http://www.thegrio.com/news/african-religions-gain-following-among-black-christians.php

Are blacks abandoning Christianity for African faiths?

By Chika Oduah

7:59 AM on 10/19/2011

READ MORE: Atheist, Christianity, Faith, Orishas, Religion, Voodoo, Yoruba

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Choir members sing during Easter service in Harlem at Mount Olivet Baptist Church April 8, 2007 in New York City. The historic church was built in 1907 and was originally a synagogue. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) The placement of fallen fragments of coconut helped William Jones decide on whether or not to go to graduate school.
The Yoruba priest that Jones had invited into his Brooklyn apartment had examined the four coconut pieces he had strewn on the floor before telling Jones that it would be OK for him to further his studies.
That was more than a decade ago and today, Jones, 42, is still a practitioner of the Yoruba spiritual tradition. He said that consultations with Yoruba priests leave him with a sense of inner peace.
"I go to see a priest or a 'babalawo' when I need clarity on something," said Jones, a well-known digital artist.
It's the customized advice from babalawos (masters and diviners in the Ifa Yoruba tradition) and Yoruba priests (practitioners of the Yoruba spiritual tradition that have undergone the rites of initiation) that attracted Jones to what is believed to be the indigenous spiritual practice of the Yoruba ethnic group after realizing his dissatisfaction with the generalized sermons offered at Christian churches.
Jones had attended predominantly African-American churches throughout the earlier part of his life and had considered himself to be a spiritual person. The Christian church just did not give him the personal attention he wanted.
Another African-American, Ozahu Belagun, 37, could not accept the Christian teaching of the metaphysical space for torture and condemnation, known as 'hell.'
"How can you tell me I'm going to a place [hell] that you've never been?" Belagun asked.
"And how do you know that you're not going there?"

Belagun, known as Pompey Blocker before he acquired an indigenous African name, has explored a variety of spiritual orientations. His mother was a Jehovah's Witness. He practiced Islam for three years and was inducted as a Freemason in 2005.
Now he practices voodoo and asserts that it's nothing like the hocus-pocus sorcery depicted in Hollywood films.
"I've always been connected to things that other people would shun and say is evil," Belagun said, referring to the tradition of voodoo.
Voodoo is believed to have historic roots in present day Benin and thus it shares similarities with other West African-derived religions.
The more popular of these are: Ifa Yoruba spiritual tradition, Palo, Candomble, Umbanda and Santeria (also known as Lukumi).
These practices are also known as orisha-centered religions because all of them recognize spirit-deities, known as orishas. Orishas, also spelled orixas or orisas, are spirits that control various natural forces and principles, including: fertility, water and love. Orisha literally translates in the Yoruba languages as 'owner of head," because it is believed that followers eventually take on the personality of designated orishas.
The Yoruba tradition has gained in popularity among blacks exploring African spirituality because of its accessibility in America. The Yoruba ethnic group is one of the largest three in Nigeria and those who have immigrated to the United States, have brought the teachings of Orisha and Ifa (the systemic basis of Yoruba spirituality) with them.
The fact is while West African-derived religions have historically been looked down upon, research shows that more African-Americans are exploring and adopting them. Many of these African-Americans were Christians and have either completely abandoned the Christian doctrine, like Jones, or are still incorporating Christianity with the West African-derived religions to create a unique, sort of 'on-demand' syncretism.
For example, Oluwole Ifakunle, or Baba Ifakunle, said he receives phone calls from Christians soliciting his babalawo services.
"The first thing they ask is, 'you know how to read?'" Ifakunle said. (Consultations during which babalawos and priests communicate with the orishas through the use of items such as coconuts or cowrie shells are known as readings.)
After that initial inquiry, he said the Christians usually go on to explain that they are dealing with a problem that has not been resolved the 'Christian way,' which includes praying with a pastor or fasting.

