Religious thought and political practice in Africa - ASC Research Seminar

Stephen Ellis is a senior researcher at the African Studies Centre. In 2003-2004 he took a year’s leave of absence to work as director of the Africa programme at the International Crisis Group. Gerrie ter Haar is Professor of Religion, Human Rights and Social Change at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. She is a specialist in the religions of Africa and the diaspora. Ellis and Ter Haar are the authors of Worlds of Power (C. Hurst and Oxford University Press, London and New York, 2004).

This paper, drawn from the opening chapter of Worlds of Power, argues for the importance of understanding what religion actually is. A failure to do this disables the analyst from grasping the great significance of religion for politics at all levels of society in Africa today, simply because it cannot otherwise account for the actions of people who believe in the reality of an invisible world. It is essential to arrive at a provisional definition of religion, in the speakers’ view, if current developments in Africa are to be situated within a global context and not regarded as sui generis. A suitable definition of religion can encompass practices of great importance in politics that are often not considered as religion at all, or which are often labelled by such terms as ‘magic’ and ‘superstition’. It can also encompass practices that are used for purposes that may be considered morally positive or negative, according to context.