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National Library Bibliothèque nationale of Canada du C~mad~ Acquisitions and Direction des acquisItions et Bibliographie Services Br~nch des services bibliogr~phiquc$ 395 Wellington Slrccl 395. nIt) WelhnQIl111 Oltawa.OnlJno Ollaw" (Ontario) K1AON4 K1AON4 \.'", ',,' \,.r,,· """"~" " NOTICE AVIS The quality of this microform is La qualité de cette microforme heavily dependent upon the dépend grandement de la qualité quality of the original thesis de la thèse soumise au submitted for microfilming. microfilmage. Nous avens tout Every effort has been made to fait pour assurer une qualité ensure the highest quality of supérieure de reproduction. reproduction possible. If pages are missing, contact the S'il manque des pages, veuillez university which granted the communiquer avec l'université degree. qui a conféré le grade. Some pages may have indistinct La qualité d'impression de print especially if the original certaines pages peut laisser à pages were typed with a poor désirer, surtout si les pages typewriter ribbon or if the originales ont été university sent us an inferior dactylographiées à l'aide d'un photocopy. ruban usé ou si l'université nous a fait parvenir une photocopie de qualité inférieure. Reproduction in full or in part of La reproduction, même partielle, this microform is governed by de cette microforme est soumise the Canadian Copyright Act, à la Loi canadienne sur le droit R.S.C. 1970, c. C-30, and d'auteur, SRC 1970, c. C-30, et subsequent amendments. ses amendements subséquents. Canada • AFRICAN TBEOLOGf AND SOCIAL CHANGE. AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACB by rail Ritchie. Faculty of Religious studies MCGill university, Montréal. April 1993. A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. • Clan Ritchie 1993. • * • * * * * * * Revision date. May 3, 1993. • National Library Bibliothèque nationalo 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Direction des acquisitions et Bibliographie Services Branch des services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ollawa. 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ISBN 0-315-87911-4 Canada ! i • TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii Résumé iv Table of Abbreviations v Preface ••••• vii PART I: THE AFRICAN BACKGROUND 1 INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN THEOLOGY 5 1: First Phase: "Adaptation" 7 2: Second Phase: "Incarnation" 10 3: The Third Phase •••••. 16 CHAPTER 2: SOCIAL CONTEXT OF AFRICAN THEOLOGY 31 1: Socio-Historical survey ••••.• 31 2: Socio-Economic Analysis - The Voice of Grassroots Africans ••••••••••••• 35 3: Socio-Economic Analysis - The Voice of Academie sociology •••••••••.• 43 CHAPTER 3: HEALTH, DISEASE and WHOLENESS 62 1: Ethnocentrism and African Healing ••• 62 2: African Lifeworld: the unity of Religion and Medicine •••••••• 65 3: witchcraft ••••••••• 74 • 4: African Theological Response 75 CHAPTER 4: EXCURSUS: The Shifting Sensorium and African orality 79 1: African Oral Lifeworld • 80 2: Olfactory Language ••. 85 3: Gustation and Transition ••••••• 90 4: Tactility •••••••••••••• 92 5: sight •••••••••••••••• 95 6: Implications of the African Sensorium for world Theology and Anthropology 96 7: To Restore the Balance? ••••• 99 PART II: CHALLENGES OF THE 1980s AND '90s 103 CHAPTER 5: CHRISTOLOGlCAL DEVELOPMENTS 104 1: Christ and the Ancestors 105 2: Christ the Healer 113 3: Christ As The Ng'anga 113 4: other Christologies 114 5: christ the Liberator • 115 6: where From Here? ••• 120 CHAPTER 6: PL'jRALISM AND INTERFAITH DIALOGUE 123 1: Sueial Context •••••• 123 2: Theologieal Response ••• 130 3: Summary ••..••••• 135 CHAPTER 7: AFRlCAN FAMILY IN TRANSITION 137 • 1: The, Role of Women •••••• 137 ii 2: Po1ygyny . 