Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123 www.brill.

nl/exch

Coming of Age in African Theology:

The Quest for Authentic Theology in African Soil

T. Derrick Mashaua and Martha T. Frederiksb

a) Professor of Missiology at the Faculty of Theology of the North-West University
(Potchefstroom Campus), South Africa
b) Professor of Missiology at the Department of Theology of the Utrecht University,
The Netherlands

Abstract
This article explores the concept of African theology from a historical and methodological point
of view. It shows that there is not one type of theology that can be called African theology but
that there is a cluster of diverse theologies which share a number of common characteristics:
African theology is theology done in Africa, arising out of the identity of African people, using
African concepts of thought and speaking to the African context. The authors signal that there is
relatively little interaction between the various theologies developed on the continent and that
much theology is a reaction to Western Christianity and Western colonialism. The article ends
by concluding that the quest for African theologies is in full progress, as the contexts in the midst
of which African theologies are developed continue to change. Yet, despite the many challenges
African theologians face, their theologies speak of hope and life. This vitality of African theolo-
gies, according to the authors, is the contribution of African theologies to the discourse of world
Christianity.

Keywords
African theology, Black Theology, African Womens Theology, liberation theology, contextualiza-
tion, inculturation

Introduction
The centre of gravity of Christianity has shifted to the South.1 Christianity in
Latin America, Asia and Africa is growing at a phenomenal rate, whereas in

1
The authors are professional colleagues, friends and people with a profound interest in Afri-
can theologies. Though in many respects also dierent (male/female, South African/Dutch) we
thought it a good academic and intercultural exercise to write this article together. We have done
so with much joy and can recommend it to others.
Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2008 DOI: 10.1163/157254308X278549
110 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123

Europe the number of Christians is declining. According to John Parratt the

demographic shift of Christianity to the South marks the return of Christian-
ity to its original heartlands.2 This is certainly true for Africa if we take record-
ings of African Christians in the New Testament (e.g. the Ethiopian [Mero]
eunuch), the early foundation of the church in Egypt (presumably by Mark)
and strings of African church fathers like Augustine and Tertulian into consid-
eration. In actual fact, Christianity thrived in Northern Africa during Christi-
anitys rst centuries, spreading as far south as Nubia and Axum (present-day
Ethiopia). The North African churches only diminished after the coming of
Islam, possibly because of internal divisions.3 But even then, there were noted
exceptions such as the Coptic Church of Egypt and the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church. Generally speaking however, a new phase in (sub-Saharan) African
Christianity began around the 15th century when Portuguese and other
explorers began to investigate Africa, rounding the Cape of Good Hope on
their way to India and the fabulous East. Merchants, followed by missionaries,
were the disseminators of Christianity in this new age.4 From this time on
Christianity grew into one of Africas major religions.
With Christianity thriving in African soil, the question of African theology
surfaced. This is hardly a new endeavour: as early as the 2nd century Clemens
of Alexandria founded one of the rst theological institutions ever. For sub-
Sahara African however, the quest for an authentic African theology is much
more recent; usually scholars point to the 20th century as the time when ques-
tions of African identity and African theology were put high on the agenda.
There has however been an ongoing debate about what African theology is
and what it can contribute to the global church. Central to that is the question
of authenticity of African Christianity as shaped and inuenced by theological
reections within African theology. This article seeks to provide the reader
with an introduction to African theology, discussing the denition issue, its
development, the matter of methodology and an indication of some recent
trends within African theology. For clarity purposes: in this article we under-

2
J. Parratt, An Introduction to Third World Theologies, New York: Cambridge University Press
2005, 2. This only seems true for parts of the heartlands of Christianity as there is hardly any
growth in what is now known as the Middle East.
3
For a discussion of North African Christianity see L. Sanneh, West African Christianity: The
Religious Impact, London: Hurst and Company 1983, 1-13; Nubia, which fell apart into the
kingdoms of Nobatae, Makurra and Alodia/Alwa, resisted islamization until the 15th century.
4
P. Hebblethwaite, Developing a Theology Tied to African Cultures, National Catholic
Reporter, 30/25 (1994); M.T. Frederiks, We have toiled all night: Christianity in The Gambia
1456-2000, Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum 2003, 159-182.
 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123 111

stand the term African theology to apply as is commonly done to the

theological endeavours in sub-Saharan Africa.
The task to describe and assess African theology and its quest for authentic-
ity is a dicult and complex one. The intricacy of this task is summed up in
the words of Tinyiko Maluleke who noted that it is impossible for one single
theologian to be completely up to date with all the developments in all African
Theology. Africa is a vast and diverse continent . . .5

