Asante Catholicism: Religious and Cultural Reproduction Among the Akan of Ghana (Studies of Religion in Africa)

Asante Catholicism focuses on the interaction between post-conciliar Roman Catholicism and Asante religion of Ghana, with its implications for self-definition and cultural renewal. It begins by exploring Asante cultural history, and depicting how their religo-political institutions were affected during contact with European traders, missionaries, and colonial authorities. It further highlights the mutual shaping between Catholicism and the indigenous Asante worldview. The fusion between Christianity and Asante ways creates conflict, innovation, and modification as the Church reinterprets Christian values and figures along Asante notions. For example, Jesus Christ is reconfigured as kurotwiamansa (leopard). Sections on the interface between Catholic beliefs and Asante socio-political institutions are particularly important for missiologists. Finally, the book discusses religious vocabulary, spirituality, theology, and the role of community during social and religious change.