Traditional African Religion and Socio-cultural Practices in Environmental Resources Conservation

Abstract

African religion is the indigenous religion of the African people with its existence as old as man. It is the religion that sticks closely to the environment which is up of both physical and non-physical including the spiritual components of human
existence. There are lots of rules and regulations made by Africans towards guiding and protecting this natural habitat called the environment. This becomes the customs and traditions that guides and governs Africans in the use of the environments especially on matters of religious interest. This paper therefore seeks to present the nature of African religion, culture and environment; it aims at painting the picture that exists between African religions and Ecology as well as African religion and environmental pollution. The work also focuses on the state of African religion and environmental degradation. It suggests some ways forward on how to facilitate environmental peace as inherent in the religion of Africans. This will go a long way in conserving and revitalizing the environment to enhance convenience for religious functions before the close of the 21st Century.

Keywords: Religion, Culture, Environment and Sacred Authorities, conservation and resources management