A very inspiring discussion took place on SA FM’s Morning
Talk on the 24th of September 2013. In the guest list was a panel of
experts and those included Mr Ntshangase -
a retired lecturer at the University of Kwazulu Natal and Chief Sefogole Makgeru – deputy Chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders. By conception
the discussion was relevant given the fact that South Africa was celebrating
Heritage Day – a day that was formerly known as Shaka Day and since adjusted
into Heritage Day with the dawn of democracy in 1994. The question asked: what
is the difference between Traditional African religion and Christianity? was
pertinent to present day South Africa where we have a diversity of belief
systems manifesting themselves into different religions.
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It is very interesting the topic of religion and given the
sensitivity of the topic, it was to be expected that the discussion would
become heated. But what is the difference between Traditional African religion
and Christianity? According to Christianity, believers are taught to connect to
God through the one and only son of God Jesus Christ.
In contrast, Traditional
African religion puts emphasis on praying to God through the ancestors who due
to their perceived spiritual essence, are acknowledged as a closer link to God.
But it doesnt stop there, on the one hand, Christians have been taught to
believe that the manner in which Traditional African religion connects with God
is inappropriate and thus there is a need to “repent” or “convert” or “be born
again” - a call that appears, at least
from where one stands, more subjective than fair.
It is this sort of persuasive
language that leaves one with more questions than answers given the fact that
on the other hand, there is less evidence to suggest that Traditional African
religion perceives Christianity as inappropriate. In the Christian faith, there
are quite a number of words and concepts used to refer to other religions as
inferior. Words like “demons”,” heathen”
and “pagan” have been recorded in the Bible – which is instrumental in
Christianity.
Although some people have gone on to deny Christianity calls Traditional
African religion names, it became clear that there is a polarity of views
within the Christian cohort. We could sense that when one caller who claimed to
be a Christian smsed “ Traditional African religion is demonic period, for one
to connect to God they need to be cleansed with the blood of the only messiah –
our Lord Jesus Christ” but the laughter that came from Chief Makgeru and Ntate
Ntshangase suggested otherwise. According to Chief Makgeru: “African religion
is not a church, its a way of live. You don’t need an instrument like the Bible
or a Koran to connect to God. It is a home grown faith similar to breathing and
therefore was never necessary to go to
church to pray, its all in the
nature of humans that they know there is a higher being connected to
them via the spiritual world: Modimo ”.
The question posed, as provocative as it is, is quite heavy
given the fact that there is a dominant worldview that suggests one religion is
better than the other. If one was to ask people who follow the Christian
doctrine; it is to be expected that the perspective would be skewed towards
their choice of religion and vice versa. Through the information explosion that
came with the missionary education that was brought to Africa and other parts of
the world during the hey days of colonisation and subsequently, Apartheid; it
has become a normality for the Christian faith to present itself into a
religion “of all” and ultimately; the perception since then has been that for
someone to connect with God; they ought to pray God through Jesus Christ. One
interesting caller on the radio show responded to the question by claiming that
the main purpose of missionary education was not to belittle other religions
but to merely teach what the Bible had purported ought to be exported to other
nations in the world, for enlightenment?
The connection one can trace between the vociferous conquest
of broad based education by western nations into Africa and the belittlement of
the existence of African religion by this sort of subjective Christian
worldview is immense and has caused so much tension, wars, terror and the eventual hatred between human beings;
in particular Africans. In the world today we continue to see a battle of
ideology in religion between religions such as Islam, Judaism and Christianity
just to mention a few. This battle, one could claim, has nothing to do with
natural competition but the desire by one religion to rule over the other. And
this has been so since the earliest centuries.
As we continue into the 22nd and 23rd centuries,
one wonders whether the hatred that has become between people of different
religions will ever cede? There is no religion that is better than the other, that’s a
subjective worldview, retorted Ntate Ntshangase. It became clear from the
discussion that day as Chief Makgeru concluded, that “the differences in
religion will be with us for years to come”.
What we have gathered thus far is
that the only way to a peaceful future of religious justice is for people to be
tolerant towards each other. For most
people in the Traditional African religion, the future means that they will
have to learn to live with the damage that has been done by certain quarters of
the Christian faith. As already divided as we are in the African nation, it
would be crazy for anyone to suggest those who have been converted and
influenced by the Eurocentric way of life would suddenly revert back to
Indigenous Knowledge Systems. By the same token, it is unacceptable that in a
democratic society like South Africa, the perception that Traditional African
religion is inferior continues to manifest amid the many attempts made since
1994 to address the injustices of the past. It is clear that Christianity is
instrumentalist and persuasive in nature while Traditional African religion is
introvert and non-partisan. Let everyone stick with what works for them and
continue to learn from one another as one human family.
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