Traditional African Spirituality as an Academic Discpline

Sharon R. Pringle

Etd

Traditional African Spirituality as an Academic Discpline

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Sharon R. Pringle. Traditional African Spirituality As an Academic Discpline. ctschicago.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/498b72ec-2d18-4e04-91b7-02fe89d9ec4c?q=2024.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

S. R. Pringle. Traditional African Spirituality as an Academic Discpline. https://ctschicago.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/498b72ec-2d18-4e04-91b7-02fe89d9ec4c?q=2024

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Sharon R. Pringle. Traditional African Spirituality As an Academic Discpline. https://ctschicago.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/498b72ec-2d18-4e04-91b7-02fe89d9ec4c?q=2024.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

Sharon R. Pringle

Keyword

Religion, Traditional African Religion, Spirituality, African American Religion

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Abstract

This thesis aims to legitimize the study and practice of Traditional African Spirituality as a core field of study at the Chicago Theological Seminary. It is a call to resurrect Traditional African Spirituality as an authentic spiritual construct and a retelling of religious history to dispel the myth that it is not worthy of academic study. This thesis provides valuable insights into the problem of identity and perception that has caused theological institutions to evade African Theology—perceived as unacceptable and unappealing—thus preventing it from crossing academic boundaries as a field of study worthy of research, ministry, and scholarship. This work advocates for the Chicago Theological Seminary to engage in radical intellectual transformation by extending the borders of Religious Studies beyond Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and, more recently, Buddhism and Hinduism to include Traditional African Spirituality as a serious academic field of study. It presents ten successful African Spirituality programs across the United States offered at higher-learning institutions. It also presents a high-level analysis of alternatives (an analytical comparison tool) that uses adjectival rating rationale against evaluation criteria to assess the viability and benefits of implementing Traditional African Spirituality as a new discipline. This assessment projects that implementing Traditional African Spirituality will exceed performance expectations and revolutionize the study of theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary. This research proves that it is time to remove the stigma and allow African Theology to cross academic borders. It deserves a seat at the table; without it, the study of religion at the Chicago Theological Seminary is incomplete and void of its true power.

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