scholarly journals Religion and Peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 47-64
Author(s):  
Lado Tonlieu Ludovic, S. J.
Keyword(s):  
Central African Republic ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Conflict In Africa ◽  
Religious Landscape ◽  
African Traditional Religions

Abstract This chapter critically examines the contribution of religion to peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa. An overview of the complex and evolving religious landscape of Africa today, where Christianity and Islam coexist alongside African traditional religions, is followed by an exploration of the intersection of secular and faith-based processes of peacebuilding in what remains a profoundly religious continent. Thirdly, this chapter probes the different ways religion has been appropriated or justified in the service of terror, notably in the case of the Central African Republic. Lastly, the chapter considers how religion-based efforts to mitigate conflict in Africa can be made more effective, especially Muslim-based initiatives, given the disproportionate impact on Africa’s Muslims.

scholarly journals Christianity in Africa: a historical appraisal

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samson A Fatokun
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
North Central ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
Almost Everywhere ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
African Traditional Religions

In this article, the author challenges the popular public conception that Christianity in Africa is a latecomer introduced only with the advent of colonialism. By tracing the origins of the Christian faith in both North and sub-Saharan Africa (including, North-Central and West Africa), this paper seeks to show that Christianity has been in Africa virtually since its inception and that the continent’ s own adherents to this faith played an important role in the formation and advance of Christianity elsewhere. Moreover, Christianity in Africa can be found almost everywhere on the continent and indigenous varieties of the tradition developed which allowed it to become as part of Africa as African traditional religions.

The Theology of Emergency: Welfare Reform, US Foreign Aid and the Faith-Based Initiative

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Emergency Relief ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Social Authority ◽  
Sub Saharan

This article addresses the rise of faith-based emergency relief by examining the US President’s Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS (PEPFAR), a public health intervention focused on the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that the theological turn in humanitarian aid serves to amplify ongoing dynamics in the domestic politics of sub-Saharan African states, where social services have assumed the form of chronic emergency relief and religious organizations have come to play an increasingly prominent role in the provision of such services. In the context of an ongoing public health crisis, PEPFAR has institutionalized the social authority of the Pentecostal and charismatic churches, leading to a semantic confluence between the postcolonial politics of emergency and the Pentecostal/Pauline theology of kairos or event. Far from being confined to the space of foreign aid, however, the faith-based turn in humanitarianism is in keeping with ongoing reforms in domestic social policy in the United States. While on the one hand the sustained welfare programmes of the New Deal and Great Society have been dismantled in favour of a system of emergency relief, on the other hand the federal government has intensified its moral, pedagogical and punitive interventions into the lives of the poor. The wilful transfer of welfare services to overtly religious service providers has played a decisive role in this process. The article concludes with a critical appraisal of the links between African and North American Pentecostal-evangelical churches and questions the revolutionary mission ascribed to Pauline political theology in recent political theory.

The impact of political liberalisation and democratisation on ethnic conflict in Africa: an empirical test of common assumptions

2000 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeric Kay Smith
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Sensitive Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Conflict In Africa ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This article provides an empirical test of a set of common theoretical assumptions concerning the relationship between political liberalisation, democratisation and ethnic conflict in Africa. The theory in question posits that liberalisation will result in short-term increases in ethnic conflict and that democratisation will be followed by a decrease in ethnic conflict. The article employs a cross-national and time sensitive data set to test this hypothesis in the context of contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. A compelling benefit of this methodology is that it allows for an explanation of variation in ethnic conflict both across states and over time.The results indicate that the relationship between political liberalisation and ethnic conflict is the reverse of what the common assumptions would predict. Liberalisation has had an inverse relationship to ethnic conflict in sub-Saharan Africa between 1988 and 1997. Democratisation does not have the hypothesised effect even when lagged variables are employed. Structural variables as represented by GDP per capita and infant mortality rates are also systematically related to ethnic conflict. The author concludes that policy makers and analysts should continue to pursue both liberalisation and democratisation but should not neglect the central role of an adequate resource base in reducing ethnic conflict in Africa. Political liberalisation and democratic institutions, while providing some measure of relief, are by no means silver bullets for the difficult challenges posed by ethnic conflict in Africa.

scholarly journals Horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) collected in Central African Republic, Gabon and Liberia with comments on their updated distribution

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Ježek ◽  
Jan Votýpka ◽  
Jana Brzoňová ◽  
Jozef Oboňa
Keyword(s):  
Current Distribution ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Malaise Trap ◽  
Western Africa ◽  
The Family ◽  
Afrotropical Region ◽  
Horse Flies ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Horse Fly

