Critique of Afrocentrism

For centuries, Africa has been home to diverse religious and spiritual traditions, from indigenous beliefs and practices to the introduction of Christianity and Islam. In recent years, however, a new movement has emerged that seeks to reclaim and revitalize African spiritual traditions, known as “Afrikan” spirituality. While some see this movement as rejecting Western religion and embracing traditional African beliefs, others view it as an inadequate response to underlying systems of oppression.

Afrocentrists argue that black people can only be free from oppression by returning to Africa, both culturally and spiritually. However, the very terms they use “Afrikan culture” and “spirituality” are undefined and vague, causing a lack of coherence within the group’s ideology. This lack of definition is just one of eleven flaws in Afrocentrism that have persisted for over half a century and become more evident within the “conscious community.” Despite claiming to liberate the minds of black people from Eurocentrism and religion, Afrocentrism falls short in contextualizing the black struggle and imagining victory in practical ways. While other black political thought currents ( i.e. Black Marxists/Socialists/Communists, Black Churches, or Black Muslims) have fashioned their own pedagogy of resistance and praxis, Afrocentrism remains in a nascent stage. It stakes the liberation of black people in archaic cultural expressions and esoteric ruminations, rather than articulating practical social, political, and economic goals. While redefining the cultural self can help deliver one from Eurocentrism, simply wearing African jewelry or clothing and answering to African names does not constitute emancipation. There is no causal link between these superficial cultural expressions and liberation, and Afrocentrists’ over-promising but under-delivering rhetoric is problematic. The group remains disorganized, and their lack of definition for the very terms they use to define Africanity is at the core of their incoherence.

An expected response may be that I have oversimplified the Afrocentric movement, but the words of prominent Afrocentric Historian John Henrik Clarke suggest otherwise. Clarke famously proclaimed that Africa will never be liberated until its people openly worship an African deity. However, the lack of clarity on which African deities and how to invoke them reveals a fundamental flaw in the Afrocentric ideology. Should those of us in the West worship Legba even though our ancestors were from Muslim tribes or followers of Nyame or Oshun? And thus by doing this we will magically be free? While other groups within the Black community have organized themselves according to their beliefs and convictions, the Afrocentrists, and their contemporary version known as the conscious community, remain disorganized and lacking in coherent action. Even gangs have established their own set of principles and practices, making it clear that Afrocentrism must do more than promote cultural expressions to achieve true liberation for Black people.

There is also the popular theodicy that questions why God or Allah allowed slavery to happen to black people and where were they during the transatlantic slave trade. This is posed as a call for a return to traditional African religion as a solution. However, a positivist understanding of the supernatural also raises the same questions about the power of traditional African deities in the face of the white man’s oppression. If traditional African deities were indeed powerful, why did they not prevent or stop the slave trade as “spiritual critics” would pose to religious scholars? For example, in Dahomey mythology, the moon goddess Gleti has power over the tides of the ocean, so why did she not capsize the slave ships? Similarly, the god of thunder Xenioso had the power to strike the ships with lightning, and the female supreme deity Nana Buluku could have used her power to prevent the rape of black captives. Furthermore, the god Ekwensu, who guides business decisions, could have warned the Igbo people about the bad trade they were making for alcohol. Does the success of nature during these voyages imply complicity on the part of African God/Gods, who were supposedly controlling these forces?

Another funny thing repeated by adherents are statements like “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual” or “Our ancestors never dealt with any religion but only practiced spirituality” which are often made without any clear explanation of what the speaker means by either term. This lack of clarity serves to disguise their intellectual laziness. Because by what criteria do they use to differentiate between religion and spirituality, and how do they justify excluding traditional African cosmologies and practices from the category of religion? Unbeknown to most of the parrots who repeat things they merely heard online out of aversion to religion is that the Afrocentric and conscious communities’ distinction between religion and spirituality is a recent New Age concept that originated in Russia and Eastern Europe. These groups are unaware of the true origins of their spiritual concepts, as the ancient Egyptians did not document their beliefs and practices for posterity. The records they kept were reserved for initiates of their mystical orders. As a result, other civilizations and later eras have had to speculate on what has been preserved. Today’s Afrocentrists and conscious community members are merely echoing the beliefs of Helena Blavatsky, who founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. There is no evidence that the ancient Egyptians referred to their institution as “The Mystery Schools.” The use of the term “mysteries” to describe ancient knowledge is a hallmark of Blavatskyism.

