Niger Delta Journal of Gender, Peace & Conflict Studies Vol.1 No.

3 September, 2021

Defining the Focus and Expanding the Frontiers: Emerging Trends in the Study of
African Traditional Religion (ATR)
By

Rowland Olumati, PhD

Department of Religious and Cultural Studies,
Faculty of Humanities,
University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Email: [email protected],
[email protected]
Phone No. +2348033399247

Abstract
African Traditional Religion or African Indigenous Religion was in the past and
still in the present misrepresented and mishandled by foreign investigators,
western missionaries, explorers, travellers, traders and some uninformed African
writers. Some drew erroneous and misleading conclusions based on hear-say
because they did not set their feet on African soil. Some of the investigators, who
really visited African people to undertake a study of their religion and culture,
came with pre-conceived and ethnocentric ideas and as such refused to see the
facts on ground as they ought to be. This paper, therefore, attempts to reconstruct
the African religio-cultural heritage which was hitherto seen to be inferior to other
foreign religions. The work adopted phenomenological approach which
underscores the fact that African Indigenous Religion is a religion that is practiced
in Africa by the Africans and beyond the shores of African continent, (Africans in
diaspora). The work therefore, focuses on defining the focus and expanding the
frontiers: emerging trends in the study of African Traditional Religion (ATR). The
findings of the paper reveal that African Traditional Religion is among the comity
of world religions, it is a religion that uses African cultural heritage to interpret
meaning, and explain reality to the traditional African people and their devotees.
The work also recommends that this African Traditional Religion should be
incorporated in the school curricula from the primary, post primary and tertiary
levels for them to learn from the foundation about this religion and culture because
culture and religion permeates and pervades the whole of human existence. The
work concludes that the Denigrators of this religion should allow this religion to
take its rightful position because it is a religion that is pragmatic and existential to
the Africans.

Keywords: African Traditional Religion, Africa, Cultural Heritage, Norms and Values.

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Introduction
When we speak of African Traditional Religion according to Idowu (1973), we mean the
indigenous religion of the Africans. It is the religion that has been handed down from
generation to generation by the forebears of the present generation of Africans. It is not a
fossil religion (a thing of the past) but a religion that Africans today have made theirs by
living it and practicing it. This is a religion that has no written literature, yet it is “written”
everywhere for those who care to see and read. It is largely written in the people’s myths
and folktales, in their songs and dances, in their liturgies and shrines and in their proverbs
and pithy sayings. It is a religion whose historical founder is neither known nor
worshipped. It is a religion that has no zeal for membership drive, yet it offers persistent
fascination for Africans, young or old. It is a religion that has been transferred from
generation to generation.

Ejizu (1986), argues that by African traditional religion in this paper, we refer specifically
to indigenous religious forms and systems which the different peoples of Sub-Saharan
Africa cultivated as part of their total experience of life within their particular ecological
environment, society and history. The indigenous religious pre-date any other forms and
articulations of the sacred that have been brought into the continent from outside. The
vision of reality as a whole which they engender is very similar indeed. They possess an
essential holistic vision of reality, traditional Africans perceive life as an integral whole
with the sacred flowing into all facets, underpinning and significance. There is no
dichotomy between the visible, and super-sensible world. Spiritual beings and cosmic
forces manifest their presence and power through visible events and experience of life.
African traditional religions are equally oral in nature.