Abstract A zoogeographical review summarized the current distribution of 28 morphologically determined horse fly species recently collected in three Western Africa countries. In Malaise trap collections, the family Tabanidae was represented by three subfamilies, Pangoniinae, Chrysopsinae and Tabaninae (tribes Philolichini, Chrysopsini, Tabanini and Haematopotini), and six genera: Philoliche Wiedemann, 1828 (1 species), Chrysops Meigen, 1803 (3 specis), Ancala Enderlein, 1922 (2 species), Euancala Enderlein, 1922 (1 species), Tabanus Linnaeus, 1758 (13 species) and Haematopota Meigen, 1803 (8 species). Information contained in the principal publication The Catalogue of the Diptera of the Afrotropical Region 1980 is complemented by newly published studies on horse flies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Delays to essential surgery at four faith based hospitals in rural Sub‐Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Sund ◽  
Andrew H. Huang ◽  
Edward J. Mascha ◽  
Césarie Miburo ◽  
Solomon Machemedze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Essential Surgery ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals First records of the Chrysis leachii group from sub-Saharan Africa, with description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae)

2021 ◽  
pp. 16-23
Author(s):  
P. Rosa ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Ivory Coast ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
First Time ◽  
A New Species

The Chrysis leachii species group is recorded from sub-Saharan Africa for the first time with two species: Chrysis rasnitsyni sp. n. (from Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, and Senegal) and Chrysis nilensis Linsenmaier, 1959 (Ivory Coast, Sudan). The lectotype of Chrysis leachi var. cyanea du Buysson, 1908 is designated. Illustrations of the two species are presented.

scholarly journals A perfect match? The dampening effect of interethnic marriage on armed conflict in Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 073889422110508
Author(s):  
Leila Demarest ◽  
Roos Haer
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
Perfect Match ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Interethnic Marriage ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Conflict In Africa ◽  
Combine Information ◽  
The Relationship

How does interethnic marriage influence the occurrence of ethnic violence in sub-Saharan Africa? Previous studies on the relationship between intergroup contact and conflict onset have produced mixed findings. Some scholars have argued that this might be due to the way interethnic contact is measured. Building on insights of social psychology, this study examines the influence of interethnic marriage as the ultimate form of positive intergroup contact. In doing so, we combine information of the Demographic and Health Surveys with event data on ethnic conflict. Our analysis shows that areas with higher levels of exogamy significantly experience less ethnic conflict.

scholarly journals Shaping service delivery through faith-based service inclusion: the case of the Salvation Army in Zambia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Davey ◽  
Eldrede Kahiya ◽  
Jayne Krisjanous ◽  
Lucy Sulzberger
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Individual

Purpose While service inclusion principles raise the awareness of scholars to service that improves holistic well-being, little research explicitly investigates the spiritual dimensions of service inclusion. This study, therefore, aims to explore faith-based service inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study of the Salvation Army’s Chikankata Services in Zambia was undertaken. Semi-structured interviews with the organization’s leaders and professionals were analyzed thematically. Findings Service inclusion pillars evince contextualized meaning and priority. In resource-constrained, vulnerable communities, faith-based service inclusion prioritizes two additional pillars – “fostering eudaimonic well-being” and “giving hope,” where existence is precarious, fostering (hedonic) happiness is of low priority. Findings reveal that pillars and processes are mutually reinforcing, harnessed by the individual and collective agency to realize transformative outcomes from service inclusion. Research limitations/implications This paper provides unique insight into faith-based service inclusion but acknowledges limitations and areas warranting further research. Practical implications The study yields important managerial implications. Service providers can use the framework to identify the contextual priority and/or meaning of service inclusion pillars and relevant reciprocal processes. The framework emphasizes the harnessing potential of individual agency and capability development for transformative well-being. Social implications Faith-based service inclusion, predicated on inclusion, human dignity and holistic well-being, has important implications for reducing the burden on scarce resources while building resilience in communities. Originality/value By examining a faith-based service in sub-Saharan Africa, this paper provides a holistic framework conceptualizing pillars, processes, agency and outcomes to extend Fisk et al.’s (2018) service inclusion pillars and to better understand the shaping of service delivery for service inclusion.

scholarly journals The neglected role of Faith-based Organizations in prevention and control of COVID-19 in Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 114 (10) ◽  
pp. 784-786
Author(s):  
Phesheya Ndumiso Vilakati ◽  
Simone Villa ◽  
Riccardo Alagna ◽  
Bongani Khumalo ◽  
Sarah Tshuma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
And Control

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed health system weaknesses of economically wealthy countries with advanced technologies. COVID-19 is now moving fast across Africa where small outbreaks have been reported so far. There is a concern that with the winter transmission will grow rapidly. Despite efforts of African Governments to promptly establish mitigating measures, rural areas, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, risk being neglected. In those settings, faith-based and other non-governmental organizations, if properly equipped and supported, can play a crucial role in slowing the spread of COVID-19. We describe our experience in two rural health facilities in eSwatini and Ethiopia highlighting the struggle towards preparedness and the urgency of international support to help prevent a major public health disaster.

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