On 7 August 1998 the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam were bombed and 200 people lost their lives. These bombings shattered the image of Africa's tradition of peaceful religious coexistence. Since then inter-religious dialogue has been high on the agendas of ecclesial and religious organisations, but not so much of faculties of theology and departments of religion in East Africa. This book investigates why this is so. How are interreligious relations dealt with in Africa, and more particularly, how are they and how should they be taught in institutions of higher learning? This...

In 2002 Philip Jenkins wrote The Next Christendom. Over the past half century the centre of gravity of the Christian world has moved decisively to the global South, says Jenkins. Within a few decades European and Euro-American Christians will have become a small fragment of world Christianity. By that time Christianity in Europe and North America will to a large extent consist of Southern-derived immigrant communities. Southern churches will fulfil neither the Liberation Dream nor the Conservative Dream of the North, but will seek their own solutions to their particular problems. Jenkins'...

This book analyses religious identity transformations through inter-religious relations. It aims to highlight the link between religious discourse and social cohesion, or the lack of such a link, and ultimately seeks to contribute to the dominant discourse on Muslim Christian relations. The book is based on fieldwork in Indonesia and Tanzania, and is timely because of the growing tensions between Muslims and Christians in both countries. Its relevance lies in its fresh look at theories of religion and science.
From its establishment as an academic discipline, the phenomenology of...

This book looks at the relationship between religion and state in Tanzania as a feature of the Tanzanian social scene, from pre-colonial/colonial times to post-colonial times. It examines the changes in the character of religion and state relations, especially after independence, and the way these changes are experienced in different communities - particularly by African traditionalists, Muslims, and Christians. The book studies the nature of the relationship between religion and state, the way it is conceptualized and experienced, and the implications for the democratic aspirations of...

Most introductions to mission studies do not have a chapter on methods. The present introduction bridges this gap. It introduces students to mission studies from the perspective of how to do mission studies. Taking his studies of syncretism and inculturation in African Christianity as an example, Frans Wijsen defines the object of mission studies as cross-cultural Christian communication and advocates the practical-theological spiral as an appropriate method: observation, interpretation, evaluation, innovation. These steps cover everything a beginning scholar needs to practice mission...

Discursive approaches to the study of religion have received a lot of attention recently. Making Religion brings together leading theorists in the field who explore the theoretical and practical dimensions of the analysis of religious discourse. The volume provides an overview of current debates in the field, extends and improves upon contemporary theories and methodologies, and contributes to the discipline more broadly by flagging the importance of this emerging field of research. The combination of theoretical reflection and practical application of discourse analysis as a tool to...