143 • 3: sununary 149 CHAPTER 8: JUSTICE, PEACE, and the INTEGRITY OF CREATION 150 1: Justice 150 2: Peace 152 3: Integrity of Creation 153 CONCLUSION 176 BIBLIOGRAPHY 182 • • iii • Abstract African Theology and social change The dissertation documents the riss of African christian theology in anglophone and francophone Africa, exploring the possibility that following the development of the two long recognized phases of "adaptationIl and "incarnation" there has been a "third phase." In the period since 1980 we find an explosion into theological diversity and maturity, marked by serious wrestling with all the social problems facing Africans in contemporary African life. since 1980 there is a proliferation of new Christologieal paradigms, and increased inter-religious tensions have brought new urgency to inter-faith dialogue, with a growing number of theological responses. An explosion in the numbers of African women theologians brings a new voice on women's roles. Economie and ecological crises bring increasing reflexion on justice, peace and the integrity of creation. The paradigmatic diversity is strongly linked with changes in the concrete social conditions in which the various theologians live. This discovery confirms the thesis that theology in Afric~ • is always related to social context. * * * * * * * • iv • Résumé Théologie africaine et changement social La thèse concerne la théologie chrétienne africaine en Afrique anglophone et francophone introduisant la possibilité quo A la suite du développement de deux phases reconnues, celle de ccl' adaptationIl et celle de ccl' incarnation.. , il Y a eu une troisième phase. Depuis 1980, il est apparu une explosion dans la diversité et la maturité théologiques, marquée de vifs débats concernant les problèmes sociaux auquels doivent faire face les africains dans la vie africaine contemporaine. Depuis 1980, il Y a une prolifération de nouveaux paradigmes christologiques et la croissance des tensions inter-religieuses a entrainé une nouvelle urgence de dialogue entre les diverses religions avec un nombre croissant de réponses théologiques. une explosion du nombre de femmes africaines théologiennes a apporté une insistance nouvelle sur. les rôles de la femme. La crise économique et écologique a entraîné une réflexion croissante sur la justice, la paix et l'intégrité de la création. • La diversité paradigmatique est fortement liée aux changements des conditions sociales dans lesquelles vivent les théologiens. cette découverte confirme la thèse que la théologie en Afrique est toujours liée au contexte social. * 'If 'If 'If 'If 'If * • • v Table of Abbreviations AACC = All Africa Conference of churches. AICs = African Independant Churches. AMECEA = Asscciation of Member Episcopal Conferences of East Africa. ATR = African Traditional Religion(s). CIEA = catholic Institute of East Africa. (at Nairobi, Kenya) CIWA = catholic Institute of West Africa. (at Port Harcourt, Nigeria) EATWOT = Ecumenical Association of Third \qorld Theologians. IMF = International Monetary Fund. OAU = organization of African Unity. OPEC = Organization of petroleum EYoporting Countries. SECAM = symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. UNCED = united Nations Conference on Environment and Development. (popularly known as the "Earth summit" of Rio de Janeiro, 1992) • • WAATI = west African Association of Theological Institutions. WCC = World council of churches. WSCF = world Student christian Federation 1t * * * ** * • • vi Dedication This dissertation is decticated in loving memory of John James Harold Ritchie, September 2Bth, 1912 - April 6th, 1993. Truly a gentle man and a scholar, who gave me the love of learning and the gift of life. * * 'Ir 'Ir 'Ir 'Ir * • • • vii Preface African christian theology has been an interest of mine sin~e my own experience of teaching in Nigeria from 1980 to 1985. While in Nigeria l became fluent in the Hausa language, lingua frsncs of Northern Nigeria, and begsn my interest in Africsn culture snd tradition. My attendsnce of meetings of the Jos-Bukuru Theological society from 1981 initiated my inquiry into African theology, which was further developed at the 1984 conference of the West Africsn Association of Theologicsl Institutions in Ogbomosh~, Nigeria. l wish to acknowledge the help of several African theologians in the research for this dissertation: John s. Pobee of Ghana, Jesse N.K. Mugambi of Nairobi, Kenya, and Edward Antonio of the university of zimbabwe, Harare, each of whom offered their time snd helpful opinions. Takatso Mofokeng also proffered a helpful analysis. Mercy oduyoye and sr. Teresa Okure also gave me sorne of their time to discuss their projects and African theology. Dr. Kofi Appiah-Kubi of Ghana, with whom l had several too-brief conversations at the January 1992 EATWOT conference in Nairobi, • was the co-editor