The Mbiti-Cone Debate and the Study of African Religiosity

Abstract:The study of Africana religiosity has often focused on African influences on African diaspora religiosity but rarely the other way round, that is, on African diaspora influences on African religiosity. The rare instance when the focus was on African diaspora influence on African religiosity was the case of Black theology. However, when Black theology came to the continent, it was mired in the debate of its relevance to Africans. This debate was prosecuted by John Mbiti and James Cone in the 1970s. While the debate centered on Christian theology, this article reads it as raising the larger question of the relevance of African diaspora religiosity in Africa. It argues for the need to seriously study African diaspora religiosity in Africa, noting that such study may provide theoretical tools with which to understand the development of African religiosity in the continent and the African predicament in the modern world.