Worldwide Context
The task to understand and reect theologically on the whole concept of Afri-
can theology should be done within the context of the development of the so-
called Third World Theologies. As to when exactly the phenomenon of Third
World Theologies started, opinions dier. Some scholars point to the Asia of
the late 18th and 19th century as the beginning of contextual theology; the
names of Rammohan Roy (1772-1833), Nehemia Goreh (1825-1895) and
A.J. Appasamy (1891-1975)6 then spring to mind. Others feel the irruption of
the Theology of Liberation in Latin America gave rise to what came to be
known as Third World Theologies in the history of Christianity.7 Certain is that
from 1976 onwards there was a common understanding that there was some-
thing like Third World Theologies. In that year, the Ecumenical Association of
Third World Theologians (EATWOT) was established in Dar es Salaam. EAT-
WOT has since developed into the most important platform for theologians of
the South to discuss amongst each other the peculiarities of doing theology in
the South.
Third World Theologies comprise of the theological reections by people in
Latin America, Africa and Asia. These theologies took dierent forms and direc-
tions from one region to another, depending on the contexts in which they
emerged. Through the exchange at EATWOT however, gradually the dierent

5
T.S. Maluleke, Black and African Theology after Apartheid and after the Cold War An
Emerging Paradigm, Exchange, 29/3 (2000), 196. Isabel Phiri expresses the same sentiment in I.
Phiri, Southern Africa in Parratt, 137.
6
V. Fabella and R.S. Sugirtharajah, Dictionary of Third World Theologies, Maryknoll NY:
Orbis Books 2000, 47. Though Rammohan Roy is a Hindu, he was among the rst to explicitly
word the meaning of Jesus Christ in Asian terms. For details see: J.P. Schouten, Jezus als Goeroe:
het beeld van Jezus Christus onder hindoes en christenen in India, Budel: Damon 2007, 11-37
(Rammohan Roy) and 37-54 (Nehemiah Goreh).
7
Parratt, 11. See also A. Camps et. al., Oecumenische inleiding in de missiologie, Kampen: Kok
1988, 274.
112 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123

theologies inuenced each other. Generally speaking the initial emphasis in

Latin America was on liberation in the socio-political and economic sphere, in
Africa on the integrity of indigenous cultures and religions, whilst in Asia theo-
logians reected on the need to do theology in a religiously plural context.
Considering the great variety in contexts and in theological designs the plural
theologies is used instead of the singular theology.
What brings together these theologies is the sense of pain experienced by
all: pain caused by cultural, racial, economical, political and religious margin-
alisation. The Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutirrez expresses something of
this pain in his book On Job: God-talk and the Suering of the Innocent. He
states: It is impossible to do theology in Latin America without taking into
account the suering of the innocent; that means that at a certain point one
like Jesus cries out: My God, my God why have you forsaken me?8 As for
the African context, John Pobee acknowledges: The point remains indisputable
that there is a feeling that Christianity has been an instrument of oppression in
Africa. This is not unique of Africa. For blacks elsewhere have felt like this.9 It
is from this pain, that theologies of liberation were formulated: God is envis-
aged to be on the side of the poor and the oppressed, seeking to intervene in
human history by bringing about liberation for his people.
The explicit contextuality of Latin American, Asian and African theologies
reminds us of the fact that we cannot and should not do theology out of con-
text. Our theological reections about God can only nd true meaning when
issues raised by the Bible nd relevancy in specic contexts and vice versa.
John Parratt therefore correctly points out that all theology is ultimately con-
textual: it arises from a specic historical context and it addresses a specic
historical context. The questions which it asks, and the answers it seeks to give,
are determined by its contextual setting.10

