Module THEO3661: Religious Diversity in African Context

Department: Theology and Religion

THEO3661: Religious Diversity in African Context

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• This module introduces students introduces students to the diversity and complexity of religious life in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through anthropological and historical perspectives, students will explore how African religious traditions have been studied, interpreted and transformed, by scholars, colonial systems and by African communities themselves.
• By foregrounding ethnographic materials, students will:
• Identify how so-called “indigenous,” Islamic, and Christian traditions are practiced, experienced, and contested across African contexts.
• Critically examine how colonial expansion and the development of anthropology shaped Western understandings of African religiosity.
• Explore how African communities have negotiated religious change, modernity, and globalisation on their own terms.
• Develop relational, reflexive awareness of their own interpretive positions in relation to the material.
• The module cultivates not only critical academic understanding but also reflexive self-awareness, ethical responsibility, and the ability to think cross-culturally.

Content

• The module unfolds in three main parts, moving from historical developments to contemporary phenomena. Throughout, students are encouraged to think critically and relationally about religion, modernity, and power in African contexts.
• We begin by examining how early European contact in the 16th century shaped perceptions of African societies and religious life, and how these perceptions were formalised through the colonial and missionary projects of the 19th century. We give especial attention to the role of anthropology as a discipline entangled with empire, and how African societies were interpreted through colonial categories of religion. We will discuss some major themes in the study of so-called indigenous African religions, as they have been studied by anthropologists. This section invites students to reflect on how knowledge is produced, and to identify how modern disciplinary frameworks might continue to echo some colonial assumptions.
• The second part explores how Islam and Christianity have taken root in diverse African settings. Themes include the role of trans-Saharan trade in spreading Islam, colonial missionary expansion, and the indigenisation of global traditions. Rather than treating Islam and Christianity as imported wholes, students will trace how African communities have received, reshaped and re-situated these traditions in ways that reflect local cosmologies and power dynamics.
• The third part explores religious pluralism and transformation in contemporary Africa. Topics include the rise of global Pentecostalism; the intersections of religion with gender, politics and the public sphere, and how African religious actors engage with modernity, development and globalisation.
• Course materials include ethnographic texts, short videos, and online media. Students will be invited to engage in weekly reflexive practices and formative writing as part of their learning journey.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this module, students will be able to:
• Demonstrate critical understanding of the diversity of religious traditions and practices in Sub-Saharan Africa, including how they are shaped by local histories, global dynamics and colonial entanglements.
• Analyse key debates in the study of religion in Sub-Saharan Africa, with attention to how categories such as ‘indigenous religion’, ‘world religion’ and ‘modernity’ are constructed, contested and lived.
• Identify the ways religion intersects with gender, politics, the body, and the economy in contemporary African societies.
• Evaluate the strengths and limitations of different disciplinary approaches in the study of African religions (e.g. anthropology, history, religious studies), particularly in relation to questions of representation and positionality.

• By the end of the module, students will be able to:
• Engage critically with ethnographic materials, demonstrating awareness of methodological, ethical and relational dimensions of fieldwork and interpretation.
• Situate their own perspectives in relation to course materials, showing reflexive awareness of how their positionality, assumptions and histories shape interpretation.
• Trace processes of continuity and change in religious practices without flattening complexity or assuming a linear development.

• By the end of the module, students will be able to:
• Communicate clearly and coherently both orally and in writing, through academic argument and self-reflexive expression.
• Draw connections across texts, contexts and personal experience, integrating critical analysis with personal insight.
• Hold multiple perspectives simultaneously, demonstrating the ability to engage with different viewpoints, work with contradiction and ambiguity.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures introduce key themes. Rather than simply conveying information, they model ways of approaching the material, asking students to notice how knowledge is framed, what remains unsaid, and to notice how assumptions and contexts shape interpretation.
• Seminars enhance subject-specific knowledge and understanding both through preparation and through interaction with students and staff. They provide an opportunity for collective reflection and dialogue, promoting an awareness of different viewpoints and approaches.
• The summative essay assesses students’ ability to engage critically and reflexively with a core theme of the module. It combines structured academic argument with reflexive insight and personal positioning.
• The digital output comprises a pre-recorded presentation to assess students’ ability to synthesise and communicate key arguments from a single ethnographic monograph, while drawing connections to course themes and their own perspectives.
• Reflexive portfolio (Formative): supports all summative assessments by scaffolding student engagement with course content, reflexive noticing and ongoing synthesis.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Throughout the module, students will engage in low-stakes weekly or bi-weekly reflexive writing exercises. These exercises are not graded, but they will be acknowledged as part of class participation and may serve as raw material for the final essay. Students will be invited to submit a short selection (500–800 words total) of these reflections at the end of the term to receive optional formative feedback.

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.