Ifakunle said that one Christian woman called him after suffering from a series of what she believed were demonic nightmares. But according to him, it's not only Christian parishioners who seek his spiritual counsel.
He said that a number of Christian pastors and ministers have visited his Harlem-based shrine.
"They usually come to me when they want to increase their church membership," he said. "Then I'll do a ritual to help them."
Anthropologists say these examples of religious syncretism are nothing new. Black slaves, particularly in present-day Haiti, hid their African spiritual practices from slave owners by disguising and incorporating them into the Roman Catholic religion they were often forced to accept. In fact, voodoo orishas, called loas or lwas, were reconfigured to mirror Roman Catholic saints and vice versa. So Papa Legba (a powerful spirit intermediary) became St. Peter, St. Lazarus or St. Anthony. Ayizan (the loa of trade and marketplace) became St. Clare of Assisi.
So while syncretism has occurred throughout history, what is relatively new is the heightened interest of West African-derived religions in the United States.
"Since the '50s and '60s there has been an increase with more African-Americans embracing these religions," said Sylvester Johnson, associate professor at Indiana University's religious studies department.
"Today, the practice in the U.S. is mostly in urban areas."
Johnson attributes the concentration of African-American practitioners of orisha-based religions in cities including Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Sacramento and New Orleans can be attributed to the black pride movement of the 1960s and '70s.
In Atlanta, a city commonly referred to as the heart of the nation's black middle class, black pride is still very evident today.
"Atlanta has attracted a lot of black professionals, who have tended to lean toward a more black consciousness and afro-centric attitude," Johnson explained. The city has a number of Santeria and Yoruba followers. Africanized churches like the Shrine of the Black Madonna the First Afrikan Church serve the needs of those desiring a more African cultural experience.
The research of Harvard University African religious traditions professor Jacob Olupona reflects a greater tolerance and appreciation for not only African religions, but for other aspects of African culture. He said more African-Americans are traveling to places like Senegal, Ghana and mostly Nigeria where they gain a better understanding of indigenous spiritual practices.
"Part of it is a search for one's roots and one's identity," Olupona explained.
While there are no concrete statistical data that quantifies the number of African-American practitioners of orisha-based religions, 70 million is the often-quoted figure for the number of "African and New World peoples who participate in, or are closely familiar with, religious systems that include Ogun," based on research cited in the highly acclaimed book, "Africa's Ogun: old world and new," by anthropologist and professor Sandra Barnes.
Ogun is among the pantheon orishas.
In his book, "Orisa Devotion as World Religion," Olupona explains that orisha devotion was preserved by captured Africans during the transatlantic slave trade and is manifested in various forms throughout the Americas.
Olupona notes the diversity among African-American followers of orisha-centered practices.
"It's not just the lower socioeconomic class of African-Americans," he said. "You have the middle-class and educated people and professors who are adopting African religions."
One of these more educated individuals is Dianne Diakité, an associate professor at Emory University's religion department who freely participates in Yoruba and other African-based religions.
She says that the recent spread of West African-derived religions in the Unites States arises from the impact of African and Caribbean immigrants.
However, the attitude she refers to as 'Afrophobia,' continues to generate fear about things related to African culture.
"Historical records indicate that most black churches and missionaries of the 19th century understood African religious traditions as a threat to the moral and cultural uplift of black communities and described anyone practicing those religions as barbaric, primitive and savage," Diakité said.
She explains that contemporary stereotypes and distortions have characterized African religions as superstition, witchcraft and fetishism.
'Afrophobia,' as Diakité describes it, is a consequence of slavery and colonialism.
But perhaps that fear, or at least a hesitation, may be justified when investigating what is involved in West African-derived religions. Animal sacrifices, secret initiations, the chanting of the names of ancestors in libations, the personification of spirits in masquerades, shaving of body hairs, spirit possessions and refrain from eating tabooed foods are some of the aspects associated with the African religions that may be difficult for some people to accept.
"A lot of African-Americans are not ready to make that transition yet," said Belagun.
"Christianity is basically a third generation belief system among African-Americans-- they're Baptists and their mother was a Baptists and then their grandmother was a Baptist."
When it comes to religion, African-Americans tend to take it quite seriously. The most recent U.S. Religious Landscape Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Life reported nearly eight in ten African-Americans, 79 percent, say religion is very important in their lives, compared with 56 percent among the general U.S. adult population. 16 percent of African-Americans attend evangelical Protestant churches and 59 percent attended 'historically black Protestant churches.'
Among 'historically black churches' 85 percent say religion is very important. 30 percent of respondents among 'historically black churches' attended religious services more than once a week and 80 percent said they prayed daily.
Nearly two-thirds of members of historically black Protestant churches are Baptists.
Overall, not only are black Americans are most likely to report a formal religious affiliation, but they are also the most religiously committed racial or ethnic group in the nation, according to the survey.
However, the study also confirms that the United States is on the verge of becoming a minority Protestant country. Even African-Americans are exploring non-Christian alternatives.
The 2008 American Religious Identification Survey found that those who claimed 'no religion' grew in every state within the last 18 years. Between 1990 and 2008, the number of nonreligious Americans nearly doubled, from 8 to 15 percent, according to the ARIS study. Among African-Americans, the increase was also nearly double, from 6 percent to 11 percent.
So, while increasing numbers of African-Americans are denouncing religion for atheism, others are adopting African religions, especially those from West Africa.
A growing dissatisfaction with Christianity among African-Americans seems to reflect disenchantment with the tradition of the black church.
"When you got churches full of pedophiles and crooks, people want to see what else is out there for them," said Kenny Depeyster.