8
G. Gutirrez, On Job: God-talk and the Suering of the Innocent, Maryknoll NY: Orbis Books
1987, 101.
9
J. Pobee, Toward an African Theology, Nashville: Abingdon Press 1979, 16. John Pobee
pleads however to refrain from missionary-bashing: Finally, living as we do in an age of strife and
conict and impatience, we would urge that no good purpose is served by proceeding to vitriolic
attacks on the earliest missionaries. In the long view of human development, blame in itself and
excoriation after the event serve no useful and benecial purpose because responsibility in any
system is always delegated and can be diverted to someone else. Further, it is impossible, by and
large, to accuse anyone of blatant insincerity and deliberate ungodliness. At the worst they can
be castigated of ignorance, timorousness, and stubbornness. But that does not solve the problem
and the task of building up an African theology. The task can be undertaken without bitterness.
Pobee, 22.
10
Parratt, 2.
 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123 113

Towards a Working Denition of African Theology

The task to dene African theology is a complex one in that it would seem to
imply that there is one type of theology called African theology. This is not
the case. Theological reections as to what constitutes African theology vary
from one context to another, hence the use of the concept African theologies.
John Pobee stated:

There is a certain Africanness about the culture and the religious beliefs and practices
which can be recognized (. . .) Even so, one would expect to nd African theologies
rather than one African theology which purports to speak to all conditions of homo
Africanus. We make no apologies for pleading for African theologies because this is in
fact how theology has been evolved over the years. After all, theology emerges from,
among other things, a historic community and a peoples experiences. Since these are
diverse, there are bound to be diverse theologies.11

African theologies therefore are diverse in their focus and their contents. This
observation has its implications for a denition of African theology, since it
is possible that there might not be one single denition for the phenomenon
of African theology. The attempt to dene African theology in this article is
therefore not meant to give the nal answer to the denition issue but rather
to provide us with a working denition as to what is generally understood
amongst African theologians as African theology.
In order to come to such a working denition, it seems good to browse
through proposals made in the past. Many suggestions have been made. John
Mbiti has proposed what is probably one of the shortest characterisations, say-
ing that it is a theology bearing the imprint made in Africa, meaning to lose
its foreignness and become relevant, indigenous and deeply involved in the
aairs of our continent, as a participant, not as a spectator.12 Yusufu Turaki
denes African theology as the outcome, results and products of the religious
and theological works of African theologians and scholars.13 John Pobee has
suggested African theology to be to interpret essential Christian faith in authen-
tic African language in the ux and turmoil of our time so that there may be
genuine dialogue between the Christian faith and continuously changing Afri-
can cultures.14 This seems to tie in with the denition proposed at a meeting

11
Pobee, 19.
12
J.S. Mbiti, The Crisis of Mission in Africa, Mukono: Uganda Church Press 1971, 2.
13
Y. Turaki, Christianity and African Gods: A Method in Theology, Potchefstroom: IRS 1999, 16.
14
Pobee, 22.
114 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123

of the All Africa Conference of Churches in Abidjan in 1969, which dened

African theology as a theology based on the biblical faith and speaking to the
African soul. It is expressed in categories of thought which arise out of the
philosophy of the African people.15 Both Pobee and protagonist of African
theology Tharcisse Tshibangu distinguish between Christianizing African
mentality and culture (Pobee speaks about couching African world view in
Christian form) and the venture of African theology, stating that the develop-
ment of African theology goes beyond a mere translation project.16 In the
words of Desmond Tutu: African theology is about demonstrating that the
African religious experience and heritage were not illusory and that they should
have formed the vehicle for conveying the Gospel verities in Africa.17
From the above glance through denitions of African theology we can con-
clude that whilst it is impossible to provide a generally acceptable denition,
it is possible to discern major currents. According to Tite Tienou there are four
general characteristics of the term African theology, namely: It is done in
Africa, . . . to a signicant degree arises out of the identity of African people,
draws on African categories of thought and speaks to the historical situation of
African people.18 Issues of heritage, culture, colour and poverty are therefore
crucial concerns in the quest for a theology in the African soil.

