The Invention of God in Indigenous Societies

By: James Cox

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Paperback | 25 July 2014

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194 Pages

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23.39 x 15.6 x 1.04

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Indigenous societies around the world have been historically disparaged by European explorers, colonial officials and Christian missionaries. Nowhere was this more evident than in early descriptions of indigenous religions as savage, primitive, superstitious and fetishistic.

Liberal intellectuals, both indigenous and colonial, reacted to this by claiming that, before indigenous peoples ever encountered Europeans, they all believed in a Supreme Being. The Invention of God in Indigenous Societies argues that, by alleging that God can be located at the core of pre-Christian cultures, this claim effectively invents a tradition which only makes sense theologically if God has never left himself without a witness.

Examining a range of indigenous religions from North America, Africa and Australasia - the Shona of Zimbabwe, the "Rainbow Spirit Theology" in Australia, the Yupiit of Alaska, and the Māori of New Zealand - the book argues that the interests of indigenous societies are best served by carefully describing their religious beliefs and practices using historical and phenomenological methods - just as would be done in the study of any world religion.

Industry Reviews

"Cox's insightful study of the concept of the 'high god' in four indigenous cultures, and its complex relationship with Christian missionary preaching of the Biblical God, is a major scholarly achievement." - Carole M. Cusack, University of Sydney

"This book is an excellent argument for the need to study indigenous religions as the beliefs and practices of indigenous peoples, as traditions in their own rights." - Bettina E. Schmidt, University of Wales Trinity Saint David

"Cox is clear that 'invention', adoption and adaptation are common and everyday occurrences in all cultures and religions. He challenges the ideological motivations of theological and (still) colonial pursuits and proposes that scholars should seek to understand indigenous religious, even as they evolve, rather than use them to bolster polemical agendas and comparisons." - Graham Harvey, Open University

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