The first and most evident of these unfriendly distortion of African people and their
religion involves the kind of widespread representations of Africa which are based on the
so-called 'common sense' of western countries, that is, those cognitive contents which are
triggered, so to speak, 'automatically', every time a given subject is brought up or a given
question is approached. In the case in point, when speaking of Africa, an image of a
beautiful and exotic country - with its nature and unsullied landscapes - but 'inevitably'
plagued by natural and human catastrophes - floods, famines, wars, coups, etc. - which
Africans would not be able to dominate, is easily evoked. This representation - which has
repeatedly been addressed in African Societies and which will be taken up again in the
next issue - has remote origins and is continually reinforced and, so to speak, updated by
the convergence of the mechanisms specific to the mass media and the lack of
professionalism of many media operators - who are always on the lookout for easy and
convenient stereotypes - as well as by geopolitical strategies at a transnational level, and

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by the everyday conduct of teachers, politicians, researchers, university lecturers,

essayists, religious persons, tourist agencies and even - at times - solidarity NGOs and
many other actors who - often involuntarily - contribute to furthering an image of Africa
as a country perpetually in trouble and unable to cope without external help. The
representation of Africa as a country devoid of its own profound spiritual dimension or of
a religion worthy of its name goes to complete, and in some measure to justify, this picture
made of unfounded generalizations and distorted or omitted information; a picture which
describes a continent whose inhabitants and communities - mostly considered to be rural
- would be entwined in an inextricable tangle of often cruel and bloody ancestral rites,
superstitions, absurd and childish beliefs and atavistic fears which block their personal
capacities, initiative and development possibilities.

Another level at which a real stigmatization of Africa occurs, in particular with regard to
its spiritual tradition, is that of scientific research, specifically with reference to human and
social sciences. The history of research on African peoples - as Basil Davidson, among
others, has demonstrated - is indeed rife with incomprehension, theoretical and
methodological errors, and forced and inert interpretations which have taken on different
forms. One of these is Evolutionism, which defines African traditional religions as being
the most 'primitive' stage of the spiritual evolution of peoples, featuring practices it terms
derogatively as 'animist', 'fetishist', 'pagan', 'totemic', 'idolatrous', etc. This without even
considering the clamorous blunder whereby Africans were considered for centuries to be
polytheists, while in actual fact the spirits or other entities which their religions refer to are
considered to act as intermediaries between a single supreme being - who has various
names - and human beings. In many ways, all this has actually resulted in African religions
simply not being considered to be religions at all. Another one of such interpretative
approaches involves a mono-disciplinary view, in this case the exclusive, and moreover
often purely descriptive, use of ethnology and cultural anthropology. This has resulted in
African religious phenomena often been locked behind a kind of interpretation cage and
viewed as if they existed in a historical void or, at best, as an expression of spirituality
which, although 'authentic', limits itself to wearily surviving in today's world. In addition,
there has always been a widespread tendency to interpret and assess African traditional
religions starting from 'local', or specific, practices, which are then generalized without a
valid reason. This is the case with certain magical rites - which, incidentally, many such
religions are opposed to - and of figures such as the feticheurs. Something no one would
dream of doing with other religions; no one, for example, would define the essence of
Christianity by the excessive devotional practices towards a given saint found in rural
areas or - to mention a recent case - by the holy water jinx which the trainer of the Italian

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football team performed for the whole world to see on television. Nevertheless, this is what
has happened, and continues to happen, with regard to African traditional religions.

There appears to be a very close relationship between the representation of African religion
and that of the continent as a whole. This means that a reductive representation of this
people's spirituality always tends to reverberate on the entire history of African peoples
and, conversely, that a poor interpretation of Africa and Africans is often strengthened and
justified by common stereotypes on African traditional religions. Nevertheless, it should
be noted that this mechanism profoundly affects the African continent's position on the
world scene and produces important consequences in terms of its economy, society,
political scenario and international relations, as well as affecting the self-esteem of Africans
at home and in the countries of the diaspora. A misinterpretation of the value and
potentials of African traditional religions, moreover, prevents a perceiving the spiritual,
cultural and human energies which would be precious in the search of an African
modernity and for the continent's development.

