Encyclopedia of African Religion

The Encyclopedia of African Religion is the first
comprehensive work to assemble ideas, concepts,
discourses, and extensive essays on African reli-
gion. Over the years, there have been numerous
encyclopedias on religion from other parts of the
world, but African religion has often been rele-

gated to “primitive religions,” “African mytholo-
gies,” or “tribal religions” sections of such works
on religion. It is as if African religion is an after-
thought in the eyes of the authors and editors of
such volumes. Of course, these designations are
clearly based on outmoded and problemat ic
Western notions of Africa, and we have created
this encyclopedia as a monument to the memory
of those Africans who left us enough information
from which to rediscover for the world the origi-
nal beauty and majesty of African culture.
There were two objectives in advancing this
work to the public. First, we wanted to provide
the primary materi al necessary for furthe r
research, analysis, and exposition of the concrete
beliefs of African people. Second, we sought to
elevate the discourse around African religion, sug-
gesting by the presentation of nearly 500 entries
that there was still much we did not know about
African culture. Africa is the second largest conti-
nent in the world. Yet its intellectual and cultural
contributions remain among the least understood
if we take the written records about the continent
and its people as sources of knowledge about the
continent. There are still those whose knowledge
of Africa is grounded in the perceptions and atti-
tudes of missionaries, merchants, and marines
who have occupied the continent through foreign
religions, trade, or guns. The enormity of African
contribution to ideas of religion, spirituality, and
ethics has gone unappreciated by religious schol-
ars, although at the beginning of human history,
Africa makes its case for the origin of religion in
an official, formal manner

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