Return to NURELWEB or BOOKS AND THESES or AFRICAN RELIGIONS or the Christian Travelers Guides Home Page
BY
F.B. Welbourn
Copyright F.B. Welbourn 1968
INTRODUCTION By Irving Hexham Fred Welbourn's Atoms and
Ancestors was a remarkable book which unlike so many introductory texts on African
religions did not set them apart from other religions as 'primitive', 'traditional',
or 'non-literate', religions to be studied because their esoteric wisdom and
exotic rituals were a relic from a world we have lost. Rather Welbourn recognized
the continuity between African religions and the concerns of Western educated
peoples enabling him to interpret African religious traditions as dynamic faiths
the study of which would enrich our understanding. Written as a "sixth
form" text Atoms and Ancestors was used to prepare for English advanced, "A",
level general certificate of education examinations. That is to say the vocabulary
and concepts used were at least equivalent to first or second year university
courses in North America. But, because of the specific readership designated
by the original publisher the book received little attention outside a narrow
group of educators. As a result one of the best introductions to the study of
African religion has gone unnoticed by many scholars
Return to Nurelweb