African Theology

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African Theology (with a capital T) refers to a particular school of African theologians who have attempted to reconcile Christian theology with African Traditional Religion. Although there are very old Christian traditions on the continent, in the last centuries Christianity in Africa has been determined to a large extent by western forms of Christianity, brought by colonization and mission. This also means that the theology in Africa was strongly influenced by Western theology.

This changed in the 20th century when African Theology came into being. This movement began to protest against negative colonial and missionary interpretations of the religion and culture in Africa. African theology is engaged to shape Christianity in an African way by adapting and using traditional concepts and ideas. Representatives are scholars such as Idowu and Mbiti, who gave an analysis and interpretation of the African traditional religion and point to its relation to the Christian faith. Others like Bediako and Pobee have developed an African Christology in terms of the ancestors.

There has been some debate among theologians about the relation of African Theology to Black Theology. During the 1970s Black Theology developed in South Africa, where the main concern was liberation from apartheid, while African Theology developed in other parts of the continent.

Exponents of African Theology include John Mbiti, Bolaji Idowu, Kwesi Dickson, John Pobee, Kwame Bediako and Gabriel Setiloane.

There is also a movement of African women theologians, organised in The Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, inaugurated in 1989 by Mercy Amba Oduyoye (Ghana). Nowadays this is a movement of hundreds of women theologians from several African countries and with different religious backgrounds. General coordinator of the Circle have been Oduyoye, Musimbi Kanyoro and Isabel Phiri. Currently Fulata Moyo (from Malawi) is general coordinator.