Revelation Spiritual Home - The Revival of African Indigenous Spirituality

Africa hosts thousands of new religious organizations, yet those that have attracted academic attention are mainly derived from Christianity. Less studied is the phenomenon of African Indigenous Spirituality (AIS), including new groups whose program is restoring forms of pre-Christian and pre-Islamic spirituality. After a general introduction to AIS and some historical and contemporary examples, this Element presents an ethnography of what may well be the largest pan-African AIS group, The Revelation Spiritual Home (TRSH). Founded in Johannesburg by Samuel Radebe in 2009, it now has more than seventy branches in southern Africa. Based on fieldwork in TRSH centers and interviews with both Radebe and other leaders and members, as well as with participants in other AIS activities and groups, this Element examines the history, ideas, rituals, and business and educational activities of TRSH, and discusses the reasons for both its success and the opposition it has encountered.

List of contents

Introduction; 1. In search of African indigenous spirituality; 2. The making of the revelation spiritual home; 3. Knowledge and ritual in TRSH; 4. TRSH's business and cultural network; 5. Anticultism in Africa and opposition to TRSH; Conclusion: a safe return home; References.

Product details

• Authors: Massimo (Center for Studies on New Rel Introvigne, Introvigne Massimo, Rosita Šorytė
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.10.2025
• EAN: 9781009630405
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0963040-5
• No. of pages: 86
• Series: Elements in New Religious Movements
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Religion: general, reference works; RELIGION / General, Africa, mysticism, Religion & beliefs, Religion and beliefs, Traditional African religions and spiritual beliefs, Miracles, apparitions and religious phenomena, Kabbalah: Popular Works