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Religious Communities and the Negotiation of Public Religion

This journal issue introduces readers to different aspects of the public nature of religion manifested in certain debates that have remained a constant feature of religious and public life in Africa. I do not want to give the impression that there is something unique or strange in these debates in the African context because the authors remind readers, if not demonstrate, that debates constitute what, for lack of a better term, one could term life of negotiation. What I term life of negotiation stems from the fact that as Africans continue to celebrate the growth of religions and the religious life of many religions at the expense of indigenous religions, the very public nature of faith requires a delicate balance that requires a more nuanced approach. One manifestation of such public negotiation is that which is going on in Africa in different areas, as the authors of this issue document. It is not clear how to characterize the old/ new public debates. Still, there are calls for and real development and articulation of both a religious and public einfühlung that aims to promote understanding and responsible dialogue. The essays in this issue discuss aspects of public religion in Africa through studies and take on different aspects of religious life. The first three essays offer readers perspectives on public religion in South Africa, Ethiopia, and Kenya. The fourth essay analyzes the academic study of religion and offers new proposals on the study of religion in Africa today. Nasima MH Carrim and Zeenat Paruk invite readers to revisit complications with what practitioners of Islam think is standard practice but that continues to invite new debates, the wearing of the hijab by Muslim women in the South African corporate context. Several Muslim women were interviewed for the study. Participants understood a dress code as one way to express commitment