Living Together with the Ancestors: Ancestor Veneration in Africa as a Challenge for Missiology

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Triebel
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Social Relevance ◽  
Holy Communion ◽  
Ancestor Veneration ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Living Together ◽  
African Traditional Religions

The phrase “living together with the ancestors” summarizes the religious identity of Africans and opens the discussion about how far ancestor veneration may be regarded as the center of African traditional religions. Some stress only the social relevance of these rites, others the religious implications. This article describes the rites of ancestor veneration that were understood by the missionaries as a contradiction to the first commandment. The author looks for ways to integrate ancestor veneration into the Christian faith, finally focusing on Holy Communion where the ancestors may be integrated in the worshiping community and where the gifts that have been expected from the ancestors now are granted by Christ: the fullness of life.

ABOUT THE LEVELS OF RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF BASHKORTOSTAN

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-164
Author(s):  
R.B. Shaykhislamov ◽  
O.A. Bureeva
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
Republic Of Bashkortostan ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Close Relatives

Over the past three decades, both in Russia as a whole and in its regions, the number of believers representing different faiths has increased. Most Russian regions are multi-confessional. Relations of mutual respect and tolerance have evolved over the centuries between the adherents of traditional religions. It should be noted that in the traditional way of life, representatives of confessional groups formed separate settlements. Today the representatives of different confessions live in the same locality urban and rural areas, often are neighbors, and colleagues. Moreover, representatives of confessional groups become distant or close relatives. In other words, there is a reduction in the social distance between representatives of different faiths. Therefore, it is essential to find ways not only of good-neighbourly coexistence, not only tolerance, but also trust and cooperation between different groups of believers at the macro-, meso- and micro levels.

scholarly journals African Theology in the 21st Century: Mapping Out Critical Priorities

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 213
Author(s):  
Humphrey Mwangi Waweru
Keyword(s):  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
African Culture ◽  
African Theology ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Almost All ◽  
African Traditional Religions

There is a dialogue taking place in the area of African Theology; “do we call it African Christian theology or African Theology and how it relates to the African culture”? Depending on where one sits, any name will carry the day as long as it fulfills the academic desire intended. What is important is the dialogue that is taking place between the Bible and the African culture. Here, we shall take the name “African Theology” as the norm. It is evident in almost all ways that from a walk which is based on the mapping of African theology or from the wide variety of current understandings of its nature and task, there are several priorities in African Theology. A number of theologians today argue that the priorities of African theology are many. These include providing a clear and comprehensive dialogue between African culture and the Bible in relation to the African faith. They argue that the Bible has also been translated into local languages in order to enable the African cultures to become intelligible in the way they relate to the scriptures. On the other hand, others have prioritized the definition of African Theology so that they can deal with it from their perspective of African Traditional Religions. Also, others want to prioritize African Theology as a reflection of the praxis of Christian faith within a relatively deprived community. Therefore, this article seeks to briefly provide some priorities in African Theology, such as liberation, reconstruction, and poverty reduction theologies. In this study, we will proceed to explore the need for a definition of African Theology, how it relates to African Christian faith, and the challenges posed by African Theology to the Christian faith. We will conclude with the general guidelines on formulating the priorities of African theology.

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.

scholarly journals Christianisation of ancestor veneration within African traditional religions: An evaluation

2004 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Afeke ◽  
P. Verster
Keyword(s):  
Christian Church ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Ancestor Veneration ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
Gospel Message ◽  
African Traditional Religions

Although Africans have welcomed the Gospel message, some African Christians have not yet abandoned the beliefs and practices of traditional religions. Ancestor veneration has been reinstated by some Africans and others try to christianise the concept. In this article an overview of different aspects of the debate on ancestor veneration is given and evaluated. The conclusion reached by the authors is that sound exegesis does not allow ancestor veneration to be tolerated in the Christian church, but that respect for ancestors should be accepted.

PHILOSOPHICAL PROPAEDEUTICS IN THE SYSTEM OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 11-15
Author(s):  
Gan N.Yu. ◽  
Ponomareva L.I. ◽  
Obukhova K.A.
Keyword(s):  
Modern Science ◽  
Preschool Education ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Social Relevance ◽  
The Social ◽  
Moral Problems ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Training

Today, worldview, spiritual and moral problems that have always been reflected in education and upbringing come to the fore in society. In this situation, there is a demand for philosophical categories. One of the priority goals of education in modern conditions is the formation of a reasonable, reflexive person who is able to analyze their actions and the actions of other people. Modern science is characterized by an understanding of the absolute value and significance of childhood in the development of the individual, which implies the need for its multilateral study. In the conditions of democratization of all spheres of life, the child ceases to be a passive object of education and training, and becomes an active carrier of their own meanings of being and the subject of world creation. One of the realities of childhood is philosophizing, so it is extremely timely to address the identification of its place and role in the world of childhood. Children's philosophizing is extremely poorly studied, although the need for its analysis is becoming more obvious. Children's philosophizing is one of the forms of philosophical reflection, which has its own qualitative specificity, on the one hand, and commonality with all other forms of philosophizing, on the other. The social relevance of the proposed research lies in the fact that children's philosophizing can be considered as an intellectual indicator of a child's socialization, since the process of reflection involves the adoption and development of culture. Modern society, in contrast to the traditional one, is ready to "accept" a philosophizing child, which means that it is necessary to determine the main characteristics and conditions of children's philosophizing.

