Turning decolonial rhetoric into anti-colonial praxis in religion education Africa South of the Sahara

There exists no reliable empirical research on anti-decolonial critiques of religion education (RE) in Africa South of the Sahara (ASoS), therefore, this article uses the African Anti-colonial Analytical Framework (AAcAF) as a novel theoretical lens in critiquing neo-colonial embeddedness in the RE of ASoS. It exposes how colonial epistemologies continue to malign non-normative and diverse ways of knowing and further explains why this problem has persisted in RE despite its provision existing in a post-colonial educational environment. The article calls for epistemic equality in dealing with the complexities of religious diversity in RE aligned with democratic principles governing the political state in post-independent Africa. To counteract the colonial status quo, the article presents anti-colonial strategies that can turn decolonial rhetoric into anti-colonial praxis in the RE of ASoS.

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Publication Details

Journal
Oxford Review of Education
Published
2026-03-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2026.2635401
Primary Topic
African cultural and philosophical studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Turning decolonial rhetoric into anti-colonial praxis in religion education Africa South of the Sahara

Yonah Hisbon Matemba
Oxford Review of Education
African cultural and philosophical studies
article

Turning decolonial rhetoric into anti-colonial praxis in religion education Africa South of the Sahara

Yonah Hisbon Matemba
article en

Abstract

There exists no reliable empirical research on anti-decolonial critiques of religion education (RE) in Africa South of the Sahara (ASoS), therefore, this article uses the African Anti-colonial Analytical Framework (AAcAF) as a novel theoretical lens in critiquing neo-colonial embeddedness in the RE of ASoS. It exposes how colonial epistemologies continue to malign non-normative and diverse ways of knowing and further explains why this problem has persisted in RE despite its provision existing in a post-colonial educational environment. The article calls for epistemic equality in dealing with the complexities of religious diversity in RE aligned with democratic principles governing the political state in post-independent Africa. To counteract the colonial status quo, the article presents anti-colonial strategies that can turn decolonial rhetoric into anti-colonial praxis in the RE of ASoS.

Oxford Review of Education
University of the West of Scotland (GB)
University of the West of Scotland
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 34%
African cultural and philosophical studies
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