Modern Christian Philosophical and Theological Thought in Africa: Features and Problems

Abstract

The article presents an interdisciplinary analysis of the problems of the formation and development of professional Christian theology in sub-Saharan Africa, carried out at the intersection of African studies, philosophy and religious studies. This issue is still poorly understood. In the early period of development of African theology, the main problem in it was the search for common ground between indigenous culture and religious beliefs with Christianity, the desire to prove that you can be a Christian without giving up your culture. The basis of African theology is biblical studies, which is explained by the exceptional role of the Bible in the countries of the African continent (the Bible is a sacred subject, and the main textbook in primary and secondary education, and a book to read, and the real Word of God). The method of biblical research is the inculturation of hermeneutics, that is, the interpretation of Scripture from the perspective of the African context. There are specific forms of African theology depending on the regional-historical and gender context: postcolonial, post-apartheid and feminist theology. The ideological and methodological approach in African biblical studies is Afrocentrism, which, according to African theologians, defines “the history of civilization and salvation with Africa and Africans at the center”. In this regard, the search for the African presence in the Bible is carried out. The main paradigms of theology are Liberation and Reconstruction, explored by African theologians on biblical precedents. The article is based on little-known African materials. The authors come to the conclusion that there is an original, different from the European Christian theology in Africa. The conclusions presented in the article allow us to understand the specifics of the current cultural and ideological climate of modern Africa.