Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

most Catholics in Brazil. Many Muslims not
only worship God at the mosque on Friday but
also venerate holy men at their tombs. Hindus
not only believe in karma, reincarnation, and
samsara, but they also presume that rakasas
(evil spirits) and ancestors influence life and,
therefore, must be manipulated and controlled.
Paradoxically most of the people coming to
Christ in the world are of an animistic tradition,
while the missionaries initiating movements
and evangelizing in those contexts are of a
secular heritage (Van Rheenan, 1991).
In most regions of the world, animism blends with other religions, including
Christianity. Within all the major religious blocs are many who syncretistically mix
animistic beliefs with the tenets of these other faith constructs. In fact, animistic beliefs
actually dominate the world. For example, most Taiwanese believe in the Chinese folk
religions, yet many are Christian. Most Hindus and Muslims in Central and Southeast
Asia, along with most Buddhists in China and Japan blend their religion with a variety of
folk (animistic) beliefs and practices. It is also very true that in many parts of the world,
Christianity has not displaced the local folk religion, but rather coexists with it (e.g.,
Mexico, Central Africa, Brazil).
Missiologist Phil Parshall also believes animism is far more prevalent around the
world than is generally acknowledged. An expert on Islam, Parshall says 70 percent of all
Islamic people are Folk Muslims and only 30 percent orthodox (Parshall, 1983:16).
Hoornaert writes that in Brazil, for example, Spiritism is “the expression of the religion
lived by the majority of Brazilians” (Hoornaert, 1982:72). Roughly, one-quarter of the
Brazilian people are overt spiritists and numerous Catholics are active spiritists as well,
especially when confronted by extreme illness, catastrophe, or interpersonal problems.
Nielson estimates that more Brazilians regularly engage in spiritist rituals than go to
Catholic mass (Nielson, 1988:94). Concerning Africa, theologian Bolaji Idowu writes,
“It is well known that in strictly personal matters relating to the passages of life and the
crises of life, African Traditional Religion is regarded as the final succour by most
Africans... In matters concerning providence, healing, and general well-being, therefore,
most Africans still look to ‘their own religion’ as ‘the way’” (1973, 206).
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University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa