Why So Many Religions in South Africa?
By “Awake!” correspondent in South Africa
THE winds of change have blown boisterously for many years through Africa and have eroded numerous aspects of indigenous life, including religion. Traditionally, ancestor worship was common among all the peoples. With the advent of the colonial period, however, Christendom’s churches acquired a foothold and established themselves with missions representing various denominations.
Then an astonishing thing happened. Christendom’s religious setup began to crumble. Hundreds of independent churches appeared in a short space of time and these, in turn, separated into still others. A recent survey shows that more than 6,000 black independent (separatist) churches or sects exist on the continent of Africa, and about 4,000 of these are in South Africa. Since less than 25 percent of the black population identify themselves with these sects, it is clearly no religious revival. Rather, it is a process of fragmentation.
A breakdown of this magnitude is phenomenal—unprecedented! When we examine some of the reasons, however, we find facts that read as an indictment of human leadership and religious apostasy.
Traditional Thought Patterns
Tribal custom is based strongly on a patriarchal system, in which, significantly, two levels of authority stand out prominently and have a considerable influence on the lives of the community. On the one hand, the chiefs wield an imposing authority in civil matters. On the other hand, diviners and witch doctors command a fear-inspiring presence in matters pertaining to dead ancestors, omens, spells and events that are not understood.
The belief that the soul survives after death is accepted unquestioningly. Notable events in the lives of people are interpreted as expressions of their ancestors’ pleasure or displeasure. If they suspect that the ancestors are angry, then sacrifices are called for to placate them and assure protection and guidance.a
Because the belief in ancestral spirits is so deep-rooted, it has engendered an extreme sensitivity to omens. The spirits are thought to manifest themselves in a number of ways. The appearance of a reptile or an animal may be regarded as significant. Dreams, likewise, are thought to be manifestations of truth, and great pains are taken to secure an interpretation. In all these matters, and especially in a time of crisis, the diviner would be considered the obvious person to consult.
By contrast, witch doctors are engaged to wreak vengeance on enemies. They are greatly feared and a situation may end in a vicious circle of bewitching and counter bewitching. Incidentally, both witch doctors and diviners are handsomely paid for their services.
These thought patterns, though greatly underestimated by Christendom, are very significant in the resurfacing of the separatist churches.
Traditional Patterns Resurface
In recent years a number of independent researchers investigating ancestor worship have expressed the view that, whereas the more orthodox mission churches have remained similar to Christendom, the separatist churches show trends pointing back to traditional ancestor worship. How so? Because leadership patterns, for one thing, were retained by converts. It has been noted that the role of church leaders invariably bears a striking resemblance to either that of the tribal chief or that of the diviners and witch doctors.
A chief is recognised as a leader of undisputed authority, born into his rank as the principal executive of tribal law in the community. Significantly, a great number of separatist churches have emerged that imitate more orthodox churches, but emphatically stress black autonomy in their own administration. They adopt the white “mother church’s” constitution and doctrine and use the same hymnbook—but otherwise insist on their own independence. The leaders of these churches are thus less emotional but they direct matters more or less as an African chief would and with the Africanising of the church as a guiding principle.
The tribal diviner, on the other hand, is notably emotional and charismatic, depending heavily on his performance. The more spectacular he is the greater his image and influence. Hence, religious rites and incantations are highly charged affairs with emotional dancing and drumbeats as the spirits are evoked.
By comparison, the majority of the separatist churches are “pentecostal” in character. In a mixture of Western and African elements, fervent stress is placed on “healing” and “holy spirit.” Flamboyant baptisms are held in rivers, while the rhythmic beat of drums and dancing enlivens the regular services. The leaders of the church are dominant personalities whose charisma and reputation, in many instances, are indispensable to the continuance of the church.
Distinctive uniforms and colourful regalia distinguish these groups who, in most cases having no church building, meet anywhere in the open. In the black city of Soweto, some 13 km (8 miles) from Johannesburg, it has been estimated that there are 70 established denominations and 900 independent churches or sects!
