Interpretation of Demonic Powers in Southern African Independent Churches

Abstract

African Independent Churches (AIC) have grown especially in South Africa at a tremendous pace—from thirty-two denominations in 1913 and hardly one percent of the African population to over three thousand denominations in 1980 and nearly 30 percent of the African population. Various reasons account for this tremendous growth such as several major emphases: Africanization of the church, socioeconomic deprivation, the adaptation process from the microcosmic to the macrocosmic world, and a holistic approach to healing which takes note of the indigenous cosmology. The latter aspect is a central issue. There are two types of diseases—natural, behind which are no malicious external forces, and those which are understood only within the context of African cosmology such as witchcraft, sorcery, ancestor wrath, spirit-possession. The missionaries ignored these forces and the problems Africans encountered with them. To these malicious forces the AIC give attention and their handling of them makes a decisive impact. This is the main theme of the article.