African Theology: A Counter Movement against Western Domination?

Bnzet Bujo, referring to the denition issue in one of his publications, states:
(. . .) the question is not so much one of what African theology (quid sit) is
but what is more serious, whether it is at all (an sit).19 His remark is made
against the background of the famous Vanneste-Tshibangu debate over whether
or not methodologically speaking there can be such a thing as African

15
Cited as in D. Bosch, Currents and Crosscurrents in South African Black Theology in
G.S. Wilmore and J.H. Cone, Black Theology: A Documented History 1966-1979, Maryknoll NY:
Orbis Books 1979, 226.
16
Pobee, 18; T. Tshibangu, Towards an African-coloured Theology, in B. Bujo and J.I. Muya
(eds), African Theology: The Contribution of the Pioneers, Nairobi: Pauline Press 2002, 183.
17
D. Tutu, Whither African Theology, in E. Fashol-Luke et al. (eds), Christianity in Inde-
pendent Africa, London: Rex Collings 1978, 366.
18
T. Tienou, Indigenous African Christian Theologies: The Uphill Road, International Bul-
letin of Missionary Research, 14/2 (1990), 74.
19
Bujo and Muya, 8.
 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123 115

theology,20 with Vanneste negating the possibility and Tshibangu arguing that
an African-coloured theology does exist.
Whether it is possible to speak of African theology on the basis of an exclu-
sive African methodology, is debatable, though later in this article it will be
argued that African theologies, in line with other contextual theologies use a
particular methodology. Yet it seems historically undeniable that theologies
that call themselves Africa have emerged. The reection on and resistance
against the lingering and devastating impact of colonialism and western mis-
sions on religion, culture and African self-esteem is often seen as a starting
point. In the words of Isabel Phiri: the theological reection and articulation
of African theology by Africans in Southern Africa is based on the context of
Western missionary Christianity and European colonialism.21 The same seems
true for the rest of the continent.
Western missionaries marginalized virtually everything that had to do with
the traditional African worldview. They changed African names to so-called
Christian names like Peter, John, Mary, etc. They succeeded in convincing
Africans to dress, talk, walk, and even eat like themselves. But they failed to
make Africans realize that Christianity is comprehensive and that it seeks to
address life in totality. Indeed, African religious experiences and culture were
driven to the periphery, because everything of African origin was considered
pagan. By so doing, Western missionaries failed to grasp the essence and
dynamics of African culture. Consequently, the deepest core of African culture
remained untouched.
Despite the inuence of African nationalism, of the philosophy of negritude
and of the Black Consciousness movement, up to this very date Africans strug-
gle to reconcile their Christian faith and their Africanness, being brainwashed
by the emphasis on the discontinuity between Christianity and African cultures
and traditional religion by generations of missionaries. Consequently, some
African theologians and scholars, such as Gabriel Setiloane, John Kibicho and
Gomang Ntoedibe-Kuswani, feel that their pre-Christian religious inheritance
has been abused by the new religion.22 They feel a sense of betrayal.
In the quest to redress the injustices of the past factions have developed
among African academics. For some theologians, like John Kibicho, it has

20
For the texts of this discussion see Bujo and Muya, 183-199.
21
Phiri, 136-137.
22
See for example Ntoedibe-Kuswanis contribution Translating the Divine: The Case of
Modimo in the Setswana Bible, in M. Dube (ed.), Other Ways of Reading, African Women Read-
ing the Bible, Atlanta: Society for Biblical Literature 2001, 78-101.
116 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123

meant to discard the Bible as a source of revelation for Africa; he looks at

Christianity as a Western phenomenon and the Bible as a Western book.23
Many others have opted to grapple with this ambiguous past, struggling to
fashion the Christian message in a manner that it becomes African and mean-
ingful to the ordinary life in Africa. Besides, the situation has changed some-
what. Recently a more incarnational approach has been propagated which not
only appreciates African traditional cultures, but sees them as indispensable for
a proper contextualization of the gospel in Africa.24 A famous though contested
design of such a contextualization has been the use of the ancestor concept by
theologians like Charles Nyamiti and Benezet Bujo, to elucidate Christology in
an African setting.25