His reference to highly publicized scandals, including the sexual harassment accusations against Georgia mega-church pastor, Bishop Eddie Long, notes that these cases are now 'bigger and in the public eye.'
Depeyster is a 'palero,' a follower of the Palo spiritual tradition that is believed to have emerged from the Congo basin region in central Africa. Palo was carried to the New World via the slave trade and was preserved by Afro-Latino communities in the United States. Today, African-Americans are also a part of the tradition. Depeyster has been a palero for about 16 years.
Christianity, he said, was not emphasized in his family.
But for Yoruba spiritual practitioner, William "Baba Bill" Mathews, 62, Christianity was a strong influence in his family's life. Mathews eventually left the church because he felt it lacked spirituality.
He remembers an incident as a 7-year-old boy one Sunday when he had told his grandmother that he did not want to go to church.
"My grandmother smacked me on my head and she said, 'why don't I want to go to God's house?'" Mathews recalls.
"I told her, 'God don't live there; God lives in nature.'"
According to Mathews, that childhood premonition was his calling into orisha. He openly practices Yoruba spirituality saying that it is no longer something to be ashamed of.
"During slavery, the blacks had to hide what they were doing, but that is no more," he said.
Mathew appreciates the simplicity of West African-derived religions and its accessibility regardless of one's educational status. He says Christianity has become highbrow and "difficult to understand." According to him, that's why the Yoruba tradition has grown "leaps and bounds" in the United States.
Mathews and his wife recently visited the Oyotunji African Village in northern Beaufort County, S.C.
Organized in the 1970s by the late Efuntola Oseijeman Adefunmi in an attempt to reclaim ancestral Yoruba customs and tradition, the Oyotunji village serves as a tourist attraction and a mecca for African-American followers of orisha-centered religions.
Adefunmi, an African-American born in 1928 as Walter King, served as a spiritual father for many blacks seeking knowledge about orishas. His historical significance and cultural relevance is well cited among religious scholars. The Oyotunji community that he founded is said to be North America's oldest, authentic African village.
"The Oyotunji community is a utopia," Olupona said. "It is a symbol of the black power movement that took place in this country in the 1970s."
Reverend Terri Adisa, an interfaith spiritualist, asserts that African-Americans can find more spirituality in Oyotunji village than in a typical black Christian church. She says the church has moved away from teaching members how to apply practical spiritual principles toward a more superficial doctrine.
"Christianity today is not about God, it's about 'church-ianity," Adisa said, referencing a term that is gaining popularity.
"It's about how to act and behave and dress in church," she said, "but when you get to the parking lot you're cussing at each other."
That disapproval of what Adisa perceives as a lack of sound spiritual commitment is not unlike the views of other African-Americans who have chosen to follow an African religion. Similarly, another Yoruba priest said that the Christian phrase of "being born again," is really another way to say "hypocrite."
Paleros, Yoruba spiritualists, voodoo practitioners and other followers of orisha-centered religions seem to be attracted to the tradition because they say it brings results. They enjoy going to a priest (which varies in name according to the tradition) and having the priest indicate their symptoms and the solutions.
"It's like going to a doctor," Jones said.
Nonetheless, that 'doctor-like' treatment may not suit everyone. Christianity still dominates in black America, but the ones who have ventured beyond say they are satisfied, at least for now.

Asantewaa Oppong

There is only one religion that is responsible for the 20 million Africans being brutally forced across an ocean, two world wars, the death of millions in wars for oil and other materials... that religion is Christianity. Let us be mature. Christianity is relatively new. Vodou always was and always will be. It is a religion based on the female observations of the universe. The great white male is only trying to be her by claiming the shed his blood (menstruation and birth) for humanity. Of course African people are returning to their roots. She is coming back again! The ancient, black, divine female. As her coming nears her children will return to her earth loving traditions. And they will forsake the illusions of a great white father who has no blood to shed except in war; which he cannot get enough of. You hate it because you can't control it. It will happen with or without your approval. 12-21-12.
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JPYoung

Asantewaa, I understand that people who claimed to be Christian did the horrors that you mentioned, but let's keep everything in perspective. I doubt that Christianity is relatively new. Also, not everyone who says they believe in God actually do. Blaming christianity is not the answer. "There is only one religion that is responsible for the 20 million Africans being brutally forced across an ocean, two world wars, the death of millions in wars for oil and other materials... that religion is Christianity". That statement is a stereotype, trust me. That's just like saying every muslim is a suicide bomber or terrorist, which we know is a lie. Same thing applies to Christianity, not every Christian that says the name of Jesus is a Christian. These same people distort the bible to fit their idealogy of race, love, money, etc. Don't be fooled by people who claim they know Christ, they have to show it by word and deed (what they say and their lifestyles).
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HonestAnswer

I'm learning that in order to truly understand the faith that I practice (Christianity) I need to learn about other religions and how they parallel that of the one 'we' as Christian believers hail as being the most high. Don't get me wrong, I love the holy trinity (the father, the son and the holy spirit) its what works for me. But I've been doing a lot of research and I'm finding that I honestly should look more into an African Holistic (spiritual) Diet that assist with me harmonizing my soul, while elevating my spiritual self.
Everything from the foods that we as black people eat (so called 'soul food') to the mentality (street code) many of us subscribe too has all been forced feed to us by a culture of people whom enslaved us emotionally, mentally, physically and/or psychologically. And the only way that 'we' as a people can get back to the essence of who we really are is by learning where we come from and the practices of our ancestors that bread life into the strong people we're meant to be (the original Hebrews and Canaanites).
We as a people pray to a god...
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Ghetto Saint

