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Created: April 17, 2003
Latest Update: April 17, 2003
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors, April 2003.
"Fair use" encouraged.

Colonization and Proselytization

The first part of this essay is based on a listserv debate that was going on over the African and Catholic origins of Santeria. The issue is important because in the colonization by the West, colonized countries were often treated as though their religions were mere superstitions. Because of the mobility of the world's population in the 21st century, religions are going to experience continued mingling of ideas, myths, and beliefs, because we bring that cultural baggage with us when we enter a new community.

I don't know who Professor Trumble was, but it really doesn't matter. I just want you to recognize the level of debate, and to link that conceptually to what is happening today with Christianity and Islam.

Discussion Questions

1. Can we be sure of the origins of many religions, or are the origins sometimes lost in history with only faint lines of relationships left?

   Consider:

   "Santeria evolved in the Caribbean as a mélange of Orisha (a West African, specifically Yoruba, – belief system based on devotion to spirits) with traditional Roman Catholicism. It emerged during the time of the trans-Atlantic slave trade when African slaves were brought to the New World, systematically Christianized, and disallowed to practice their ancestral religions, including Orisha devotion.

   "In response, African slaves developed a method for retaining some semblance of their native beliefs by equating each Orisha deity with a corresponding Roman Catholic saint. Interestingly the correlation was easily applied, as exemplified by the alignment of the Orisha spirit of war, "Oggzn", with St. Peter, patron saint of war.

   "The University of Virginia’s web site link on religion notes that "Santeria is a syncretism of a West African religion and European Catholicism" and it explicitly states that the belief system blends the religious practices of the Yoruba peoples of West Africa with Catholicism."

   Letter from a debate on the origins of Santeria

2. How do suppressed religions adapt to the enforced new religion?

   Consider: "In response, African slaves developed a method for retaining some semblance of their native beliefs by equating each Orisha deity with a corresponding Roman Catholic saint. Interestingly the correlation was easily applied, as exemplified by the alignment of the Orisha spirit of war, "Oggzn", with St. Peter, patron saint of war."

   Letter from a debate on the origins of Santeria

   Further reference: Religious Tolerance.org Link to Santeria in the left-most frame.

   * * * * *

   The Church and Politics in Ghana

   The second part of the essay focuses on the difficult role of merging church values and doctrine with the lived experiences of those in countries, such as Ghana, where democracy is not yet fully stable.

   The Role of Christian churches in National Politics: Reflections from Laity and Clergy in Ghana. Author/s: Kwasi Yirenkyi. Issue: Fall, 2000.

3. Why does the church claim to speak for the silent majority in Ghana?

   Consider:

   "In the absence of viable structures of justice in many African countries that are struggling to evolve new democratic systems, the church [1] claims to speak for the silent majority. It also calls on its adherents to participate in the political process to help create just social structures. A review of the literature on religion and politics in Ghana reveals that since the 1980s, the church has taken a more activist role in national politics than at any other time in its history (Aboagye-Mensah 1994; Assimeng 1986; Pobee 1991; Ninsin and Drah 1987, 1991). Much of the church's political activity was initiated collectively under the umbrella of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) and Ghana Bishops' Conference (GBC), with it's related body, the National Catholic Secretariat (NCS). [2]"

   From:

   The Role of Christian churches in National Politics: Reflections from Laity and Clergy in Ghana.

4. What reasons do clergy themselves give for their hesitancy to be politically active?

   Consider:

   1. "scripture is at best ambiguous about Christian participation in politics"
   2. "politics stirs a lot of emotions and the minister has to learn to walk a fine line"
   3. "the laity has conflicting expectations of the minister"
   4. "When the clergy criticize a government, which has support from majority of the masses, the clergy are reminded that their duty is to preach the gospel."
   5. "On the other hand, if they do not get involved, they are told that their indifference reflects a lack of concern for nation-building."
   6. "The Ghanaian clergy are not alone in their reluctance to use the pulpit for political purposes. Jelen's study of evangelical and mainline clergy in Indiana shows that all the clergy interviewed had reservations about making political pronouncements from the pulpit (1994: 29).

   From:

   The Role of Christian churches in National Politics: Reflections from Laity and Clergy in Ghana.