{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02965299684542587, 'fraction_numerical': 0.007255520504731861, 'mean_word_length': 5.647798742138365, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Book Review: Imagining Evil: Witchcraft Beliefs and Accusations in Contemporary Africa

Imagining Evil: Witchcraft Beliefs and Accusations in Contemporary Africa Edited by Gerrie Ter Harr Religion in Contemporary Africa Series Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press 2006. 348 pp,, paper. $29.95 Reviewed by Steven D. H . Rasmussen Across contemporary Africa, people increasingly are accused of harming others through witchcraft and are beaten, impoverished, exiled, or killed (1). How should the church address witchcraft beliefs and allegations? This volume addresses a gap in the academic literature on witchcraft, because it keeps the suffering of the accused in focus and two-thirds of the authors are African religious studies scholars (3). The twelve authors describe witchcraft beliefs, practices, and accusations in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, the Netherlands (among Ghanaian immigrants), and Early Modern Europe. The quality varies, but together they portray similarities and diversities in witchcraft beliefs and the tragic consequences of witch accusations. They do not attempt to answer what God, demons, witches, or spirits are actually doing. Each author also suggests some solutions to the problem of witchcraft accusations and/or beliefs, although in most cases these suggestions remain untested. Previous hoped-for solutions like church growth, higher education, and law enforcement have been ineffective (9, 10). Several authors suggest that reducing poverty and improving civil society would reduce accusations, but others say witchcraft beliefs hamper such development: people avoid improving their material situation for fear of being bewitched by envious neighbors. Accusations exile or impoverish productive people and tear families apart. Although basic witchcraft beliefs have resisted change, some authors give hope that the persecutions caused by witchcraft accusations might be reduced. Ellis says that in earlymodern Europe witch trials stopped long before belief in witches (43). Van Beek compares African societies to illustrate an intriguing theory: “There seems to be a sociological rationale in the escalation of witchcraft discourse, from belief to voicing, from voicing to naming, and from naming to persecution and execution” (31 1). Reducing any of these elements could reduce violence. Several authors encourage developing contextualized theology and education through discussions in local communities. Hinfelaar, a priest who has ministered in Zambia for 50 years, gives the only tested example: Churches reduced violence through local seminars which also produced action. For example, churches began providing transport to police, initiating cases against witch-hunters, and helping victims write testimonies. This scholarly collection highlights the crucial, difficult need for the church to develop a contextualized response to witchcraft beliefs and accusations. African scholars, missionaries, pastors, and teachers should read this to understand the challenge. This book (or selected chapters) could be used as a text in Africa or for religious studies or contextualization courses.