It is important to note that the dichotomy of religion versus spirituality is a relatively recent phenomenon that has emerged as a result of the Western world’s increasing secularization and the growing interest in New Age beliefs. This dichotomy is not present in traditional African cosmologies, which often view spirituality and religion as intertwined and inseparable. Furthermore, it is not accurate to assume that all Africans prior to the introduction of Abrahamic religions only practiced spirituality. Many traditional African societies had complex belief systems and practices that could be considered religions in the Western sense of the word. These belief systems often revolved around a pantheon of deities, ancestral veneration, and complex rituals. For example, The Egungun Society was a secret society that existed among the Yoruba people. Its members wore elaborate costumes and masks and performed ritual dances to communicate with the ancestors and the spirit world.

STAY WITH ME, ITS ALMOST OVER

I have often seen the notion posited that the lack of interest in our is due to a foreign invasion of religion but let's take a look at some other issues that could also be the cause.

1. Traditional African religions are deeply rooted in tribal identity and often require being born into or inducted into a specific tribe. In many cases, the religion cannot be separated from the tribe, and cannot be replicated by members of other tribes. These religions are vertically transcendent, meaning they incorporate creation stories that take followers into the heavens, but they are not horizontally transcendent and do not extend beyond the village gate to foster tribal unity. This emphasis on the village may have contributed to the high number of Igbos who jumped overboard during the Middle Passage, as they believed their souls could only return home if they died close to their village. Thus, their afterlife was tied to the location of their village. This tribal restrictiveness of traditional African religions can invalidate them as a unifying force and basis for racial cohesion, as they reinforce tribal and ethnic divisions within Africa.
2. African-Americans face unique social, political, economic, cultural, existential, and ontological challenges that traditional Africans did not encounter. In pre-colonial black Africa, there was no systemic racism or racial oppression, although there was intra-racial conflict. African-Americans, on the other hand, have experienced centuries of structural marginalization and organized violence based on race.
3. The tribal and ethnic divisions within Africa cannot be ignored, and the restrictiveness of traditional African religions reinforces these divisions rather than serving as a unifying force. Afrocentrists often downplay the role of ethnic divisions in the disunity of the African continent and instead attribute it solely to religion. However, the majority of fighting in Africa has been carried out over a host of issues, including tribe, and what outsiders perceive as the religious conflict in places like Nigeria is often rooted in ethnic conflicts manifesting themselves along religious lines.

Finally, the term “African spirituality” is a recent label that essentially perpetuates the Western fetishization of Africa. Many self-proclaimed African spiritualists rely on oversimplified and stereotypical depictions of “tribal Africa,” featuring drums, Ubuntu, and libations. This is not accidental, as these individuals often celebrate Western misconceptions of Africa. In reality, modern African spirituality merely echoes fragments of authentic African spiritual experiences, repackaged for modern sensibilities that reject mainstream religions. However, these symbols have been divorced from their original meanings and the intricate mythology that once surrounded them, resulting in a shallow expression of African culture. Consequently, this approach fails to capture the diversity and intrinsic messages of the original spiritual practices. Additionally, the commercialization and commodification of African spirituality have further perpetuated this shallow expression. Many individuals have turned African spirituality into a profitable venture, selling “African” spiritual products and services that are often devoid of any real cultural or spiritual significance. This not only strips African culture of its authenticity but also perpetuates harmful stereotypes and reinforces the idea that African culture exists solely for Western consumption. Furthermore, the appropriation of African spiritual practices by non-Africans is another issue that needs to be addressed. Many non-African individuals have co-opted African spiritual practices without any understanding of the cultural or historical context. This not only perpetuates the Western gaze but also erases the voices and experiences of REAL African practitioners.

Disclaimer: it’s important to note that the content discussed above is intended to provide my own analysis of the characteristics and limitations of Afrocentrism. It is not meant to promote or denigrate any particular religious or spiritual belief system, including those practiced by African tribes. It’s crucial to respect and appreciate the diversity of spiritual practices and beliefs across the continent and to approach these topics with an open and curious mind, while also acknowledging the historical and cultural contexts in which they arise. Africans and Africa being at the center should be crucial to all Pan-Africanists but remember our culture is far more dynamic than is presented by those wanting to reduce their heartbeat to the drums of reactionary ideologies.