There’s an Ongoing Standoff between Christianity and African Traditional Religions

A recent burial of a family member in Onitsha gave me perspective of the age old standoff between Christianity on one side of the boxing ring and various African traditional religions on the other. The priest that officiated the first half of the burial took serious jabs at the traditional practices which he termed evil and an express ticket to hell.

For the second half of the burial overseen by adherents of the Onitsha omenala, there was less talking and more rituals; but just like the earlier contenders, the rituals were performed as though they were in a competition to capture the soul of the dead into their own pantheon. For context, a little detour to history is needed to fully grasp the origin of this reality and possible resolutions that may be offered.

As perfectly mirrored in the renowned “Things Fall Apart”, most African societies had belief systems in place that governed daily life — in a way, their religions. However, as the story hits a crescendo, European powers motivated by imperialism introduced new systems that bifurcated life as you knew it in these traditional African societies. The religious scene was not left out: Christianity was a leftover of this incursion.

Ever since, there have been intense debates as to the motive of the European powers in the introduction of their belief systems in Africa — was Christianity introduced as a tool to tame and exploit the African society? Or simply out of the goodness of the imperialists? Like wild flames, the debate rages on till date but one indisputable fact remains that Christianity has changed the African society and it is here to stay.

However, in this newly created scene the problem lies in the friction that characterises the relationship between Christianity and the various traditional beliefs. Painted by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in “Purple Hibiscus”, this friction stems from religious intolerance that goes both ways. The adherents of the Christian faith look down on the traditional practices as vile and incapable of amounting to any good. Many Christians perceive these traditions as idolatry and one of the highest forms of sin entitling the practitioners damnation.

Equally guilty are the disciples of African traditions who scornfully view Christians as a brainwashed bunch betraying the core of what makes them “African” by submitting to what they commonly refer to as “the white man’s religion”. This animosity from both sides has created a messy reality marred by hate and intolerance.

Being as objective as possible, I will attempt to call out the hypocrisy on both sides by addressing them with undisputed facts. First, so many Christians blindly hate and discriminate against the adherents of these traditional practices without knowing the position of the bible which is at the heart of the religion.

Severally, Jesus preached love and made it clear through his actions that love was the greatest commandment. This was recorded by the gospels of Matthew 22:35–40, Mark 12:28–31 and Luke 10:25–28 who all reiterated that a person must love God first then love their neighbour as themselves. More instructive on religious tolerance is Mathew 5:43–48 which reads:

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Addressing the misconceptions of traditional practitioners, it isn’t just wrong but ignorant to refer to Christianity as a white religion — even if it were to be, since when does the origin of a religion invalidate its practice? A more reasonable standpoint between both religious practices will be mutual respect and tolerance of individual belief systems — in simple words, keep your beliefs to yourself.