Elizabeth Isichei’s Contributions to the Study of Christianity

Abstract

The scarcity of academic examination of religions in Africa, both the indigenous and externally motivated ones, has inadvertently led to the fabrication of narratives and opinions that do not reflect the religious reality of the people, especially concerning their collective disposition to a spiritual lifestyle. Aware of this knowledge gap, pioneering works from Elizabeth Isichei have reshaped our understanding of Africa’s religious landscape as they provide educative literature on the forms of religious practices available in Africa and how they are somewhat interacting with the existing indigenous African religions from inception to this time. If Isichei teaches us anything, it is that religions in the precolonial and even colonial times were largely determined by the religious beliefs of the leaders, kings, warriors, or anyone looked up to as the defender of their tradition. This necessitated adopting a strategy that helped to circulate external religions when missionaries and other religious proselytizers surfaced in Africa. Missionaries, among others, wooed kings to embrace their religion under the impression that it was relatively easy for society to follow suit once the king declared his discipleship to their religion. This work highlights the crucial roles played by these leaders in enabling the Christian religion to circumnavigate the African world, leaving a legacy that is preserved until now, and pinpoints the areas where aggressive ecumenical works were carried out to disarticulate the existing indigenous religious identities.