Panentheism and Concepts of God in African Traditional Religions: A Third-Wave Proposal

This book offers a bold re-examination of how African spirituality and religion are understood, challenging centuries of misrepresentation shaped by colonial and Abrahamic thought. It argues that describing African religions through any form of modified monotheism, whether “implicit,” “diffused,” or “accommodated”, distorts their true nature and philosophical depth. Critiquing both colonial and postcolonial scholarship, the author shows how figures such as John Mbiti, Bolaji Idowu, John Bewaji, Thaddeus Metz, Motsamai Molefe, and Kirk Lougheed remain confined by Abrahamic categories that obscure African metaphysical perspectives. Drawing on the ritual systems and spiritual knowledge of six major Afro-religious traditions (Kemet, Yorùbá, Anlo-Ewe, Igbo, Akan, and Shona) the book advances panentheism, a non-Abrahamic monotheistic framework, as the most accurate model for understanding African religions. Combining philosophical analysis with ethnographic insight, it redefines the conceptual vocabulary for African religious scholarship, resolving long-standing debates and demonstrating the value of thick description for studying African religiosity. An original contribution to African philosophy, religious studies, and decolonial theory, this book reshapes how African spirituality is to be studied and understood.