ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the complex relation between religion and human rights in contemporary Africa. First, it discusses the critique of human rights as a Western and secular ideology not suitable for African contexts. Second, it discusses proposals for an “inculturation” of human rights in Africa, that is, the rethinking of human rights and the underlying notion of personhood vis-à-vis African traditions. Third, it discusses the ambivalent role of religious beliefs, practices and institutions in specific human rights struggles in Africa. Here, attention is paid to the history of slavery and apartheid, women’s rights, and witchcraft as human rights concerns. The chapter argues that religious beliefs need to be taken seriously in conversations about the meaning of human rights; that the critical role of religious practices in human rights violations should be understood in a nuanced way; and that religious communities and organizations should be actively involved in human rights campaigns that seek to be locally relevant and effective.