Upon a more in-depth analysis, therefore, it seems that the current interpretative approach
to African Traditional religions- and to all things African in general - is a deeply irrational
one, both as regards stratified common notions and more erudite ones. This means that
this approach is influenced and distorted in uncontrolled fashion by a series of covert
assumptions and judgements, which are rarely critically assessed. This despite the fact that
the 'intentional' nature of many of these assumptions and judgements is easily detectable,
and is linked to - as was pointed out by, among others, the Nigerian researcher Christopher
Ejizu - colonial and later post-colonial policies whose very existence tended to be justified
by 'scientific proof' of the presumed spiritual and cultural inferiority of African peoples
and of their inability to govern themselves.

Therefore, the question needs to be asked as to whether we shouldn't re-establish some

basic, definite and shared interpretation criteria for African traditional religions, in order
to recover, so to speak, their 'moral dignity', at least as has occurred in the past decades for
the religions of Native Americans. The process of reinterpretation of African traditional
religions began, as Ejizu claims, about sixty years ago - although unfortunately too late to
reverse the deep-rooted process of stigmatization we have referred to - when the first
works of a generation of African writers and scholars, such as Danquah, followed by
Boulaga, Ela, Mbiti and others, appeared. This process continues today also thanks to the
by no means secondary contributions of several intellectuals of the diaspora. More
recently, this practice has seen the participation in northern countries of other researchers
- lay and religious - and of the representatives of several Christian confessions. Suffice it to

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consider, for example, the abundance of studies and web sites (see the special section in
this issue) devoted to the enhancement of the spiritual contribution of African Traditional
religions within the context of Christianity, or even - a fact which is symbolically very
important - the official presence of the high priest of Benin, Amadou Gasseto, of the
Avélékété Vodoun community, among the representatives of world religions at the Day of
Prayer for World Peace held in Assisi on January 24th, 2002.

As can be intuited, this process does not simply address a problem of image, but involves
a real cultural and scientific undertaking of wide scope, both in view of the commitment it
requires and in terms of its possible impact. Moreover, it seems appropriate to also ask
what came of - or what could come of - more specifically sociological research carried out
in this field. As regards the contribution of African Societies, we have identified at least
three strategies which could help to better define the composition, characteristics,
complexity and changes in the 'religious field' comprised by African Traditional Religions,
thus helping to restore their dignity - in the sense intended above - as well as promote their
more adequate representation and interpretation.

The first is to place African traditional religions within a comparative context, granting
them equal dignity with respect to the other great world religions. Indeed, it is a well-
known fact that, from the moment researchers took an interest in them, African traditional
religions have usually been classified as "primitive", or in any case as the expression of a
spirituality which had later developed into more evolved forms (see above). In addition,
the Tanzanian theologian, Laurenti Magesa, lists a series of specific objections which have
been raised against those who attempted to claim the equal dignity of African traditional
religions (Magesa, in reality, as we will see, prefers to use the term in the singular) with
respect to other religions. These objections can easily be seen to be unfounded. The first of
these refers to their lack of "scriptures", as these religions are indeed based solely on oral
sources. However, this objection, the author claims, does not take into account the fact that
Judaism was passed on orally for a long time before it was set out in writing and that the
same occurred - albeit for a shorter time - for Christianity and Islam. A second objection
concerns the fact that they are not "revealed" religions. However, if we take a closer look
at the so-called African 'independent' churches - which at times present strong components
of traditional religions - it will be noted that revelation is a continuous and recurring
element with these churches, and manifests - rather than through scriptures - through
dreams, possession, ecstasy, trances, reincarnation, or specific events such as, for example,
calamities. Undoubtedly, Magesa states, the fact that revelations are constantly "present"
in religious life means that this type of religion has a much stronger ethical component
than religions based on doctrine. A third objection is the scarce tendency towards

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proselytism of African religions; however, this is a tendency which is also shared by

Confucianism and Hinduism.

