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Theological Education for a Religiously Radicalized World: An African Pentecostal Assist
International Review of Mission ( IF 0.1 ) Pub Date : 2017-06-01 , DOI: 10.1111/irom.12173
Joseph Bosco Bangura

Abstract The resurgence of Pentecostal Christianity at a time of increased religious radicalization in Africa is a disconcerting development. This problem is further compounded by the dearth of analytical research that explores the role theological education should play in preparing Pentecostalism to engage a religiously radicalised Africa. This paper offers a response in three ways: first, it reviews the legacy of missionary theological education and offers an overview of religion and state relations in Africa. Second, it discusses theological education and the implications of the rise of Pentecostalism in a context of religious radicalization. Third, it outlines how theological education could be reinvigorated to enable Pentecostalism to confront the challenges of religious radicalization in Africa. The paper concludes that theological education is a compelling stimulus that enables African Pentecostalism to promote peaceful coexistence and tolerance in ways that bear witness to the gospel of peace as well as reflect the African agency of faith. (1) Religiously inspired radicalization, with the potential to lead to violent deaths, continues to be used by unscrupulous elements to commit acts of terrorism around the world. The tragic occurrence of deaths mediated by home-grown religious radicals has received international notoriety after this monster reared its ugly head in major European cities. (2) However, while much of western Europe is now being confronted by the effects of religious radicalization at its doorstep, for a long time the merciless murder of innocent civilians at the hands of religious radicals has been a persistent problem confronting a sizable chunk of the population of sub-Saharan Africa. (3) This development is worrisome because in Africa, religion is not only an important aspect of social identity, (4) but Africans are regarded as a people who are "notoriously" and "incurably" religious. (5) The epitaph of an African continent that is profusely religious means that any outburst of religiously motivated violence meted out on Africans by Africans threatens the fundamental essentials of tolerance and peaceful co-existence which are consistent with the African communal spirit. This is because "it is un-African to undermine someone or harm them because of the religious views they may have." (6) Apart from confirming an upsurge in religiously motivated violence, (7) such events may be construed as undermining human rights conventions that governments have set out to guarantee when they signed on to the African charter on human and people's rights. (8) In the wake of religious radicalization, there are calls to re-examine the separation of religion from the state, which has long been considered an essential element of democracy. (9) Thus, governments have been forced to regulate religion in ways they argue will protect the welfare and safety of all citizens, whether or not they subscribe to any religious convictions. In extreme cases, governments have resorted to the use of military force to clamp down on the activities of religious radicalization. (10) As a result, governments in Africa, like those elsewhere, are increasingly exerting regulatory control over the activities of radical religious groups, whose actions are believed to contravene the peace of the state and embody a travesty of justice that undermine human rights. While African governments have taken lead roles in establishing policies that aim to regulate religion, the theological academy seems to be lagging behind in preparing personnel to effectively engage with Africa's new context of religious radicalization. It is now widely accepted that the demographic hotspots of Christianity have not only shifted to the global South, but that in the southern hemisphere, the buoyancy of the faith is to be found among Christians who clearly espouse Pentecostal and Charismatic types of spirituality. In Africa, while Pentecostalism and religious radicalization are surprisingly growing at the same time, little research has been done to analyze how theological education could prepare Pentecostal clergy so that their church and pastoral ministries can effectively engage with an increasingly radicalized Africa. …

中文翻译:

宗教激进世界的神学教育:非洲五旬节派的帮助

摘要 在非洲宗教激进化加剧之际,五旬节派基督教的复兴令人不安。由于缺乏探索神学教育在准备五旬节派以参与宗教激进化的非洲方面应发挥的作用的分析研究,这个问题进一步复杂化。本文从三个方面做出回应:首先,它回顾了传教士神学教育的遗产,并概述了非洲的宗教和国家关系。其次,它讨论了神学教育和五旬节派在宗教激进化背景下兴起的影响。第三,它概述了如何重振神学教育,使五旬节派能够应对非洲宗教激进化的挑战。该论文的结论是,神学教育是一种令人信服的刺激,它使非洲五旬节派能够以见证和平福音并反映非洲信仰机构的方式促进和平共处和宽容。(1) 受宗教影响的激进化可能导致暴力死亡,继续被不法分子利用,在世界各地实施恐怖主义行为。在这个怪物在欧洲主要城市抬起丑陋的头后,由本土宗教激进分子介导的悲惨死亡事件已在国际上臭名昭著。(2) 然而,虽然西欧的大部分地区现在正面临着家门口宗教激进化的影响,长期以来,宗教激进分子对无辜平民的无情谋杀一直是撒哈拉以南非洲大量人口面临的一个长期问题。(3) 这种发展令人担忧,因为在非洲,宗教不仅是社会认同的一个重要方面,(4) 但非洲人被视为“臭名昭著”和“无可救药”的宗教信仰的民族。(5) 一个充满宗教色彩的非洲大陆的墓志铭意味着,非洲人对非洲人发动的任何出于宗教动机的暴力事件都会威胁到与非洲共同体精神相一致的宽容与和平共处的基本要素。这是因为“由于某人可能拥有的宗教观点而破坏或伤害他们是非非洲人。” (6) 除了证实出于宗教动机的暴力激增之外,(7) 此类事件可能会被解释为破坏各国政府在签署《非洲人权和人民权利宪章》时已着手保障的人权公约。(8) 在宗教激进化之后,有人呼吁重新审视宗教与国家的分离,这一直被认为是民主的基本要素。(9) 因此,政府被迫以他们认为将保护所有公民的福利和安全的方式规范宗教,无论他们是否信奉任何宗教信仰。在极端情况下,政府会动用武力镇压宗教激进化活动。(10) 因此,非洲的政府,就像其他地方的政府一样,越来越多地对激进宗教团体的活动施加监管控制,这些团体的行为被认为违反了国家和平并体现了破坏人权的对正义的嘲弄。虽然非洲政府在制定旨在规范宗教的政策方面发挥了带头作用,但神学院似乎在培养人员以有效参与非洲宗教激进化的新背景方面落后。现在人们普遍认为,基督教的人口热点不仅转移到全球南方,而且在南半球,信仰的活力在明显支持五旬节派和灵恩派灵性类型的基督徒中被发现。在非洲,虽然五旬节派和宗教激进化同时出人意料地增长,但很少有研究分析神学教育如何为五旬节神职人员做好准备,以便他们的教会和牧师事工能够有效地参与日益激进的非洲。…
更新日期:2017-06-01
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