KAM African Influence on Western Religious Thought

African Influence on
Western Religious Thought

African spiritual beliefs have had a profound impact on the three western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This influence was sometimes directly or sometimes indirectly through another source. In fact it is not to far-fetched to say that all three owe their foundations to African beliefs, symbolism and ritual. As early as Judaism and as late as Islam, African spiritual beliefs have somehow influenced Western religious thought. It should be noted however that this was in fact "influence" rather than creation. Thus the Western religions have stark contrasts with traditional African spiritual philosophy. Rather what manifests itself are symbols and stories borrowed from Africa. It is important to examine these relationships as for centuries Western religions have characterized African spiritual systems as "pagan" or "heathen." When one realizes the enormous debt the western religions owe to their African predecessors, words such as "pagan" or "heathen" become devoid of meaning.

African Influence on Judaism

African Influence on Christianity

African Influence on Islam

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