Methodology
What most African theologies and most Third World Theologies for that
matter have in common is that they take the context as starting point for
theology. The rst step in theology is an analysis of the context, after which
reection and action takes place. They therefore use an approach of moving to
the context, from the context to the text, thus bringing issues from daily life
to the text, in order to seek answers and transformation of society; this method
is known as the reversion of the hermeneutical circle. This diers from most
Western approaches where the text (Bible) is the point of departure and which
from there seeks to apply the message by moving to the context.26 The process
of focussing on the primacy of the context was termed contextualization, an
expression that became fashionable around 1972 when it was introduced by the
Theological Education Fund of the WCC to describe its mandate Ministry in
Context.27 Gradually this methodology focussing on the African contexts
became the distinctive marker for African theology. Thus, the quest for African
theology and identity which began as a retort to the legacy of Western missions

23
T.D. Mashau, Africanisation of Christianity and Theology: A Reformational Perspective,
Theologia Viatorum: Journal of Theology and Religion in Africa, 27/1(2003), 127.
24
L. Sanneh, The Horizontal and the Vertical in Mission: An African Perspective, Interna-
tional Bulletin of Missionary Research, 7/4 (1983), 166.
25
C. Nyamiti, Christ as our Ancestor: Christology from an African Perspective, Gweru: Mambo
Press 1984; B. Bujo, African Theology in its Social Context, Maryknoll NY: Orbis Books 1992,
75-113.
26
Parratt, 8.
27
D. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigmshifts in Theology of Mission, Maryknoll NY:
Orbis Books 1991, 420.
 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123 117

and colonialism, gradually developed into a project of its own; and, sailing on
the sea of Africanness and African nationalism, it developed into a free, self-
determining theological project that emphasizes liberation and African worthi-
ness, thus also theologically taking charge of their own destinies.

The Emergence of African Theology

African theology, as stated above, emerged and developed out of the need to
Africanise Christianity and theology and to strike root in the African soil. Ben-
nie Van der Walt distinguishes between ve dierent connotations of Africani-
sation: a racial or ethnic, an organisational, cultural, intellectual, and contextual
meaning of the word.28 These should be considered as integrated dynamics of
the concept Africanisation which has far reaching consequences for theology as
well. Africanisation of theology and Christianity implies that Africans should
take charge of their own churches and theology as such. Emmanuel Martey cor-
rectly asserts that: As a theological hermeneutical procedure, Africanisation
represents the beginning of a new theological trend toward a search for an
authentic African interpretation of the Christian faith.29
There is much discussion and debate as to when this process of Africanisa-
tion or contextualization of theology started. Some point to the 1955 meeting
on Christianity and African Culture in Accra, called by the Christian Coun-
cil of Ghana or to the 1965 meeting in Ibadan, sponsored by the AACC.30
Others, like Tharcisse Tshibangu, see the publication of the book Les prtres
noirs sinterrogent 31 in 1956 as the initiation of African theology,32 an event,
which 50th anniversary was recently celebrated with the re-print of the book
by Karthala. Again others, like David Bosch and Tinyiku Maluleke refer to the
18th century for the origins of African theology when a Congolese woman,
Kimpa Vita (also known by her Portuguese name Dona Beatriz), preached
that Jesus was black.33 Mercy Oduyoye goes even further back and believes the
emergences of Donatist and Montanist theologies to be representing the true

28
B.J. van der Walt, Afrocentric or Eurocentric? Our Task in a Multicultural South Africa,
Potchefstroom: IRS 1997, 169-170.
29
E. Martey, African theology: Inculturation and Liberation, New York: Orbis Books 1993, 65.
30
R.J. Gehman, Doing African Christian Theology: An Evangelical Perspective, Nairobi: Evan-
gel Publishing House 1987, 38-39.
31
A. Abble (ed.), Les prtres noirs sinterrogent, Paris : Editions du CERF 1956.
32
Tshibangu, 183.
33
Bosch, Currents, 220-221. T.S. Maluleke, A Historical Quest for a Black Presence that
Walks, in P. Dennis (ed.), Orality, Memory and the Past: Listening to the Voices of Black Clergy
118 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123

