Christianisation of ancestor veneration within African traditional religions: An evaluation

Abstract

Although Africans have welcomed the Gospel message, some African Christians have not yet abandoned the beliefs and practices of traditional religions. Ancestor veneration has been reinstated by some Africans and others try to christianise the concept. In this article an overview of different aspects of the debate on ancestor veneration is given and evaluated. The conclusion reached by the authors is that sound exegesis does not allow ancestor veneration to be tolerated in the Christian church, but that respect for ancestors should be accepted.