Obviously something went wrong with Christendom’s venture into Africa. What was it?
Disillusionment
Christendom’s missionary drive into Africa was most fashionable in the 19th century. Today many African people question the role played by the missionaries in the colonial expansion programmes. Such critics point to the material gains in land and wealth that flowed to these powers in the wake of the missionaries’ contact. They did, however, succeed in bringing the Bible to a very receptive people, and expectations ran high.
Missions were usually associated with hospitals. This was appropriate as the traditional African concept of religion is inseparably linked to healing. There were discrepancies, however, that made many converts feel that the situation was inadequate. The platform preaching made a poor showing against the performance of the ancestral diviner. The Western-type hospital treatment seemed impersonal and unspectacular. The preaching lacked healing and the healing lacked magic. When the missions and hospitals drifted apart, this was the final break for many.
The tribal traditions caused the people to seek a more sinister, usually spiritistic, reason for their ailments, rather than a purely physical cause. For this reason greater interest lay in why a situation existed than in how it could be overcome.
Hence, within a short while, separatist prophets emerged who retained the Christian nomenclature but who unwittingly fell back on what they were most familiar with—traditional ancestor worship. All the old mystique was there once again, and “healing” was claimed to be done by the power of “holy spirit.” Surveys conducted among separatist churches revealed that most of the churches have prophet-healers in their midst.
Disillusionment with white-dominated and Western-oriented mission churches caused many African converts to stumble. Ill equipped to carry on by themselves, they resorted to traditional behaviour patterns. Where the need arose, they absorbed features of ancestor or demon worship.
Yet it is noted that Christendom’s showy display appeals to separatist churches. The impressive rituals and the rich vestments of the clergy have rubbed off. Separatist clergy have taken to wearing bishop’s mitres, capes and stoles. They use banners, hold solemn processions and burn candles. Innovations are legion, as noted in one church, whose members wear white helmets on the basis of the apostle Paul’s admonition to “put on the helmet of salvation”!
Fragmentation Within Separatist Churches
Personal prestige has become an inevitable cause of fragmentation within the separatist churches. Prestige and power are inherent in leadership. Hence, they offer a temptation that holds within itself the seeds of fragmentation. A satirist once lamented: “When everybody is somebody, nobody is anybody!” The trouble starts when “anybody” wants to be “somebody” in the congregation, and it is not surprising that the church becomes top-heavy as a consequence. In a society where there is limited opportunity for self-expression, the church offers favourable circumstances for self-advancement. Invariably the churches are found to have elaborate pyramidal hierarchies, with titles assigned to as many adherents as possible.
The founders’ personalities are also of major consequence to the separatist church, so that when such a one dies a crisis is experienced. When several would-be successors lay claim to the leadership, the simplest solution is to separate, and as 78 percent of the churches have no fixed property, it is usually simple for each to go its own way.
Internal disputes frequently occur for a number of reasons, with finances ranking high on the list. Embezzlement of funds can cause irreconcilable rifts. Other disputes occur when someone’s position is usurped. There are instances where confrontation is contrived by would-be leaders who, through self-esteem or pressure from supporters, seek a showdown. The result is invariably a separation, and each group will form its own church.
What reproach all this fragmentation, petty posturing and bickering bring on the name “Christian”! How sharply contradictory this is to what Jesus intended for his disciples! In prayer to his heavenly Father, he said: “I make request . . . that they may all be one.” (John 17:20, 21) He also taught, not self-aggrandisement and position-seeking, but that “whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.”—Matt. 20:27.
Does no one give evidence of these spiritual qualities? Hundreds of thousands of Africans have found them in the Kingdom Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
[Footnotes]
a For a detailed discussion of ancestor worship, we recommend the booklet Unseen Spirits—Do They Help Us? Or Do They Harm Us?