https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/434 2026-05-02T10:45:58Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32178 Missiological study on perception of ancestral veneration and death among the Iteso Adventistists - Kenya Ambuchi, Alex O. The study examined why ancestor veneration remains active and persuasive among Iteso Adventists in Kenya, and how beliefs about the dead continue to shape responses to death, illness, and social insecurity. The research took place in Teso North, Amagoro sub-county (Busia County) using an ethnographic missiological approach, drawing on participant observation, structured interviews, and focus groups with both Adventist and non-Adventist participants in five town centres. Data were analysed using content, narrative, and grounded theory methods to interpret the theological, social, and missiological implications. Findings show that ancestor veneration among Iteso Adventists is not just a leftover “traditional” habit. It functions as a living moral and cosmological system. Death is not seen as the end of personal agency, but as transition. It is widely claimed that “the dead are not dead”; rather, they remain present in the household, capable of influence, approval, and punishment. This is expressed in concrete ritual: food and other offerings are made to the dead, graves are visited and supplied, and misfortune or sickness is commonly interpreted as ancestral displeasure. Clergy and lay members alike explained illness in some cases as a sign that the ancestors must be appeased. Ancestors are understood as morally qualified elders who continue to oversee family well-being, fertility, social order, and conflict resolution. They are treated as domesticated spirits within the kin network, to whom the living owe honour, obedience, and periodic consultation. This relationship is seen as a reciprocal economy of protection and loyalty, not as “worship of demons,” and it normalises ongoing interaction with the dead as rational social insurance. The persistence of these practices inside an Adventist community that officially rejects them is driven by three reinforcing factors. First is ontological continuity: the line between living and dead is not final, only a shift in status within the same family, so kin obligations extend past biological death. Second is social and spiritual insurance: in a context of sickness, uncertainty, and vulnerability, ritual attention to the ancestors is experienced as a prudent strategy for securing protection, not as idolatry. Third is moral authority: the ancestor embodies accumulated wisdom, longevity, and seniority, and therefore remains a binding source of guidance and discipline. Ignoring such a figure is felt as rejecting communal ethics and even threatening family unity. These pressures remain powerful for Adventist converts, who are still embedded in Iteso kinship systems that regulate burial, naming, healing, and obligations to the dead. Syncretism, therefore, is not simply “weak doctrine”; it is also a survival strategy within tightly woven social structures. In light of this, the study argues that Adventist mission cannot rely only on condemnation of ancestral rites. Ancestor veneration persists because it gives moral order, interpretive clarity, and emotional security in crisis, and because it is fused with memory and kinship. The recommendation is that Adventist ministry among the Iteso must be biblically authoritative and culturally literate. Clergy should teach Scripture as the final reference for death, memory, and authority, insisting that loyalty, protection, and intercession belong to Christ alone, not to the ancestors. They should also present a clear, contextual theology of death, hope, and resurrection that speaks directly to fear of ancestral anger, sickness, and post-mortem presence. Finally, local congregations must provide practical solidarity in moments of illness, bereavement, and material vulnerability, so that the believer experiences the body of Christ, rather than ancestral ritual, as the first line of help and protection. 2025-11-11T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32118 Exploring the resilience of religious belief : cognitive, cultural and historical perspectives Faull, Hester Margaretha This thesis investigates the foundations of religious beliefs and their persistence in contemporary society through a systematic literature review. It examines how cognitive predispositions (mentalising, anthropomorphism, teleological thinking) and biological factors (genetics, brain structure, neurochemistry) shape the formation of religious beliefs, which are then influenced by cultural forces. The Cognitive Science of Religion provides insights into how cognitive biases reinforce misleading beliefs. This thesis proposes promoting logic education to foster rational thought and critical engagement as a countermeasure. Although rational inquiry is crucial in a world saturated with information, for some, scientific discoveries may not offer the same sense of wonder, meaning, or purpose that religious beliefs have historically provided. This explains the continued endurance of such belief systems alongside scientific progress. As scientific advancements challenge traditional sources of meaning, individuals struggle with the existential question of purpose. In such a context, this thesis argues for prioritising individual freedom in seeking meaning. Finally, the thesis contends that although some aspects of metaphysics may transcend empirical methods, this does not preclude evidence-based research from engaging with supernatural claims. Society must strive to balance the pursuit of objective knowledge with preserving cultural richness and existential fulfilment. 2024-10-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32048 Diagnostic and Prescriptive Prophecy in African Independent Churches: A Distinct Ritual Healing Process. kgatle, mookgo solomon African Independent Churches express Christianity in the African context through divine healing. Hence, divine healing is popular among these churches. This article uses the ritual healing process as a theoretical framework to assess the role of prophecy in African Independent Churches. The argument is that both diagnostic and prescriptive prophecies are used in these churches as part of the divine healing process differently than mainstream Christianity, traditional healing, and modern medicine. Therefore, the African Independent Churches, unlike mainstream Christianity, do not confine divine healing only to conventional methods such as laying on of hands, but also include other rituals through diagnostic and prescriptive prophecies. The research objectives were achieved by providing background to the ritual healing process as a theoretical framework for the study. The diagnostic prophecy was discussed as part of the healing process in the African Independent Churches. Similarly, the prescriptive prophecy concerning the healing process was discussed. The aim is to demonstrate that both diagnostic and prescriptive prophecies are part of the ritual healing process in the African Independent Churches, which makes the latter have a distinctive healing process when compared to mainstream Christianity, traditional healing, and, to a certain extent, modern medicine. Data was collected by reviewing the literature on ritual healing and prophecies in the African Independent Churches. A case study evaluated ritual healing in churches such as Zion Christian Church, Saint John Apostolic Faith Mission, and the International Pentecost Holiness Church. The findings are that African Independent Churches do rely on diagnostic prophecy to trace the root cause of the problem but that such a prophecy and prescriptions should be differentiated from divination and other traditional healing methods. 2025-01-27T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32047 Racism and the Development of Pentecostalism in South Africa: A Socio-Historical Analysis. kgatle, mookgo solomon The historical role of the church in South Africa regarding the development of colonial racism and apartheid is well documented. South African Christianity and the concomitant ecclesiastical developments and counter-developments were directly influenced by the changing socio-political circumstances. The mainline or historical churches, including Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians, were members of the South African Council of Churches that rejected and opposed apartheid. Some Pentecostal denominations were fundamentalists who believed personal salvation and private prayer would save the country. In practice, these Pentecostal churches were either largely silent or apolitical about the apartheid situation, or they isolated and segregated themselves. In reality, whether they acknowledged it or not, they were part and parcel of the system of white benefit and black oppression. This paper, therefore, attempts to investigate this phenomenon and also to put forward a theological praxis in the context of diversity. 2024-11-16T00:00:00Z