Shall I trust you? From child human-robot interaction to trusting relationships

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cinzia Di Dio ◽  
Federico Manzi ◽  
Giulia Peretti ◽  
Angelo Cangelosi ◽  
Paul L. Harris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Pattern ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Social Relevance ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Cognitive Correlates ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

Studying trust within human-robot interaction is of great importance given the social relevance of robotic agents in a variety of contexts. We investigated the acquisition, loss and restoration of trust when preschool and school-age children played with either a human or a humanoid robot in-vivo. The relationship between trust and the quality of attachment relationships, Theory of Mind, and executive function skills was also investigated. No differences were found in children’s trust in the play-partner as a function of agency (human or robot). Nevertheless, 3-years-olds showed a trend toward trusting the human more than the robot, while 7-years-olds displayed the reverse behavioral pattern, thus highlighting the developing interplay between affective and cognitive correlates of trust.

Who’s holding up the sky? On Rymba, a novel by A. Bushkovsky

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-158
Author(s):  
A. V. Zhuchkova
Keyword(s):  
Gender Politics ◽  
The State ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Central Question ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Flood Zone ◽  
The Social ◽  
Russian North ◽  
And Gender

The article deals with A. Bushkovsky’s novel Rymba that goes beyond the topics typical of Russian North prose. Rather than limiting himself to admiring nature and Russian character, the author portrays the northern Russian village of Rymba in the larger context of the country’s mentality, history, mythology, and gender politics. In the novel, myth clashes with reality, history with the present day, and an individual with the state. The critic draws a comparison between the novel and the traditions of village prose and Russian North prose. In particular, Bushkovsky’s Rymba is discussed alongside V. Rasputin’s Farewell to Matyora [ Proshchanie s Matyoroy ] and R. Senchin’s The Flood Zone [ Zona zatopleniya ]. The novel’s central question is: what keeps the Russian world afloat? Depicting the Christian faith as such a bulwark, Bushkovsky links atheism with the social and spiritual roles played by contemporary men and women. The critic argues, however, that the reliance on Christianity in the novel verges on an affectation. The book’s main symbol is a drowning hawk: it perishes despite people’s efforts to save it.

Rethinking Public Theology in Ethiopia: Politics, Religion, and Ethnicity in a Declining National Harmony

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-171
Author(s):  
Wondimu Legesse Sonessa
Keyword(s):  
Public Theology ◽  
Military Government ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
Ethnic Tensions ◽  
Religion And Ethnicity ◽  
Almost All ◽  
African Traditional Religions

Abstract Ethiopia is a country of multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. Almost all of its citizens claim affiliation with either Christianity, Islam, or African traditional religions. Adherents of these religions have been coexisting in respect and peace. However, there is a growing tension between the citizens since the downfall of the dictatorial military government of Ethiopia, which was displaced by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in 1991. Politics, religion, and ethnicity are the major causes of the declining national harmony under the current government. My claim is that addressing the declining national harmony caused by the religious, political, and ethnic tensions in Ethiopia requires of the EECMY to rethink its public theology in a way that promotes a national harmony that values peace, equality, justice, democracy, and human flourishing.

scholarly journals Preparing Education Students for an International Future? Connecting Students’ Experience to Institutional Contexts

2021 ◽  
pp. 102831532199849
Author(s):  
Nafsika Alexiadou ◽  
Zoi Kefala ◽  
Linda Rönnberg
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Social Benefit ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Intercultural Understanding ◽  
Social Relevance ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
Internationalization At Home

This article focuses on “internationalization at home” (IaH) for education students in Swedish Universities and its significance for their professional formation and future practice. We draw on research in two large institutions and explore the perceptions and experiences of internationalization of home students in education. We find that while the “intercultural” understanding of students is well developed, the international and intercultural dimensions of experiencing IaH are limited, due to several institutional and learning environment contexts. This has consequences for the social dimensions of future teaching practice. In addition, the perception of the discipline as “national” is significant in shaping the outlook of students toward international questions and their own future personal and professional mobility. We contextualize these findings using documentary analysis and staff interviews, and argue that to achieve intercultural and international learning environments of quality, social relevance, and long-term social benefit, we need to rethink how internationalization perspectives are integrated in teacher education courses.

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