The Magic of Black People. A historical review and problematization of the concept of ‘religion’ in the Yorùbá case-study

Abstract

This papers aims to observe the concept of ‘religion’ and its conceptual implications observing African religions. The Yorùbá people of Western Africa will be taken as a case-study. It is our intention to prove that the long historical discourse around a conceptual model of ‘religion’ results from the application of a ‘methodological eurocentrism’. This is expressed through the application of occidental scientific categories and through the dichotomy between ‘religion’ and ‘magic’. Thia paper intends to draw a different route for the conceptualization of the African religious experience taking the yorùbá religion as case-study, among who the word for ‘religion’, ẹ sin, refers to “duty” or “obligation”. Lastly we will be thinking about the meaning of theology among the Africans, giving an alternative theoretical framework to the study of African religions.