The Ethiopians are the true bearers of the message of the historical Black Christ!
What the Americanized Negro is follow is whart his wikad white slave master gave him in the non spiritual language of Anglo Saxon English as bastardized language!!!!!
This is the reason why when Etiopians come to America they start their own churches because of the non spritual innovations the the Black churches etc!
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David

Christianity is the adopted name of the people that followed the teachings of Jesus after his death and resurrection. God called his son out of Egypt after King Herods death and his family settled in Nazareth near the sea of Galilee. This area or Jesus and his family were not European but European Roman rule made it a white man's story. Jesus is the resurrection and the light of truth because he taught that its just not about rising from the dead from the body,but rising from the dead of whatever it is that keeps a child of God from being more than a conquerer of pitfalls in life especially those who follow the words of, idolize and worship men/women. That's ones baggage and bondage, shake loose of that and see what truth and life is.
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- 11/30/2011 12:12 PM
RastusClay I dance as good as I want. Uh huh. Yup. I be yo daddy, ax yo mamma.

I left the Church of the Impertenent Misconception and immersed myself in traditional African Orisha nature religion. Now I lead my own drum circle and live in the most bodacious hut in the krall. Too bad I forgot my lighter I could use it to make fire and keep the lions away.
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- 11/29/2011 02:28 PM
The Cipher

What disturbs me about this article, is that these people all have said " I didn't get the answers I wanted", or something to this effect. Our relationship with our creator is to be based off of a desire to worship and serve , not "I'm not getting what I think I should get from God" To me I find it selfish, and it misses the point of the real fellowship that should exist btwn The creator and the creation. If God designs ways in which we are to come before him, who are we to say "this isn't working for me, I think I should worship you another way that speaks to me" Let us be humble in our dealings with the Spirit realm.
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WhoWeAm IRC

I think the turn to African based religions is more of a RE-turn. We all know the history of how blacks in America came to be Christian anyway, but I think this modern day revival is fascinating. At the site (http://whoweam.com/portraits/n... ) we recently interviewed an elderly black American who talked about being a staunch believer that the Bible is the manual on how to live life, but then he goes on to talk about how you have to remain open minded in today's world. I think one of the greatest abilities of the blacks in America is our ability to remain versatile in our approach to the "rules" of life. Perhaps it's a survival technique.
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ageofknowledge

Or perhaps ancient demons are calling...
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ageofknowledge

Ah yes the occultic tribalism of the dark continent. These participants might want to be careful. It's a fine line between killing and eating each other and just dancing around singing about it.
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Black&Mild

i think im going to become a voddooo priestess if they allow tranny's to join their religion
i am into female mutalation and i love to drain cats of their blood to use it as pasta sauce in my spaghetti, who want a plate? this spaghetti will allow you the insight to know if you need finish GED school or sign up to a CNA at your local scam college.....no need to go to harvard thats where christians go
http://occupyhiphop.wordpress....
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GRAND MASTER SEN$Ei {{-_-}}™ Black people shouldn't join the "melting pot". {{-_-}}

The article failed to mention Ma'at, a religion based on Egyptian mythology. {{-_-}}
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GRAND MASTER SEN$Ei {{-_-}}™ Black people shouldn't join the "melting pot". {{-_-}}

Jesus was Black anyway so Christianity IS an African religion. Don't tell the right wing that. {{-_-}}
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AnonymousNegro

this is ridiculous I doubt that voodoo is a practice of most Africans if any there are very few. It's more of a Haitian thing. Anyway I know lotsa Africans who worship a white God but if they do decide to find another religion or spirituality then I support em.
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- 10/22/2011 03:20 PM
JPYoung

Brothers allow me to set the record straight for all. Jesus isn't white, that's the garbage that America and the western world wants you to think. Jesus was not white, He was of Middle eastern decent; that means He could've been light skinned or dark skinned since Jews and other races from that area are naturally dark. I repeat brothers, He's not white or european. Don't believe that nonsense.
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ninou2040

Voodoo is primarily an african practice. It all started in Africa and haitians just brought it there during slavery. But it is mostly practiced in West Africa.Since most african countries have the same basic beliefs and religion that look alike, I think the article is just referring to them as Voodoo, a global word to all of them.But each of them has differences on the process etc...
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Pharaoh Sco

You know alot of "brainwashed" Africans who worship a white God, Any man for that matter is a damn fool to worship a God that doesnt look like him, thats just human nature. NO white man can create a black man but a black man can create a white man..a white god NEVER that.
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The Magic ManO

Imagines in media play strong to the general populations hatred and disguise of traditional Africa derived religions. These imagines are never showing the beauty of the music, dance, rituals, and the great "wisdom" which is inherit in African tradition. The ancient has given rise to the modern so what is more ancient than African worldview which is alive and well in African tradition religion. It is through the Great African Empires that we the world have inherited culture, art, philosphy, mathematics, astrology, science, theology, and so much more. It is clear Judeo-christian believers who are the major controls to the economic engines which fuel the christian right choose to maintain an unpopular expression of African traditions. It is wrong to hate the parents of everything they have derived there beliefs from. The African consciousnes give rise to thinkers and their ancient religions build the believers individual-selves. That a chain become stronger through each individual link and that a community of many strong individuals for the purpose of serving the whole will produce strength. Keeping the memories of great thinkers and leaders in African traditions are celebrated because while many of the desert religions choose to wait...
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RastusClay I dance as good as I want. Uh huh. Yup. I be yo daddy, ax yo mamma.

