Pius Abioje

Old and New Views Pius Abioje

This text is designed to be a fairly comprehensive handbook for researchers, teachers and students of African indigenous religion and culture. It examines literature on the indigenous religion of Africa; some controvertible issues, and some hitherto un-raised questions. Why does African Traditional Religion (ATR) tend to have multiple names? Is the generally accepted structure of the religion impeccable? Is the religion plural or singular? Is there a real distinction between sacrifice and offering, as some experts claim? Is the religion monotheistic or of diffused monotheism? Is the indigenous religion of Africa inferior to Christianity and Islam, and if so, in what way(s)? Are traditional Africans more religious than Christians and Muslims? Some old and new questions are thus addressed with research and informed critical discourse.