African spirit.34 Again others, like Lamin Sanneh, maintain that African the-
ology started the moment Africans heard the gospel and understood it within
their own concepts and culture.35
Considering the variety of viewpoints regarding the beginning of African
theology, it might be helpful to distinguish between theology developed at the
academy and lived theology. It goes without ado that lived theologies in Africa
are as old as Christianity in Africa itself. Diane Stinton, quoting the Kenyan
bishop Henry Okullu, stresses the importance of lived theologies in Africa:

When we are looking for African theology we should rst go to the elds, to the village
church, to Christian homes to listen to those spontaneously uttered prayers before
people go to bed (. . .) We must listen to the drumbeats and the clapping of hands
accompanying the impromptu singing in the independent churches. We must look at
the way in which Christianity is being planted in Africa through music, drama, songs,
dances arts, paintings. We must listen to the preaching of a sophisticated pastor as well
as that of the simple village vicar . . . Can it be that all this is an empty show? It is
impossible. This then is African theology.36

This choice to underscore the importance of theologies from the bottom up

(a term from Joan Burke)37 has become a wider trend in African and other
contextual theologies; Gerald West for example has done considerable work
on grassroot Bible interpretations.38 Generally speaking however, the term
African theology refers to the more formal, written and technical theology of
the academy, which, though sometimes based on the experiences and interpre-
tations of people at the grassroots, is the result of professional theologians.
Within this type of academic theological project there are two major
approaches employed in Africa, namely inculturation and liberation. In his
book African Theology: Inculturation and Liberation, Emmanuel Martey dis-
cusses the discourse between the two at length.39 African theology emphasiz-

under Colonialism and Apartheid, Pietermaritzburg: Cluster Publications, 230. For more infor-
mation on Kimpa Vita see: J.K. Thornton, The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita
and the Antonian Movement, 1684-1806, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1998.
34
M.Oduoyoye, Hearing and Knowing, Maryknoll NY: Orbis Books 1986, 19.
35
L. Sanneh, The Horizontal, 166. See also Gehman, 26.
36
Cited as in D. Stinton, Africa, East and West in Parratt, 107. See also D. Stinton, Jesus of
Africa: Voices of Contemporary African Christology, Maryknoll NY: Orbis Books 2004, 16.
37
J. Burke, These Catholic Sisters are All Mamas! Towards the Inculturation of the Sisterhood in
Africa, An Ethnographic Study, Leiden: Brill 2001, 198 .
38
G. West, The Academy of the Poor: Towards a Dialogical Reading of the Bible, Sheeld:
Sheeld Academic Press 1999.
39
Martey, 65.
 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123 119