Jambo. Ungawah. Boogabooga.
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Odwirafo

Mikyia mo (Greetings),
The number one reason why our people are abandoning christianity as well as islam, et. al. is because it is a matter of record that jesus, moses, muhammed, allah, yahweh, buddha, brahmin, etc. are all absolutely fictional characters who never existed of any race whatsoever. When eurasians invaded ancient Afuraka/Afuraitkait (Africa) thousands of years ago, they came into contact with religion for the first time. Over the past 2,500 years eurasians have corrupted fragments of our Ancestral Religion and manufactured the above-mentioned characters. For details on the origins of these fictional characters and the cosmological foundation of Afurakani/Afuraitkaitnit (African) Ancestral Religion see:
KUKUU-TUNTUM - The Ancestral Jurisdiction
www.odwirafo.com/kukuutuntumpa...
Odwirafo
www.odwirafo.com
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Ghetto Saint

We can both agree that Christianity is pretty much a joke looking at the satanic deeds of the wite katholick preest and the bishap long's of the world.
But the greatness of West Africa are in the Islamic personalities such as: Kan Kan MANSA MUSA of the MALIAN Empire, ASKIA MUHAMMAD of the SONGHAY Empire, TARIK BIN ZAID conqurer of SPAIN!!!!!! Female Muslim Scholar NANA ASMA'U of the SOKOTO Empire!!!!!
Becareful when the Ghetto Saint is present!!!!!!
BTW see the navy Blue and Gold trim BUBU that Ghetto Saint is stuntin in that style of dress is of Muslim Design that you all are jockin!!!!!!
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Ghetto Saint

It was Muslim hero Sheik Uthman dan Fodio who defeated the pagan Yoruba and established protection for women and equity in norhtern Nigeria!!!!!!!
Peep these facts Islam is the fastest growing religion:
WHAT THE MEDIA and PERSONALITIES SAY ABOUT ISLAM
Quote:
"Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, a guide and pillar of stability for many of our people..."
HILLARY RODMAN CLINTON, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1996, p.3
Quote:
Already more than a billion-people strong, Islam is the world's fastest-growing religion. ABCNEWS, Abcnews.com
Quote:
"Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the country." NEWSDAY, March 7, 1989, p.4
Quote:
"Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the United States..." NEW YORK TIMES, Feb 21, 1989, p.1
Quote:
"Moslems are the world's fastest-growing group..." USA TODAY, The populationreferance bureau, Feb. 17,
1989, p.4A
Quote:
"Muhummed is the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities. " Encyclopedia Britannica
Quote:
"There are more Muslims in North America then Jews Now." Dan Rathers, CBSNEWS
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Ghetto Saint

Do your homework before bumping your gums the Ghetto Saint hear ya
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Nana Akosua Baakan Agyiriwah

The funny thing about it is that many Africans have turned to Christianity or Islam. When you go home to Africa, you will be surprised how many churches and mosques are there, and how most people see African-derived faith systems as primitive and backwards. They see it as the religion of the heathen, and want nothing to do with it. In Nigeria they are killing children because they are believed to be "witches". They have holding cells/prisons for some of the elders who have been charged with witchcraft/demon possessed. It is sad but true, and I think that African Americans should remove the romanticism from their eyes and see what is really going on in Africa. Going back to Africa...?? Well, let's make sure it's a trip imbued with open eyes, hearts and a large dose of undeniable truth.
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redfalcon06

In most cases, what was traditional African has left Africa and landed on other more receptive shores. It was summon by those who are still receptive to the ancestral knowledge and culture. If you have divorced your culture for that of the west, then, that is your choice. But, we, who were forced to give up our culture are now trying to regain it. Thanks, but no thanks to the return to a blond, blue-eyed, pale-skinned savior who does not look like us and has not saved our bodies or minds. Bring us something from Africa that we can use from the heart and sound of Mother Africa, not the same ole death and poverty that we received after getting off the slave ships.
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funlayo

