This book covers the history of Christianity in Africa from the first century to the present, highlighting the roles of the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches in preserving Christianity and inspiring African nationalism (in the case of the Ethiopian Church). The author discusses the involvement of Africans and African-Americans in the planting of Christianity in Africa, and presents an in-depth and extensive study of the origin and development of African theology. This is the first book to cover the presence of Christianity in Africa from the first century in a continuous fashion, discussing all the contributions of Africans in the formulation of doctrine as well as covering contemporary issues.

Liberal philosophy came to Africa through colonialism: it was taught in schools, preached and supported by the churches, and maintained and encouraged by an economic system characterized by competition and maximizing profit--capitalism. Thirty years after independence, liberal philosophy continues to erode traditional values in Africa. To redirect Africans to symbols of common life and respect for persons, nationalist leaders have tried other philosophies: negritude, African socialism, and humanism. This book shows the limitations of these philosophies, and the failure of African philosophy and theology to offer a paradigm for social change. The author proposes a new paradigm for transformation, one rooted in traditional thought, found in the concepts of moyo (life) and umunthu (personhood).

Public education can be one of the most powerful tools at the disposal of a government wanting to maintain power, as it is the realm in which children are taught the social values and norms that will sustain the culture when they become adults. In South Africa, education was kept separate, unequal, and decidedly undemocratic, and as Hlatshwayo explains, it was used specifically to preserve and perpetuate inequality. In a work designed for historians and education professionals alike, he examines the tumultuous and highly politicized history of South African education and evaluates the prospects for its hopefully nonracialized future. Hlatshwayo begins with a look at the socioeconomic and political structure (dating back as far as 1658) that allowed for South Africa's use of education as a tool of hegemony and follows this with a critical analysis of the educational system--its goals, objectives, organizational structure, and resistance thereto. Finally, drawing from the educational policy statements of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the African National Congress (ANC), he proposes a democratic educational system for South Africa--something that, as he makes clear in this provocative and challenging work, has been an anathema for centuries to a government that had as its primary goal the subjugation of the majority of its citizens. Using an array of sociological and economic models, Hlatshwayo reveals the ways in which a society's educational system and its struggle toward freedom are inextricable.

This volume investigates the causes of the political, economic, and moral problems of today's Africa and provides a framework for the reconstruction of modern African states. The author focuses on the interaction between religion and politics throughout history and on the role of the Church in postcolonial Africa. In order to develop a basis for African political and religious ethics, he uses an interdisciplinary approach that draws from political theory, history, and social and religious ethics. Among the issues discussed are ethnicity, mismanagement, corruption, and the African concept of power.

This book explores matters that have negatively affected the public image and led to distorted depictions of Islam from the late nineteenth century to the present. The areas of uneasiness and debate among Muslims and non-Muslims alike include Islamic values and identity in the post-caliphate era, after colonialism, and now under Western hegemony. There is anxiety about the place of Shari'a in the light of Western law and the state, secularism, democracy, human rights, the equality of women, and the place of Islamic education in transmitting Islamic values as secular education dominates societies. There are apprehensions over the relation between religion and politics as in the rise of Muslim Brotherhoods, Wahhabism, Islamism, al-Qaeda, and Islamic State. In non-Muslim countries concerns are about the status of Muslim marriage, polygamy, divorce, and interest (in business). Every topic is examined through the Noble Qur'an and the Hadith, classical writings, and linguistic analysis.

The Gospel According to the Marginalized evaluates the development of liberation theology and feminism in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the United States of America. While exploring the common elements within liberation theology as a whole, the book also identifies and discusses the issues that are particularly relevant for each region. Encompassing womanism, mujerista, and the Han of Asian American women, the book briefly examines liberation and feminist literature as well. The experiences, reflections, voices, and works of women struggling for umunthu (dignity and fullness of life) or liberation are gathered in this book.

In Introduction to Religious Studies, Harvey J. Sindima provides an unconventional approach to the study of world religions. Often, books and courses on religious studies focus on the major world religions. This approach, however, frequently ignores other religious experiences, such as those of various African groups as well as the indigenous people of the Americas and Australia. These less widespread religions are commonly described in pejorative terms such as 'primitive religions' or 'non-literate religions.' Focusing solely on well-known religions is an approach that impoverishes religious studies and deprives students of the enormous wealth of religious knowledge of the world. Introduction to Religious Studies pulls together the diverse religious experience of Africans, Native Americans, and the indigenous peoples of Australia in order to provide a comprehensive introduction to the study of religion and broaden the horizons of religious studies students. Under each theme or topic, examples are drawn from religions of salvation as well as African and Native American religious traditions. This book provides students with a deep, wide, and very rich introduction to religious studies.

Malawi's First Republic combines archival materials, government publications, newspapers and personal accounts to illustrate the problems of economic development and party politics in post colonial Africa. Malawi's economic development stands in stark contrast to its political reality. This book reviews the development of a one party system, the hero cult, implements of dissent, foreign and domestic policies, and the end of the First Republic.

This book covers the history of Christianity in Africa from the first century to the present, highlighting the roles of the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches in preserving Christianity and inspiring African nationalism (in the case of the Ethiopian Church). The author discusses the involvement of Africans and African-Americans in the planting of Christianity in Africa, and presents an in-depth and extensive study of the origin and development of African theology. This is the first book to cover the presence of Christianity in Africa from the first century in a continuous fashion, discussing all the contributions of Africans in the formulation of doctrine as well as covering contemporary issues.