Continuing in these considerations, Magesa highlights an important criterion on the basis

of which, on the contrary, African traditional religions are entitled to feature among the
great world religions. It is the fact that African traditional religions provide their own
specific vision of life which is intimately connected with other areas of human experience
and therefore directs substantially the intelligence, emotions and existence of individuals
within their respective communities. In defiance of the Portuguese explorer who stated
with certainty that "these people have no religion", we find, conversely, a deep religious
feeling rooted in African culture; or rather, in a "black" culture which not only is not an
"insolvent debtor" towards history but, as Cheikh Anta Diop and more recently Martin
Bernado, among others, have shown, has contributed in decisive fashion - particularly
through the black civilization of ancient Egypt - to later developments in mathematics,
philosophy, and the theological thought of the Middle East and of Greece, and as such of
western civilization as a whole.

It should be noted that the question as to whether we should speak of a multitude of

African traditional religions or of a single religion is still being debated. It is hard to
establish a valid criterion in this respect. The Kenyan theologian John Mbiti claims that we
should speak of as many traditional religions as there are African peoples, who have
different religious systems although they share a basic religious philosophy common to
the entire Sub-Saharan area . Other authors, such as the Nigerian expert Bolaji Idowu and
Magesa himself, on the contrary, insist on the thesis of a single religion - which can also be
found in the countries of the diaspora, for example in Central and South America. Such a
religion would have then branched out in several 'variations', exactly as occurred with
Christianity - with its Catholic, Evangelist and Orthodox branches, which are in turn
highly structured -, with Islam - suffice it to think of the difference between Sunnites and
Shiites - and again with Buddhism, Hinduism and the other world religions. It should be
noted that this picture is made more complex by the fact that Christianity and Islam can
by now be considered in fair measure to be part of the African 'tradition' themselves, as
they have now been present and established in the continent for centuries.

In any case, without entering into the philosophical and theological complexities of this
difficult problem, and limiting ourselves to a purely sociological approach, in a previous
issue we attempted to distinguish between three levels of expression of African traditional
religiousness: at one level this religiousness is expressed as a spiritual background shared
by African peoples; at another it is formalized as a real 'positive religion' - or religions; and,

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finally, there is a level at which it creates new forms of religious syncretism, by blending
with elements from Christianity or Islam. In this respect it seems important to stress the
difference - as proposed by the Swiss theologian Karl Barth - which exists between the
dimension of faith - exclusively concerned with God and His relationship with man - and
that of religion, which concerns the organization of the forces which govern the life of a
society according to a perspective of ultimate finality and the so-called transcendence of
man's physical being. In this sense, religion tends to overlap with culture, or better, with
the various cultures in which a same faith can be expressed, while remaining true to itself.
If this is true, a faith, for example the Christian faith, will be compatible with "local" rites
which may even be at great variance with each other, on condition that it does not fail its
essential core of faith.

Thomas Blakely, Walter van Beek and Dennis Thomson's consideration on the epistemic
level of an analysis of African traditional religiousness is also very interesting. These
authors propose to carry out such an analysis by examining the "religious action" of
Africans, rather than what might be called the ahistorical institutional elements of these
religions or the relationships between these elements. By adopting this approach it seems
possible - and this will be explained in more detail further on - to restore the historical
dimension of a phenomenon which, conversely, has often been assigned a kind of museum
exhibit status. This historical dimension should also undoubtedly include the actors of
African traditional religions - priests, prophets, worshippers, managers of religious
organizations, etc. - who should be made the object of a more careful and in-depth study,
particularly in the view which we will shortly propose, of analysing the dynamism of such
religions and their relationship with modernity.

A second strategy which might contribute to restoring the dignity of African traditional
religions and to their more adequate representation and interpretation could be to
highlight - as some authors have done - in an "empirical" and phenomenological rather
than prescriptive perspective, the dynamic, variable and flexible character of African
cultures and the diaspora, of which religion is a fundamental element. This character
appears evident if we consider both the key elements of the cultures and religious
expressions of African people and the social, cultural and political processes of change
which are intimately connected with such cultures and expressions. One particular
example of this, as cited by Davidson, can be seen to be emblematic in this respect; the
religious systems of Sub-Saharan Africa, this English author claims, are characterized by a
"dual" symbolism, such as, for example, that of Heaven and Earth, that the Bamanam - or,
in slang, "Bambara" - sages of Mali call respectively Pemba - who represents the strength
or essence of things - and Faro - who models the world, as he also rules water and speech.

