{"id":24,"date":"2010-06-11T10:45:37","date_gmt":"2010-06-11T10:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/christianityfortherestofus\/2010\/06\/africas-real-goal-human-rights-and-the-religion-of-the-heart.html"},"modified":"2010-06-11T10:45:37","modified_gmt":"2010-06-11T10:45:37","slug":"africas-real-goal-human-rights-and-the-religion-of-the-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/2010\/06\/africas-real-goal-human-rights-and-the-religion-of-the-heart.html","title":{"rendered":"Africa’s Real Goal: Human Rights and the Religion of the Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

With the World Cup in South Africa, it is appropriate to
\ntake note of African religion–for not only are Africans sports-mad, but they
\nare the most religious people in the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

In 1912, geographer George Kimball quipped, “The darkest
\nthing about Africa has been our ignorance of it.”  <\/span>For most Americans, not much has changed since Kimball’s
\nobservation.  <\/span>Africa remains an
\nenigma–a vast space of a shamed colonial past, unstable governments and
\nviolence, poverty and AIDS.  <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to religion, Africa fares no better.   <\/span>In the 19th<\/sup> century,
\nwestern Christians depicted Africa as a land of paganism, illicit sexuality,
\nand witchcraft.  <\/span>At the outset of
\nthe 21st<\/sup> century, many westerners depict Africa as a continent full
\nof religious zealots (both Christian and Muslim) who are trying to control
\nother people’s sexuality, and who are kill their children because they are
\nwitches.<\/p>\n

A groundbreaking Pew Forum survey<\/a> corrects these
\nstereotypes, revealing complex religious diversity in Africa where new Christian
\nand Muslim majorities mix their faith with traditional tribal spiritual
\npractices.  <\/span>Pew also clarifies an
\nimportant misinterpretation of African religion.  <\/span>Since the publication of Philip Jenkins’ book, The Next Christendom, <\/i>some western church
\nleaders have argued that African Christianity is essentially theologically
\nconservative–thus, they have used the Jenkins thesis to politically manipulate
\nEuropean and North American denominations–mostly to hold progressive churches
\nhostage over issues related to LGBT persons in their midst. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pew’s survey offers a subtle corrective to the Jenkins thesis by
\nsaying:<\/p>\n

Many Christians and Muslims in sub-Saharan
\nAfrica experience their respective faiths in a very intense, immediate,
\npersonal way. For example, three-in-ten or more of the people in many countries
\nsay they have experienced a divine healing, witnessed the devil being driven
\nout of a person or received a direct revelation from God.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n


<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While many American
\nChristians may hear this as “conservative,” Pew points toward something different.  <\/span>The survey shows that African religion
\nis experiential<\/i>–not necessarily
\nconservative.  <\/span>In the west,
\nconservative theology is an intellectual movement, it moves from the head.  <\/span>Conservatives start with how one interprets
\nthe Bible and then applies that interpretation to various issues.  <\/span>In Africa, by way of contrast, the
\ndominant approach is from the heart and how one senses God’s presence in life
\nand the world around you.  <\/span>In other
\nwords, the western rubric of “liberal” and “conservative” have little or
\nnothing to do with African religion–that is, until western missionaries import
\ntheir church fights into Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is exactly
\nwhat is happening.  <\/span>Africa is
\nbecoming Stage Two of the American political\/religious culture wars, a theater
\nfor religious imperialists to accomplish overseas what cannot be accomplished
\nat home–like denying women ordination to ministry and putting LGBT people back
\nin closets.  <\/span>For the last two
\ndecades, right-wing Christians have been tromping all over Africa trying to
\nappropriate native African experiential faith for their western theological
\nagenda–making Africa a wedge issue–and African Christians spiritual pawns–in their
\nseemingly endless quest to grasp theological power.<\/span><\/p>\n

Africans leaders,
\nhowever, keep rising above the imperialist crusade.  <\/span>One such leader is Desmond Tutu, whose powerful vision of a
\nloving God commands authority across the globe.  <\/span>This week, another such church leader spoke voice in
\nWashington, DC.  <\/span>Bishop Christopher
\nSenyonjo, retired Anglican Bishop of West Buganda in Uganda, offered his
\nthoughts on the anti-homosexuality bill now making its way through the Ugandan
\nparliament.<\/span><\/p>\n

