VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS IN AFRICA

Three major religions prevail on the African continent today: African Traditional Religion(s) Islam, and Christianity. Rather than looking at these religions as homogeneous, exclusive, and self-contained systems and worldviews, this paper focuses on the heterogeneity and pluralism contained within these religions (Brenner, 2000, 144) and their potential for promoting or inhibiting the development of a democratic culture in Africa. It also looks at the evolution of political and religious institutions and ideational frameworks from the colonial period up to the end of the twentieth century. Religious Heterogeneity, Pluralism, and Democracy Each of the three main religions practiced in Sub-Saharan Africa have certain core beliefs which distinguish them from each other. Although acknowledging a single god as the Creator of the universe. African Traditional Religions assert a strong belief in the existence and intervention of intermediary Gods and spirits in human affairs. Islam affirms the existence of a single God without intermediaries, the Koran as the word of God, and Mohammed as God’s messenger. Christianity declares Jesus Christ to be the incarnation of God and the source of salvation and the Bible as the word of God. Thes