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Therefore, this interactive dialectic pair in a sense corresponds to the concepts of Being and
Becoming. It follows that the well-being of these people - according to Davidson - requires
that both the order created by ancestors and the dynamic power to change be respected.
In this respect, it is worth pointing out that, among other things, from the sociological point
of view African religions are undoubtedly anthropocentric in character and, consequently
- as Blakely, van Beek and Thomson state - instrumental, hence their capacity to solve often
complex social problems. An interesting case is for example that cited again by Davidson,
of the "compromise" struck between the Oduduwa and Orishanla spirits, symbolizing the
integration of the Yoruba tradition of Nigeria and that of the original inhabitants of the
land later occupied by the Yoruba. This religious integration, which involved a reciprocal
spiritual reconciliation and acknowledgement, gave legitimacy and justified a situation of
cohabitation between two very different human communities which would have
otherwise been impossible.

The phenomenon of the so-called "independent African churches" and other local religious
movements formed since the second half of the 19th century is highly significant in this
context. These movements were born in response to a need for cultural, spiritual and
political autonomy from European populations, if not of actual liberation from colonial
dominion. Possibly the best known of these movements is Kimbanguism, founded in 1921
in the ex Belgian Congo by Simon Kimbangu, a member of the Baptist Mission Church.
This movement presents strongly millenialist and apocalyptic elements and has played a
fundamental role in the decolonization process. Having formed as the "Church of Jesus
Christ on Earth by the Prophet Simon Kimbangu", since 1969 it has been part of the World
Council of Churches. It should be noted that many of the ecstatic and healing practices
which were typical of the movement in its beginnings were eliminated with time and
substituted by rules and rites in response to the new and emerging needs of the Congolese
society. Other important cases, cited for example by Davidson, include, among others: the
Tembu Church founded in South Africa in 1884 by reverend Nehemia Tile; the Ethiopist
Church of James Mata Dwane, founded again in South Africa in 1892; the Mumbo cult -
founded by the Luo of Kenya in 1913 and which exercised an anti-colonialist function; the
community of the Israelites of the South African pastor Enoch Mgijima - born and
immediately suppressed in South Africa in the 1920s; the Watchman's Society - led by
Kenan Kamwana - which operated during the early decades of the past century in Malawi,
and others. The formation of African independent churches and new religious movements
is, in a sense, a continuously evolving phenomenon, which to date is little studied,
misinterpreted and certainly underestimated.

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Yet such experiences clearly highlight - as Blakely, van Beek and Thomson state, the
pluralistic, non-dogmatic and action-oriented character of such religions, as well as their
capacity for combining a certain 'ideological ambiguity' with a "bricolage" of old elements
within new models.

Aside - but not too far - from these considerations, it is worth mentioning the observation
of the social anthropologist Wyatt MacGaffey, according to whom too often a negative
connotation is assigned to terms such as "syncretism" and "bricolage", when these are used
with reference to independent African churches. Again, this is yet another form of
stigmatization of African issues; when we speak of syncretism and bricolage with reference
to elements of western societies, we tend - not without a certain amount of satisfaction - to
refer to a kind of creative post-modernity. Conversely, when such definitions are applied
to African religions, it is almost always in order to evoke a kind of "confusion" in
spirituality, of symbolism and of rituals, which is seen to be disorderly, deviant,
ambiguous, obscure and disquieting. Nevertheless it is precisely this "combining" capacity,
as authors such as Davidson point out, which has enabled African peoples to construct a
spiritual dimension which is deeply in tune with their needs and able to respond to the
challenges of a "borderline" country where life has always been more difficult than
elsewhere. The "religious action" of these peoples can therefore be considered to be the
dynamic and innovative expression of a capacity for adaptation, survival and growth
which, given their starting conditions, possibly knows no equals in the history of the
human species.