ing inculturation uses an anthropological approach (culture). The buzzword

used in this circle was indigenization. This was based on Henry Venn and
Rufus Andersons three selves formula. Their understanding of self-propaga-
tion, self-support, and self-governance in church planting was aimed at the
indigenisation of churches in the third world countries. Yusuf Turaki however
maintains that the classical missionary indigenisation philosophy of the three
selves formula did not succeed in bringing about true African indigenisation
because of the Western missionaries paternalistic tendencies. This parent-
child relationship has always been worsened by the culture of dependency, in
which many African churches still rely on foreign funding for the better part
of their budgets. In the quest for Africanisation, the indigenisation of African
churches and theology will remain a focal point. In the gospel proclamation in
African context, indigenisation does not only help to bring an African air to
Christianity, but also to remove its foreign elements to ensure its relevancy.
Christian worship in its mode, form, content, music, liturgy, prayers, places of
worship should be granted African indignity, whilst also content-wise there
should be a dynamic interaction between gospel and culture.40 Amongst the
proponents of African inculturation theology are people like John Mbiti,
Charles Nyamiti, Kwame Bediako, Franois Kabasl and Bnzet Bujo.
African theology that emphasized liberation was typied as Black Theol-
ogy, though in recent years also other forms of African liberation theologies
have developed such as African womens theologies and theologies of recon-
struction. Theologians in this circle are said to have been largely inuenced by
African-American and Latin America theologians. They use a more political-
sociological framework. The buzzword in this circle was contextualization.
Contextualization is dened as the eort to take seriously the specic context of
each human group and person on its own terms and in all its dimensions
cultural, religious, social, political, as well as economic and to discern what
the gospel says to people in that context, so that the particular needs and hopes
of people are addressed and met.41 People who have been at the forefront of
Black Theology are e.g. Manas Buthelezi, Gabriel Setloane, Desmond Tutu,
Frank Chikane etc.
In the process of Africanising Christianity, contextualization remains a key
component. Indeed, Christianity can make only inroads into the lives of Afri-
cans by presenting itself as a religion that meets the needs and has close links

40
Y. Turaki, Christianity and African Gods: A Method in Theology, Potchefstroom: IRS 1999, 18.
41
B.A. Mazibuko, Mission in Context, An inaugural address delivered on September 28, 1992
at the University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa: University of Zululand 1992.
120 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123

with African thoughts and aspirations. This is not to say that the processes of
inculturation and contextualization take place without erce discussion. Accord-
ing to some, certain forms of contextualization and inculturation have led to
confusion and distortion of the Christian message by propagating syncretism,
rather than made a true contribution to African theology. The question remains
however: who decides what is syncretism and what is authentic inculturation
and/or contextualization of the gospel in Africa?42
Africanisation of Christianity in Africa (African theology) and Black Theol-
ogy have been interpreted by scholars such as John Mbiti and E.W. Fashol-
Luke as representations of two hermeneutical schools of thought in African
theology.43 Other African theologians such as Desmond Tutu however, state
that there are many grey areas between Black and African theology. Tutu is
of the opinion that the two are soul mates, so that it is easy for him to survive
in both worlds.44 In modifying Tutus understanding of the two, Young asserts
that Black and African theology are distant cousins because they are both
intrinsically related to Afro-American and African churches, which broadly
represent the historical experience of Blacks in the United States and Africa.45
Nowadays more and more integrated approaches take place. Theologies of
reconstruction and African womens theologies (by Gerald West once called
theologies of bread (liberation) and being (inculturation))46 endeavour to
combine the approaches of inculturation and liberation, focussing on indigen-
ising the Christian message in the African contexts, while using liberation as a
hermeneutical tool with which to analyse both Bible and culture.

Trends in African Theology

The above exposition has tried to demonstrated that doing theology in African
context is no easy task. Its complexity lies in the presence of plurality in many
elds: religious, ethnic and language, socio-economic, political etc. This had
led to a plurality of African theologies. Below we want to hint to just some of
the trends within African theology:

42
M.L. Daneel, African Earth Keepers: Environmental Mission and Liberation in Christian
Perspective, Volume 2, Pretoria: Unisa. 1999, 325.
43
Martey, 65; cf. Pobee, 38.
44
J.U. Young, Black and African Theologies: Siblings or Distant Cousins, New York: Orbis
Books. 1986, 3.
45
Young, 106.
46
G. West, Mapping African Biblical Interpretation: A Tentative Sketch, in M.W. Dube and
G.O. West (eds.). The Bible in Africa: Trajections, Trajectories and Trends, Leiden: Brill 2000, 35.
 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123 121

African Initiated Churches where there is no claim to a particular theology

that shapes and directs the life of the church, but who give a distinct African
avour to theology;
African (Inculturation) Theology, (the likes of John Mbiti, Jesse Mugambi,
Kwame Bediako, Kato Byang, Yusuf Turaki and many more are champions
of this movement);
Black Theology, (the likes of Alan Boesak, Desmond Tutu, Frank Chikane
were in the forefront of this movement);
Liberation Theology, (the likes of David Bosch, Christiaan Beyers Naude,
Alan Nolan were in the forefront of this movement);
African Womens Theology, (the likes of Mercy Oduyoye, Musimbi Kany-
oro, Isabel Phiri, Bernadette Mbuy Beya are some of the names of women
initiating the movement);
Theology of Reconstruction (scholars like Engelbert Mveng, Jean-Marc Ela,
Jesse Mugambi etc.)

