Focusing on the three leading religious traditions in Africa (African Traditional Religion, Islam, and Christianity), this book shows how belief in the supremacy of sacred words compels actions and influences practices in contemporary Africa.
Sacred words" are taken to mean holy texts as in divination, the Bible and the Quran. Toyin Falola evaluates how religious leaders engage with sacred words, both orals and texts, engendering practices that reveal the expression of religious beliefs, the impact of those beliefs, and the knowledge contained in them. Attention is given to the key ideas in the words chosen by religious leaders, and how they form a continuous knowledge system, impacting the politics of managing society and people.
Focusing on the three leading religious traditions in Africa (African Traditional Religion, Islam, and Christianity), this book shows how belief in the supremacy of sacred words compels actions and influences practices in contemporary Africa.
Sacred words" are taken to mean holy texts as in divination, the Bible and the Quran. Toyin Falola evaluates how religious leaders engage with sacred words, both orals and texts, engendering practices that reveal the expression of religious beliefs, the impact of those beliefs, and the knowledge contained in them. Attention is given to the key ideas in the words chosen by religious leaders, and how they form a continuous knowledge system, impacting the politics of managing society and people.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Notes on Sources
Introduction: Sacred Words and Realms
PART I. Indigenous Systems
1. Diviners and Indigenous Knowledge
2. Shamanism as a Knowledge System
3. Magic and Witchcraft
PART II. Islam
4. Sufism as a Knowledge System
5. Political and Intellectual Thoughts of Usman Dan Fodio
6. Shaykh Ahmadu Bamba and the Muridiyya Sufi Order
PART III. Christianity
7. Missionaries and Knowledge Production
8. Pentecostalism: Philosophies and Prractices
9. African Spiritual Churches
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
The book focuses on how sacred words shape religious beliefs, practices, actions, and knowledge in Africa
Toyin Falola is a University Distinguished Teaching Professor of History and the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. He has served as the General Secretary of the Historical Society of Nigeria, the President of the African Studies Association, Vice-President of UNESCO Slave Route Project, and the Kluge Chair of the Countries and Cultures of the South, Library of Congress. He is a member of the Scholars’ Council, Kluge Center, and the Library of Congress. He has received over 30 lifetime career awards and 14 honorary doctorates.
This book is an excellent resource on how religious practices and
beliefs engender knowledge systems in Africa. Toyin Falola makes
the crucial point that we cannot adequately comprehend contemporary
African politics and socio-economic events if we do not understand
the continent’s history of religion and religious production of
knowledge. The book’s magisterial sweep and comprehensive coverage
of the religions and religion-based knowledge systems in Africa are
remarkable. The author delivers his findings, analyses, and
historical details in very accessible prose.
*Nimi Wariboko, Walter G. Muelder Professor of Social Ethics,
Boston University, USA*
Toyin Falola’s success in delineating the intersections between
‘sacred’ text and ‘profane’ politics once more confirms his
attested commitment to African epistemic liberation. This will
engender a new engagement among scholars in regard to secular
knowledge as derived from African and Africanized religions. We
shall long be in his debt.
*Amidu Sanni, Vice Chancellor, Fountain University, Nigeria*
African Spirituality, Politics and Knowledge Systems is thoroughly
researched, logical in argument progression, and deeply engaging in
its clear narrative. This is a book of lasting value and relevance
to those interested in religions in Africa.
*Ibigbolade S. Aderibigbe, Professor of Religion and Associate
Director African Studies Institute, University of Georgia, USA*
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