A third strategy to "restore" not just the moral, but also the interpretative dignity of African
Traditional religions- or in any case to the African expression of other religions, such as
the Christian or Muslim religions which, as mentioned above, have now also become part
of the "tradition" - could be to further extricate them from the established stereotypes
which cloud their image. Such an analysis should focus on the profound link which
connects African religions to the dynamics of modernity, or better, to what could be
defined as an "African modernity".

In this regard, an entire phenomenology exists - mostly found in urban environments, in

defiance of the usual exclusively "rural" representation of African social reality - which
deserves greater attention on the part of researchers, decision-makers, and the managers
of international and development co-operation organisations. A few more or less recent
brief examples can be provided in this regard:

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- the connection - already mentioned between the syncretist and millenialist

movements of the past 150 years and the diffusion of the ideal of liberation (not only
in a political sense) - with important repercussions in terms of the creation of
national leaderships and on the decolonization process;
- the connection between the charismatic movement of Jamaa in Congo - and later in
ex Zaire - between the 1950s and the 1980s and the growth of small and medium
sized enterprise;
- the newly-found popularity of African traditional religions with the continent's
middle classes, as is recorded, for example, in Gabon;
- the growth in interest in African traditional religions among the intellectuals of the
diaspora, who see them as a useful element for the 'construction' rather than just
'conservation' of African identities in contemporary societies;
- the birth of political and cultural organizations founded on the rediscovery and re-
elaboration of traditional religious phenomena in a modern framework - as
occurred, for example, for 'Bossonisme', championed during the 1980s in Ivory Coast
by the writer Jean-Marie Adiaffi, who died recently;
- the current, dynamic policies of legitimization of African traditional religions and,
conversely, the legitimization of policies on the part of exponents of the traditional
religions, as has occurred recently in Benin, where reciprocal forms of
acknowledgement have been exchanged between political powers and the religious
leaders of what has by now become the Vodoun "church";
- the birth of African NGOs - often linked to international networks - which promote
local development programmes inspired by African Traditional Religions; one
example being the organization "Echoes of the Ancestors, Inc.", founded in Burkina
Faso;
- the involvement of African religious leaders in United Nations forums and summits,
as occurred for example on the occasion of the Millennium World Peace Summit for
Religious and Spiritual Leaders, held at the United Nations in New York in August
2000.

Even from these few examples, it is basically possible to surmise the current flavour and
vitality now being experienced by the traditional religious expressions of Sub-Saharan
Africa. These expressions appear to be all the more directed towards the future, rather than
towards the past of the continent, the more they are intimately linked with the
representations, emotions, experiences and capacities of the more qualified and
responsible African actors.

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Obviously the above are simply a series of points to reflect upon, which however might
also become working hypotheses for a wider and more systematic research which this
paper will strive to promote. This it hopes to do with the support of all of those who have
the destiny of the African continent at heart and want Africa to continue to give its
contribution to human history.

Concluding Remarks
To conclude this paper, it is important to draw some thought-lines from Ejizu (2010) on
the imperativeness of African Traditional Religion. According to Ejizu (2010), argues that
neither the artists nor the most far-sighted of the spectators of that scene could have
imagined the nature and magnitude of the social, cultural and religious revolution that
was soon to follow that eventful appearance. Their horizon was still limited to the
uninvaded traditional background in which the arrival of some new deity was generally
welcome. And the price for any new lease of spiritual energy and benefits which might
accrue from the acceptance, and enshrining of its cult, did not usually go beyond the
introduction of a few more taboos and ritual prohibitions. The basic cosmology which gave
meaning to the various facets of life, as well as the fundamental structure and pattern of
society were normally not affected. The line between politics and economics, social life and
religion still wore very thin, just as role differentiation was minimal. Social sanction
hedged all important aspects of life, and the gods took full charge of all vital life-interests,
social integration and control rested firmly on the basic ancestral view and ordering of
reality. And in spite of some mal-functional aspects of the system, a considerable measure
of stability continued to prevail in traditional African society. New structures and symbols
have been introduced and a new order of values reigns. Social transformation is more or
less a fait-accompli with massive destabilization, and complex adaptational problems as
well as their attendant feeling of tension and frustration.

Religion is still very much an integral part of the new social order it helped to create. And
even though its features are also changed and its role slightly different, the indigenous
African society still place much hope on religion’s ability to assist them in achieving
personal balance and social reconstruction. He further argues that this African traditional
religion is down but not out.

African traditional religion is this worldly religion. It is a result-oriented religion. It is

pragmatic, practical religion. It is a religion that promotes corporate existence, African
community as unity of two worlds, promotion of community-living among Africans.
African traditionalist belief in this religion for protection, respect for truth telling as a noble

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principle of life, emphasis on achievement motivation and the spirit of industry and
respect for age and seniority.

Anthropomorphism and existentialism are the core elements of African traditional religion
and the above tendency in turn applies that man’s life on earth takes centre stage. Life in
African religion and culture is aimed at obtaining divine favours, and in real terms, the
divine becomes means to ends-ends set by the worshipers themselves. The multiplicity of
deities bespeaks of the divergence of human needs, each of which is brought to the
doorsteps of different deities to satisfy. That is to say, the myriad of deities in each African
culture interpret, predict and explain space, time and events. Each deity is in-charge of
each department of life or portfolio in life in order to meet the needs of African in the
contemporary African society.

Again, it could be reemphasized that the imperativeness of this religion finds expression
in Pentecostal churches today where a lot of African metaphors, idioms and African
medicine, charms and amulets are borrowed in form of syncretism in the Pentecostal
churches by the so-called general-overseers. This fundamental issue is the reason for the
high patronage of Pentecostal churches in African shrines where they consult them on
daily basis to meet their existential challenges in life and explain reality.

Hence, Gifford (2004:84), observes that “for the common man, African traditional religion
is very largely the means of reinforcing life. Consulting at shrines serves normally to
discover why individual persons or communities are suffering particular afflictions; the
causes usually are dividend in specific terms, and almost always are connected to the
supernatural.

Consequently, the theory of collective effervescence (Emile Durkheim) can be a potential

for the mobilization of social capital in Africa, because
(i) Emile Durkheim believed that religion played an important role in societies,
because it binds people together through its beliefs and rituals.
(ii) Durkheim argues that religion with its rituals and beliefs achieves these functions
because it provides societies some agreed upon values or norms, such as solidarity
and cohesion (or “collective effervescence”).
(iii) One of the ways this religion achieves social order and solidarity is by ritualizing
experience of collective effervescence. For example, when people gather for the
performance of a religious ritual, like the festivals associated with funeral, new
yam festivals etc., in this case, the mood in this rites is heightened effervescence as
generated through contact with other likeminded individuals, who are gathered

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together for the same purpose. Those participating feel bond of community and
unite and at the end the members feel morally strong. It is this human interaction
that can be exploited by religious groups to generate wealth, development and
other things of common goods or welfare of the society as well as co-operate
existence.

Another emerging trend this paper wishes to consider is the issue of seeing African
Traditional Religion as a fossil religion which was misconstrued to mean “traditional”. For
the fact that African Traditional Religion is a traditional and ethnic religion in
heterogeneous culture in Africa, does not make it a thing of the past, something that has
refused to change. African Traditional Religion is a dynamic and not a static religion, it
changes as African societies and culture change in order to meet with the changing trends.
Therefore, it will be wrong as misconstrued by Nollywood, Hollywood and Bollywood
industry players as demonstrated in their dramas that African Traditional Religion is not
a dynamic culture, rather it changes to meet up with the contemporary era.

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