African theologian John Samuel Mbiti dies at 87
John Samuel Mbiti, a Kenyan theologian and Anglican priest, died October 5 at a nursing home in Switzerland. He was 87.
Mbiti challenged the view that traditional African religions were “primitive,” arguing that they deserve as much consideration and study as other faith systems. His 1969 book, African Religions and Philosophy, explored this theme, and he elaborated upon it in 1980 for the Christian Century’s How My Mind Has Changed series.
“In Kenya I grew up in home, school and church milieus which held that the African religious and cultural background was demonic and anti-Christian. In this overpowering environment, one simply accepted this stand and looked at the world from its perspectives,” he wrote.