With all due respect, Nana, there is definitely truth in what you have said, however, that's not the whole story. Having spent extended periods of time in NIgeria, I can say unequivocally that these "witch hunt" stories so beloved by the Western media are only a modicum of what is going on. There are still many, MANY Africans who respect and practice traditional religions. Why don't we see any mention in the media of Isese Day? The day of honoring traditional deities and values all over Southwestern Nigeria when people come out in droves to pay their respects to the various Orisa and ancestral spirits? Or coverage of the Osun Osogbo festival when thousands come out to honor Osun and make pilgrimages to pray at the banks of the river? And the many other public displays of pride in culture and traditional worldview?
These are not the images the media here, which is about 2 steps above being an all out tabloid, wants seen. While you're right that a good majority of people have converted, many people still respect their indigenous traditions even if they don't practice them. And many more people have positive engagement with traditional religions...
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DoinMe

People are waking up from the bondage of organized religion period. More people are seeking a closer relationship with God and in my opinion, God ain't nowhere near some of this madness that has brainwashed millions.
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ripuree

Am I to believe that black people are finally awaking in significant numbers, to realize that Christianity is a criminal organization, that is responsible for too many crimes on us, for too long, to be any good for us? Is there truly value to drinking a known poison day by day, in the hopes that one day it may become our cure? And if a father finds his daughter who was given up for adoption at birth, then engages her in a sexual relation, (knowing that he's her father) when she realizes the depravity that had been perpetrated on her for so long (which produced her father's child, plus her own child and sibling) should she just forgive, forget and continue embracing her father because he's repented, and further is a man of God? Well I am saying that the relationship of Christianity to black people is just as the examples above, especially the latter.
The foundational arrogance and evil officiated by the Catholic Church and Christianity on Africans, Native Americans and Australian Aboriginals are yet to be acknowledged as main reasons for the unbelievable acts of brutality and genocide committed by Europeans in the name...
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Cocolicious

It's not Christianity, itself, that is criminal - it's Romanized Christianity which is responsible for helping corrupt and rob the world. There is a legacy of sodomy laced in with Roman Christianity, a legacy that continues today, present/visible in many Christian churches. The original Christian religion comes from the Horn of Africa - the Eastern Orthodox Ethiopian Church.
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redfalcon06

That was really beautifully stated. We need more of our beautiful black women to realize that they are the mothers of civilization, and have the right to speak this type of truth on these forum. Much respect!!!!! Why not return our own way? The way that we are living now is taking us to hell on earth. Let's return to the way of our ancestors and be restored to our original greatness? Peace and Blessings to us all.
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LotusLeader

Hello Ripuree,
Sir, thank you so very much for an excellent analysis of Christian history from it's Roman Empire re-branding now know as Christianity, the world has been duped for thousands of years. Your concise assessment lays bare the root cause of many of our communities issues. Low achievement (self-hatred), Violence (Torture) Abuse (Rape). This is how our people became Christian and later Muslim. Convert or Die was always the motto. It still is. Thank you, again Sir.
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ripuree

Thank you. But "RIPUREE" is a mother and grandmother.
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LotusLeader

Please forgive, did not have my glasses, so sorry. Excellent post. Thank you again, Madame.
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hungryforknowlege

follow your heart & mind!!! not, anything someone wrote or said, remember WE ALL ARE HUMAN, no one nos the WAY. it is up to YOU to find the way. Remember the FIRST SLAVES, were NOT BECAUSE of RACE, IT was because they were not christian. SO DONT believe that RELIGION IS NOT A TOOL TO DIVIDE AND CONQUER THE MASSES!!!!!!
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redfalcon06

When the minds and hearts of the people have been totally filled with lies and racist attacks, how can we still think that we can safely follow our minds and our hearts in their present condition. We need to learn more about the traditional African values. We cannot limit ourselves to what has been marketed to us through the television, accepted by converted Africans, false teachers, and preachers. If we really want to know the truth, we must return to our history and culture and explore what was really known and practiced by our people. That means going back to the original source of the sciences, religion, and literature - Ancient Kamit or what is known today as Egypt. There you will find that our people lived by laws, not how we felt, which can be manipulated by others who want to enslave your minds. Read the book by Dr. Ra Un Nefer Amen, "Maat: 11 Laws of God", by Dr. Ra Un Nefer Amen? Visit www.taui.biz?
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Tiffany Thompson

Those old voodoo practices of worshiping unseen entities and trading souls has been passed down through every religion through every race for billions of years. Reincarnated/recollecting delinquent souls inside and around all of us have passed on those abominable acts-even under the umbrella of modern religions. Tell me it is not true and I will tell you: You are a liar brainwashed by the very souls that keep you living an animal’s existence with 98% animal DNA.
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Tiffany Thompson

Our children are treated like animals for the slaughter-only for their souls. Foods are used to lure souls in to feast. Then those souls are snatched up and traded.
Every race has taken up those nasty rituals of worshiping unseen entities, sacrificing and snatching souls out of their young, old, and animals and luring souls to feast on food to enhance their old reincarnated lives. Its high time people admit they have drained the lifeblood out of every living thing to the point we are nothing but dead drones living off the souls of others. Those are abominable acts passed on by the old reincarnated/recollecting souls inside and around us, which must cease, if humanity is to survive.

http://profiles.google.com/tif...
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redfalcon06

