Remarques sur la philosophie religieuse des sectes syncrétiques au Gabon

ABSTRACTTwo sources are at the origin of the religious philosophy of the syncretic sects of Gabon: on the one hand, a religious vision of the world based on traditional religious beliefs, and on the other, occidental Catholicism implanted in Africa. The essentially African foundation of this philosophy lies mainly in the cult of ancestors, the Bouiti, to which cult were then added Christian ideas, adapted and partly transformed. The Bouiti thus could become the corner-stone of the philosophical or even philosophico-religious thought in Gabon. It already contained the elements of a philosophical language which could hence serve to express the traditional religious truths, developing them and adapting them to the socio- cultural and religious needs of the moment.This philosophical language itself took life a long time after, following circumstances favorable to its growth, at a time of economical, political and, therefore, of socio-cultural, changes. It could also be considered as a manifestation of new needs and of the development of a new conscience. Taken up later by men sensitive to religious values and to their role in social life, it has become the instrument of a racial awakening and has served in the search of a personal, religious, and social autonomy among the Fang

Autonomy · Christianity · Conscience · Cult · Epistemology · Ethnology · Political science · Politics · Religious life · Sociology · Theology · African Studies and Ethnography · Agriculture and Rural Development Research · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies