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Paper short abstract:

This paper draws on what has been conceptualized as “lived religion”. This paper proposes to explore subject formation among people of African descent living in Kansas the United States from the lens of how individuals and groups function religiously and navigate in terms of everyday way of life.

Paper long abstract:

This paper draws on what has been conceptualized as “lived religion” or “everyday Islam/religion”, thus this paper proposes to explore subject formation among people of African descent living in the Mid-West state of Kansas in the United States from the lens of how individuals and group’s function and navigate in terms of normal everyday way of life.

Two monotheistic religions, both emanating from the middle east, Christianity and Islam as practiced among people of African descent are inherently interlinked with questions of subjectivity, identity, assimilation, and integration among others. Coming from a place where the primordial belief system of the people revolves around polytheism which most traditional African religions grounded in the belief in the supremacy of multiple deities. Therefore, this paper seeks to understand how individuals and groups find expression in terms of mundane practices and rituals of life cycles like birth, circumcision, marriage, and death and its intersection with superstition which is not out of place in Africa. This paper also wants to explore the potential of understanding the syncretism going on with the aim of appreciating its richness while acknowledging its complexity.

Optimiscally, the understanding derived from this study would help the process of foregrounding religion in the Diaspora, and also lead to suggestions of which theoretical and methodological insights can be gleaned to enrich the debates on Religion within the field of African Studies.