No one can deny that many people have practiced sacred rituals of sacrifice. But, the true understanding of the sacrifice is usually not never explain to observers. They just leave you watch people dancing around the fire. So, you don't know what is going on and assume that the people are simply heathens. The purpose of the sacrifice is for man/woman to give up the negative conditions or energy that is related to that animal spirit. For example, if a person suffers from fear or anger and has a desire to rid him/her self from these limiting "human" weaknesses, that person might offer up an animal that exhibits that behavior. For example, a chicken (fear) or a bull (anger) might be used as symbols of those conditions. However, if one does not wish to practice in that way, then there are other ways of accomplishing the same thing. Don't throw the "baby - essence" out with the bathwater (dislikes). You can make other offers and give up those conditions within your mind and spirit by using divine laws and meditation and reflections. Learn how to heal these conditions to improve life?
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Ghetto Saint

you sound like u used to be a witch or something like that!
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Tiffany Thompson

The practices of worshiping unseen entities (which are demons pretending to be deities and gods); sacrificing children, adults and animals; and luring souls to feast on food have been going on around the world for billions of years. People have been worshiping demons, hiding it and participating in sacrificing souls for fame and fortune and religion and even so-called love. Only to end up like Haiti, Louisiana, Florida, Mexico, Cuba, England, Ethiopia, Jerusalem, Asia etc., etc., etc., a world filled with people preoccupied with worshiping unseen entities; snatching, trading and sacrificing souls (from children, adults and animals). Now the world is turned upside down. People are wondering where their souls are, and “trying to find themselves” and dying far too soon.

redfalcon06

This is simply the foolishness perpetuate by Hollywood that so many people have eaten which causing us to be so sick today. Don't allow yourself to be fooled into believing those western lies. Most of these lies were perpetuated to keep black people physically and spiritually enslaved. Many historically educated black people all over the world know that this is and was a lie. If you are an African-American or an African, you owe it to your ancestors to research how they lived. Don't just repeat the lies used to destroy our minds, here? Go and study the glorious teachings of so many black historians and spiritual scientist living in the USA and other western countries. You will find the truth. Study Dr. John Henry Clarke, Dr. Ben, Dr. Asa Hilliard, Dr. Chiek Anta Chiop, and so many more?

Ghetto Saint

sorry miss wite lady but speak for yourself!

Tiffany Thompson

I do not care what religion blacks practice. The results will be the same.
Worshiping unseen entities and sacrificing souls are not new things. They are old reincarnated/recollecting practices brainwashed into the very fabric of every race/culture from one generation to the next. As they (the souls inside and around us) make us believe, it is necessary to worship them and sacrifice others (humans and animals); they lead us to early deaths
http://profiles.google.com/tif...

10/19/2011 05:56 PM

GRAND MASTER SEN$Ei {{-_-}}™ Black people shouldn't join the "melting pot". {{-_-}}

You're entitled to your opinion. But I must say that abandoning religion should not mean abandoning a code morals and ethics. For most people, Christianity and other religions provide this. If you can find a way to keep up with a set of standards and a list of do's and don'ts for yourself without religion, more power to you. It's not religion which keeps society together; it's morals.
The problem is that a lot of people abandon religion for the purpose of abandoning morals. They don't want ANYONE or ANYTHING telling them what to do, not even themselves. That goes past atheism; that's anarchy. And then we're back to being 98% animals. {{-_-}}

redfalcon06

Christianity and other western religions are not only source of morals and values. We must explore other sources because it has been proven to us that many of the people that we have accepted as spiritual preachers and teachers have fallen prey to the same decadence that they teach against.
We have the right to explore other sources and especially those developed by our own people throughout history. Stop being believers and begin to know through experience.

Arumugamudaly

Tiffany, you are consistent in your affirmation. I must confess, I share your concern. Please pardon me to share an old axiom that "a good man sees weed where flowers should grow, but does not just point it out. He uproots the weed and plant flowers there. He nurtures the flowers and sees them grow." Man is not doomed, there is a way out! If you know, please share it. Thank you

donald wilson

"There be some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ.
But though we or an angel from heaven preach ANY OTHER GOSPEL unto you than that we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:7.
Cocconuts!!!! (LOL)

10/19/2011 05:36 PM

redfalcon06

Today, after so much oppression, destruction, and disease, and much deceit have been practiced in most of the western religions, it is almost criminal to continue to tell people to not seek other alternative gospels, by reading such a verse from any book that suggests that a people continue to practice a doctrine that they have become disenchanted and seek another way of life. How could any righteous person suggest such a thing, by telling them to not listen to any other gospels? That verse appears to have been written to hold a people in contentment and to maintain their enslavement. We can no longer listen to these types of teachers or preachers. What happened to the free will of man that he/she uses to make righteous decisions based on the divine laws?

Arumugamudaly

Donald, may we learn not to laugh at others belief. Hold fast that which you have received but let us learn to respect others views. The problem with western religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) is their intolerance of others religions, their exclusivity unlike the eastern religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism) that are tolerant and inclusive. All religions had been infiltrated, there is a need for true seekers to test every thing by the Spirit of Truth in them. There is no religion higher that Truth. Truth is the summit of Being. It is the Truth that you know that can and will set you free.

