Between Rejection and Revitalization: Tokunboh Adeyemo and African Traditional Religions

Abstract This article analyzes Tokunboh Adeyemo’s assessment of African traditional religions in relation to his allegiance to the worldwide evangelical tradition. In the 1970 and 1980s, Adeyemo, who served as the General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa, was involved in the so...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Exchange
Main Author: Veelen, Wouter van (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2021
In: Exchange
RelBib Classification:BS Traditional African religions
FA Theology
KBN Sub-Saharan Africa
KDG Free church
Further subjects:B African traditional religions (ATR)
B salvation debate
B inculturation theology
B African evangelical theology
B African Theology
B cosmological balance
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Summary:Abstract This article analyzes Tokunboh Adeyemo’s assessment of African traditional religions in relation to his allegiance to the worldwide evangelical tradition. In the 1970 and 1980s, Adeyemo, who served as the General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa, was involved in the so-called salvation debates within evangelical circles. Concerned about the rise of contextual theologies on the African continent, Adeyemo, like his predecessor Byang Kato, advocated the exclusive character of Christianity in terms of salvation. Therefore, he is sometimes described as someone who attempted to replace African religiosity with a Westernized form of Christianity. This article argues that while Adeyemo reiterates the uniqueness of salvation in Christ, as attested within the international evangelical movement, he offers a nuanced assessment of pre-Christian religiosity. Navigating between the two positions of rejection and revitalization, he pioneered new ways of developing an authentic evangelical theology that is grounded in the African context.
ISSN:1572-543X
Contains:Enthalten in: Exchange
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/1572543X-12341592