African theology

African theology is Christian theology or black theology from the perspective of the African cultural context. 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, until the mid-20th century.

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.

In the mid-20th century, African theology as a theological field came into being. This movement began to protest against negative colonial and missionary interpretations of the religion and culture in Africa. Realizing that theology is a contextual phenomenon, African Christians began to read the bible using their own cultural lens, which of course resulted in some interpretations that did not always agree with how Western theology interpreted things. As such, African theology stands on the shoulders of the early African independent churches that broke away from missionary churches in the late 19th century or early 20th century. African theology is engaged to shape Christianity in an African way by adapting and using African concepts and ideas.

African theologians such as Bolaji Idowu, John Mbiti, and Kwesi Dickson have given an analysis and interpretation of the African traditional religion and point to its relation to the Christian faith. Lamin Sanneh and Kwame Bediako have argued for the importance of vernacularization of the bible and theology. Kwame Bediako and John Pobee have developed an African Christology in terms of the ancestors.

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