Worlds of Power: Religious Thought and Political Practice in Africa

One cannot understand the politics of the present without taking religious thought seriously. In Africa religious belief has a huge impact on politics, from the top of society to the bottom. Religious ideas show what people actually think about the world and how to deal with it. Ellis and ter Haar maintainthat the specific content of religious thought has to be mastered if we are to grasp the political significance of religion in Africa today, but their book also informs our understanding of the relationship between religion and political practice in general.