WE WANT TO SPEAK FOR OURSELVES…!”, THE AGENDA OF AFRICAN INITIATED CHURCHES ON DECOLONISED AND TRANSFORMATIVE THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

Abstract

The noise is very loud around what could be a relevant decolonized education in Africa, South Africa in particular. We saw protested matches at tertiary institutions crying out loud against what is called a colonized education and curriculum. There was a need for a decolonized education based on a relevant curriculum as a solution to the problem at hand. Theological education is not immune to this problem because it is also a product of the apartheid and colonial project. The answer to the question as to what is a relevant theological education today, that is decolonized based on a ‘peoples’ curriculum still stands unanswered. This article seeks to present a contribution of the ignored or rather despised voice on this debate, the African Initiated Churches (AICs). It proposes a solution from the AICs perspective where they speak by themselves, hence the title of this articles; “We want to speak for ourselves…!” I will approach this project by investigating who the AICs are, their ecclesiology and ecumenical mission praxis, their position on social justice as a means of understanding the strength behind their anti-colonial drive. At the end, a relevant theological education curriculum will be proposed.