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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Search for methodology of African religion |
Author: | Metuh, E. Ikenga |
Year: | 1988 |
Periodical: | Cahiers des religions africaines |
Volume: | 22 |
Issue: | 43-44 |
Pages: | 117-129 |
Language: | English |
Notes: | biblio. refs. |
Geographic term: | Africa |
Subjects: | research African religions religion Traditional religion Research--Methodology |
Abstract: | African religion can be studied from different perspectives. The type of study one wants to do will determine the methodology one needs to use. The methods used in anthropological studies are not identical with the methods of phenomenological or theological studies. From this point of view, the study of African religion is polymethodical. However, there is a certain interdependence and hierarchy among these different studies of African religions and their corresponding methodologies. The anthropological study, which studies religious belief in its sociocultural context, is a prerequisite for any deeper study of African religion. Results of anthropological studies provide data for phenomenological studies, which in turn provide data for theological studies. Similarly, the methods of these three types of studies (comparative approach, historical approach, descriptive approach) are distinct, but show a marked similarity. There is, therefore, not one methodology for the study of African religion, but many. Ref. |