About a decade ago,
\nBishop Senyonjo (who is a married straight man) began supporting human rights
\nfor LGBT people in his home country. 
\n<\/span>For his trouble, he was denounced, threatened with death, excommunicated,
\nand deposed from his church.  <\/span>To a
\npacked house at the Center for American Progress, he spoke of one thing:  <\/span>God’s love for all persons.  <\/span>He said that American “missionaries of
\nhate” who go to Africa and stir up anger at homosexuals are “doing more harm
\nthan good, for when things go wrong in Africa, it effects the whole
\nworld.”  <\/span>Bishop Senyonjo also
\nclaimed that the Holy Spirit is behind the movement toward loving all people,
\nand that the truth of God’s inclusive love will–one day–be fully revealed in
\nboth church and society.<\/span><\/p>\n

The audience was
\nmostly young, and Bishop Senyonjo captivated them.  <\/span>After his talk, they thronged to ask him questions.  <\/span>One young woman said to her friend, “It
\nis so refreshing to hear a church leader speak clearly of God’s love.  <\/span>They mostly talk about politics and
\npower.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Therein is the
\ngenius of African religion:  <\/span>It is
\nabout the heart, not the head; it is about experience, not political control; for
\nit is about love–love of others, love of land, love of creation.  <\/span>Love is the experiential center of
\nDesmond Tutu’s theology.  
\n<\/span>Love is the narrative thread of much great African literature, as Isak
\nDinesen explored or as African writer Alan Paton said, “But the one thing that
\nhas power completely is love, because when a man loves, he seeks no power, and
\ntherefore he has power.”<\/span><\/p>\n

One woman asked
\nBishop Senyonjo, “What in African culture might help defeat this anti-gay
\ncrusade?”  <\/span>He replied, “What helps
\nus in Africa is that we are an extended family.  <\/span>We are connected. 
\n<\/span>We strive to embrace as many people as possible as friends and draw them
\ninto our family.  <\/span>That is what we
\nneed to understand about homosexuals. 
\n<\/span>They, too, are our family. 
\n<\/span>And we love our family.”<\/span><\/p>\n

When you watch the soccer matches, know that behind all the hype is the living, beat heart of Africa–the most religious continent in the world, a place where God is challenging all God’s children toward living together as extended family.  Let’s root for them to get to that goal!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the World Cup in South Africa, it is appropriate to take note of African religion–for not only are Africans sports-mad, but they are the most religious people in the world.  In 1912, geographer George Kimball quipped, “The darkest thing about Africa has been our ignorance of it.”  For most Americans, not much has changed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3,2,12,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-history-and-theology","category-islam","category-news","category-religion-and-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nAfrica's Real Goal: Human Rights and the Religion of the Heart - Christianity for the Rest of Us<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/2010\/06\/africas-real-goal-human-rights-and-the-religion-of-the-heart.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Africa's Real Goal: Human Rights and the Religion of the Heart - 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She holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University and is the author of seven books including A People\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s History of Christianity: the Other Side of the Story (HarperOne, 2009) Her best-selling Christianity for the Rest of Us (2006) was named as one of the best religion books of the year by Publishers Weekly and Christian Century, won the Book of the Year Award from the Academy of Parish Clergy, and was featured in a cover story in USA TODAY. Diana regularly consults with religious organizations, leads conferences for religious leaders, and teaches and preaches in a variety of venues. She regularly comments on religion, politics, and culture in the media including USA TODAY, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, CNN, FOX, PBS, and NPR. From 1995-2000, she wrote a weekly column on American religion for the New York Times Syndicate. She has written widely in the religious press, including Sojourners, Christian Century, Clergy Journal, and Congregations. From 2002 to 2006, she was the Project Director of a national Lilly Endowment funded study of mainline Protestant vitality\u00e2\u20ac\u201da project featured in Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. Diana also serves on the board of directors of the Beatitudes Society. Diana has taught at Westmont College, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Macalester College, Rhodes College, and the Virginia Theological Seminary. She has taught church history, American religious history, history of Christian thought, religion and politics, and congregational studies. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in downtown Washington, D.C.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/author\/dbbass"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christianityfortherestofus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}