African Philosophy of Religion: Concepts of God, Ancestors, and the Problem of Evil

Abstract

There has recently been an increased interest in debates on the nature of God, supernatural entities, and the problem of evil outside the Western tradition and there is a growing realisation that philosophical scholarship should go beyond Western perspectives in order to properly address issues in the philosophy of religion that arise in non-Western cultures.Taking this on board, this article surveys the field of African philosophy of religion and highlights some of the concerns and issues driving debates in the field. In particular, we focus on three important debates. Firstly, we outline the two main schools of thought that divide African philosophers into theistic and non-theistic camps. We label the theistic perspective the 'African theistic view' and the non-theistic perpective the 'limited God view'. Secondly, we explore how commitment to the two views has led to distinct explanations of the problem of evil. Thirdly, we highlight the role of ancestors in African belief-systems and their place in the scheme of things. Adopting the method of philosophical exposition and argument, we show how the two dominant views of God's nature define this emerging field of African philosophy and will determine the future trajectory of the field.

God, Philosophers and Theologians in Africa

“…B. Danquah, K. A. Busia and John Mbiti, in their works "dress up African deities with Hellenic robes and parade them before the Western world" (p'Bitek 1970, p. 41) is cogent or not. Hence, issues in contemporary philosophy of religion in Africa focus on the traditional problem of evil, and the nature and attributes of God (Mbiti 1969(Mbiti , 1975Bewaji 1998;Gyekye 1998;Wiredu 1998;Fayemi 2012;Agada 2022aAgada , 2022bCordeiro-Rodrigues and Agada 2022;Majeed 2022;Aleke 2023). Philosophy of Religion within the decolonisation project in Africa is a continuation of the quest for the legitimacy of African philosophy and African epistemic heritage in the face of rejection and/or criticism by the "so-called Western philosophers".…”

How African conceptions of God bear on life's meaning

“…10.There are also some exponents of TAR who hold what is becoming known as the ‘limited view’ of God's nature (cf. Cordeiro-Rodrigues and Agada forthcoming), according to which, although God knows the most of anyone, God is not omniscient, or although God is stronger than anything else in the world, God is not omnipotent, or although God is morally better than anyone else, God is not morally perfect. I suspect that the limited view coheres well with a vitalist conception of God's nature, but I do not work to show that here and I note that it has been defended independently of it.…”

Molefe on Wiredu's Humanistic Interpretation of Akan (African) Ethics

“…Ethical supernaturalism proposes that morality is best grounded in a conception of God as a moral authority (see Molefe 2015). The literature on African Traditional Religion (ATR) and African philosophy of religion reveals that there are two broad views about God in traditional African thought, namely, the traditional theistic view and the limited God view (see Agada 2022aAgada , 2022bAttoe 2022; Molefe on Wiredu's Humanistic Interpretation of Akan (African) Ethics 3 Awolalu and Dopamu 1979;Bewaji 1998;Cordeiro-Rodrigues and Agada 2022;Gyekye 1995;Mbiti 1975;Idowu 1973;Wiredu 2013). The traditional African theistic view attributes omnipotence, omniscience and omnibenevolence to God and makes him the very ground of morality.…”