All these theologies together form the body of African theology and a sound
and critical interaction between these dierent strands of theology is required.
Whether for practical reasons (e.g. non availability of materials) or other, only
few critical engagements amongst African theologians have taken place so far.
The rare exceptions are Jean-Marc Elas critical assessment of Black Theology as
leading to alienation rather than emancipation of black Africans47 and Tinyiko
Malulekes critique on some inculturation theologians for their lack of interest
in political issues.48 The latter in his critique is linking up with women theolo-
gians such as Mercy Oduyoye and Nyambura Njoroge who have criticized Afri-
can inculturation theologians of romanticizing tradition cultures while paying
little or no attention to gender justices and other forms of inequality inherent
in traditional cultures.49 This condent and critical interaction amongst theolo-
gians shows that that African theologies are truly coming of age.

Challenges for African Theology Today

African theology is a theology that addresses African contexts. And since these
contexts are perennially changing, new issues keep on cropping up. We there-

47
J.M. Ela, African Cry, Maryknoll NY: Orbis Books 1980, 121-131.
48
T. Maluleke, Black and African Theology, 202-203.
49
N.J. Njoroge, Kiama Kia Ngo: an African Christian Feminist Ethic of Resistance and Trans-
formation, Accra: Asempa Publishers, 114-130.
122 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123

fore want to conclude this article on African theologies by signalling some of

the concerns and topics which are high on the agenda of African people today.
For how do you theologize in the context of:

Poverty and inequality (locally and globally)

High infant mortality rates and the consistent exclusion of certain groups
from further education
Issues of leadership, power struggle and corruption
civil war and ethnic cleansing
Reconciliation and peace
HIV/AIDS pandemic (reality and eects thereof )
Neo-colonialism and globalisation
African renaissance and Nepad (The New Partnership for Africas Develop-
ment)
Gender issues (women in African churches and society)
Religious pluralism and the challenge of Islam
Ecological issues
Issues of Theological training

The topics named at random are many. And the list could have been
even longer, for so many things are changing on the African continent. Yet
amidst all the questions, we are also convinced that African theologies and
therefore African theologians have something many things to contrib-
ute to the worldwide theological discourse. The vitality of African theology
and its ability to theologize about hope and life amidst crises and life threaten-
ing diseases such as HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis (to name just the top
three), are a challenge and an encouragement to the church worldwide.

Conclusion
The question of authenticity of African theology and Christianity will remain
at the agenda of the ecumenical church for years to come. For Africans to
design and come up with the theology that would impact the African and the
global societies positively, they should move beyond the colonial period and
beyond the nostalgic cultural approach and become true both to the revelation
of God in the Bible and to the African contexts. We need to shape, redirect the
good and reform the bad in African cultures without being carbon-copies of
Western theology and Western Christianity and without compromising the
Gospel of Christ.
 T. D. Mashau, M. T. Frederiks / Exchange 37 (2008) 109-123 123

Thinandavha Derrick Mashau (b. 1970) is the chair and professor of Missiology at the
Faculty of Theology of the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus) since 2003. He
is the author of two books, Love, Courtship and Marriage: Biblical Solutions to Problems Con-
fronting African Youths in the 21st Century (2005) and Unlocking the Mystery of Marriage:
Issues in Premarital Counselling (2006). He co-authored An Eye That Sees: Vision for Urban
Missions (2007) with Prof. Roger Selles Greenway (USA).

Martha T. Frederiks (b. 1965) is a professor of missiology at the Department of Theology,

which is part of the Faculty of Humanities, Utrecht University. She is also the director of
the Centrum IIMO. Her present research focuses on trends in African theologies with
special attention for African womens theologies and for HIV and Aids related topics.