresponding author)
Year2025
Publication date2025-10-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueVerbum et Ecclesia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1609-9982 • E-ISSN: 2074-7705
PublisherAOSIS (PUBLISHER • ZA)
DOI10.4102/ve.v46i1.3472
OpenAlexW7091656169
LanguageEN
References cited15

The article sets out to understand the misconceptions and misrepresentations of religion in general and African religion in particular and how these fallacies have affected the latter since they entered the global scene. This also drives us to historicise religious discourses and eventually consider how its apologists and/or scholars of religion have responded since the first half of the 20th century. Have the African indigenous resources contributed positively in enriching Christianity and in building a theologia africana, and is the ‘poverty of Western Religious Experience’ the main factor that fuels the misunderstandings and falsifications? As part of the 50th commemoration of research in theology and religion, particularly through the Research Institute for Theology and Religion (RITR) at the University of South Africa (1975–2025), it strives to account for the scholarly developments that have triggered a paradigm shift, a phenomenon where the Gospel and Africa’s religio-culture are engaged in a dialogue of purpose that strives to offer authentic Christianity in Africa amid critics of such initiatives. It is conceptually informed by Cornelius Willem du Toit’s contrast between the ‘poverty of western religious experiences’ and African spirituality. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Through its theo-historical-analytical design, this research article adds value to our knowledge of (South) African religion and the interdisciplinary world of academia by drawing its theoretical framework from the multidisciplinary works of Professor Cornel du Toit. It demonstrates RITR’s works, in the last 50 years (1975–2025), as an interdisciplinary enterprise that seeks to effectively address contemporary African concerns

African culture · African studies · Christianity · Gospel · Indigenous · Phenomenon · Poverty · Value (mathematics · African cultural and philosophical studies · Christian Theology and Mission · Religion and Sociopolitical Dynamics in Nigeria

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