The trajectories of Christianity and African ritual practices: the public silence and the dilemma of mainline or mission churches
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Date
2015
Authors
Ntombana, L.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State
Abstract
In South Africa, there are mainly two Christian traditions on Christianity and African
ritual practices. One being from missionaries and now mainly trailed by most white
Mainline Churches and Pentecostal Churches. The other is by African Independent
Churches (AIC). The first group oppose and condemn Christian involvement on
any rituals related to ancestors. However, the second group perceive no conflict
between Christianity and African rituals. This paper presents a brief discussion on
the beliefs and views of various Christian groups on African rituals, focusing mainly
on black members of the Mainline Churches. In this paper I examine literature from
the 18th century and also revisit my ethnographic work which focuses on this theme
in the democratic South Africa. Findings of this study suggests that black members
of mainline Churches are still caught in between two identities; one being the
Western package of Christianity and the African ritual practices.
Description
Keywords
Mainline churches, African independent churches, African rites and practices, Ancestral veneration, Christian traditions
Citation
Ntombana, L. (2015). The trajectories of Christianity and African ritual practices: the public silence and the dilemma of mainline or mission churches. Acta Theologica, 35(2), 104-119.