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An African Initiated Church is an independent church or religious movement which demonstrates syncretism or partial integration between aspects of Christian belief and African culture. Often these churches have resulted from a process of acculturation between traditional African beliefs and Protestant Christianity, and have split from their parent churches. Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate, even opposing, beliefs and to meld practices of various schools of thought. ...
As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ...
Pocahontas, in England, as Mrs John Rolfe, 1616: engraving after Simon Van de Passe Acculturation is the obtainment of culture by an individual or a group of people. ...
Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...
African Initiated Churches are sometimes called African Independent Churches.
Location
African Initiated Churches are found across Africa; they are particularly well-documented in southern Africa and West Africa. Pauw suggests that at least 36% of the population of Africa belong to an African Initiated Church. Categories: Africa geography stubs | Southern Africa ...
West Africa is the region of western Africa that is generally considered to include the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte dIvoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. ...
Origins During the colonial period, many black converts to Christianity were unable fully to reconcile their beliefs with the teachings of their church leaders, and split from their parent churches. The reasons for these splits were usually either: - Political - an effort to escape white control
- Historical - many of the parent churches, particularly those from a Protestant tradition, had themselves emerged from a process of schism and synthesis
- Cultural - the result of trying to accommodate Christian belief within an African world view
Whites is a broad term used to describe people of ethnic European, Middle Eastern, and North African descent, especially those with fair skin. ...
Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...
The word schism, from the Greek σχισμα, schisma (from σχιζω, schizo, to split), means a division or a split, usually in an organization. ...
Characteristics African Initiated Churches fall into several main groups, which in many cases overlap. Each has its own characteristics.
Ethiopian churches Ethiopian churches generally retain the Christian doctrines of their mother church in an unreformed state. Doctrine, from Latin doctrina, (compare doctor), means a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system. ...
Zionist churches Zionist churches, such as the Zion Christian Church, mix aspects of traditional African beliefs like ancestor worship with Christian doctrine. Many Zionists stress faith-healing and revelation, and in many congregations the leader is viewed as a prophet. Zionism is a religion practiced by people all over sub-Saharan Africa and is most popular in Swaziland where as many as 40% of people are Zionist. ...
World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second_largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ...
Ancestor worship, also ancestor veneration, is a religious practice based on the belief that ones ancestors possess supernatural powers. ...
For information on the last book of the New Testament see the Book of Revelation. ...
A prophet is a person who is believed to communicate with God, or with a deity. ...
Messianic churches Like some Zionist congregations, Messianic churches focus on the power and sanctity of their leaders; often the leaders are thought by their followers to possess Christ-like characteristics. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Messiah. ...
This page is about the title, for the Christian figure, see Jesus Christ is the English representation of the Greek word ΧÏιστός (transliterated as Khristós), which means anointed. ...
Apostolic churches Apostolic churches are similar to Zionist congregations but often place more emphasis on formal theological training.
See also Kimbanguism (The Church of Christ on Earth) is a branch of Christianity founded by Simon Kimbangu in what was then the Belgium Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). ...
List of Christian denominations (or Denominations self-identified as Christian) ordered by historical and doctrinal relationships. ...
Reference - Oosthuzen, G., 1996. "African Independent/Indigenous Churches in the Social Environment: An Empirical Analysis", African Analysis, 26 (4).
- Pauw, C., 1995. "African Independent Churches as a 'People's Response' to the Christian Message", Journal for the Study of Religion, 8 (1).
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