Ghetto Saint

Why Erase the comments from the Ghetto Saint??????
Did I hit a nerve?
Well you explain how Blacks became Christian in this country when all of the historical documenrts show that the "slaves" were either Animist or Muslim???????
When did Blacks become "christian" in the diaspora and did torture, rape and mutalition play apart in this??????
Do'nt play wit the Ghetto Saint!!!!!!!

Najaa Young

My parents converted in the early 70's to the Ifa/Yoruba tradition and my brothers and I were subsequently raised in this tradition. I am doing a documentary on this subject right now visit our website to view an excerpt www.americanafricansdocumentar....

wreed123

So What? What difference does it make? I say whatever floats your boat, so long as you live by the golden "do unto others" rule. I haven't heard yet of a religion, created by people (as they all are) that has a lock on absolute truth. Worship on!

mourice

Seeking an understanding of how NATURE works is getting closer to God. Not chants and pomp and showing off and garb and CLAIMING to represent God. The VAST majority of those who claim to represent God are actually the anti-Christ in formal garb. THE VAST MAJORITY PROBABLY MEANS YOUR PASTER, PREACHER, WHATEVER TITLE. Promise. More and more people are seeing that reality. Jesus was not white (he was a brown skinned, curly afro person born in the Jewish culture). That would make "the founder of Christianity" an enemy of WallStreet, the business world in general and mainstream white society, because he's not white. Yet they tout THEIR "christian" faith as superior to YOUR christian faith because THEY'RE WHITE. Blacks have been catering to the BRAND of Christianity that IS racist. That's NOT what the REAL Jesus taught. Thus why more and more non-whites are cutting themselves off from the white version of Christianity. I just don't want them to land in another misleading trap in the process.

LVCofer

Hippocracy is what you are spouting. Do your research and stop listening to other peoples comment and couching your opinion on that. Read up on the Council of Nicea 325AD and the Council of Chalcedon as well. There is so much info available to bring clarity to those who believe blindly something that did not even exist and obtain an overstanding of how other cultures had no spiritual foundation, yet wfter being taught by the People of Alkebulan or whatever name you wish to call the land we now like to call Africa. Find out how WSR became Ausar became Osirius became the Father or how Heru became Horus became Jesus OR do you want to know. You need not change your beliefs but the truth will set you free from the religious shackles that bound you. You must "Sankofa"!!! and this will help anyone who wants a better understanding of the Universe and the principles of MAAT. "Medu Neter"Too much info, nevertheless KNOW This . . . . . Blacks cannot ben racist. Racism implies Power and we have not power. You are now dealing with White Supremacy. ...

mourice

The reason that people are open to other faiths is because faith in this country is in politics and that has PROVEN itself to be empty accept to those sitting on masses of cash. That's NOT 99% of the population. The church is political that's why white churches versus black churches in the first place. If Jesus were alive (skin as of copper, hair as of sheep's wool) they would call the "founder of Christianity" by the n' word. There whiteness IS their faith. The bible - that is ignored by all and is "the word" - never mentions "white people" that's why they rewrote the ORIGINAL. Misleading the entire inhabited earth. Now after centuries of deception people are groping for something real and lasting. Instead of just latching onto ANY FAITH, however, my advice would be to just routinely say a quite, private prayer to the "real" God and not think that brick and mortar buildings (or whatever structure) is God. It's not. Watch out for the NEXT misleading bunch trying to be THE NEW WHITEMAN.

Cocolicious

I'm open. Christianity has a corrupt legacy. My mom would tell me about the old priestess and witch doctor in her village and how this woman had so much knowledge, foresight, wisdom and could cure diseases. IMO I think that's where I should be looking to, traditional practices that focus on nature. That's where our ancestors were before all the mayhem swept through and ruined all the peace.

redfalcon06

Stay open to your own culture. That is the only way that black people can restore their minds from the holocaust of Christianity and the enslavement of the African Mind. Return to the natural laws and you will find the truth. It is all around us, but only those who are seeking can find it. Stay open?

thefriendraiser

i would have loved to see Buddhism explored in this post but very fascinating.

thefriendraiser

whoever said SMH has no understanding of life.

Vic

It's a start.

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American Africans is filming in the following cities:

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We are currently looking for people to interview who fit into the following categories:

African Americans who adopted African names, cultural traditions and religions as a direct result of being involved in the Black Nationalist and Pan African Movements of the 1960’s and 70’s, had families and raised their children in this manner.
People who were raised in African centered households, to be considered a member of this group you must have an African name (legal or adopted by your parents) and your parents practiced an African religion.
Members of today’s third wave Black Nationalist/Pan African Movement who while not raised in an African centered household have chosen to keep African traditions alive either through participating in lively African dance and drumming classes, changing their names or adopting African religious practices.
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