African Cultures

Peace

It seems quite safe to assume that all human beings desire peace. What is not always very clear is what each person means by peace and how it can be attained and maintained. Religion and peace in an African culture have been almost natural companions in the minds of humans in different periods of history and in different cultures of the world. This is because, although far too many adherents and leaders of the different religions in the world have disrupted the peace in the society by promoting violence and wars, the vast majority of believers still hold that true religion is a source and guarantor of individual and societal peace. The positive side of holding peace together is the knowledge and values that are giving to a person in order to carry on tradition of your principals, especially your culture. Many Africans practices these very simple tasks today. They are taught to be kind, respectful, loving and many more positive attitudes that most Americans should abide by.

While growing up I was introduce to the Christian/Baptist religion. I also went to church every Sunday, read the bible, learned the scriptures and followed the word of the LORD. I was taught that I have freedom of speech, faith, morality. Baptists believe that each person is responsibly for relating to God and authority in matters of religion rest first with the individual believer and second with the local congregation of believers. I was told that excepting Christ as my everlasting savior would get me to heaven. I was giving the values and knowledge of being proud of my black heritage that was told by my mother, who received the same knowledge and appreciation of being black from her parents. The values and principals were to give respect to others as well as yourself, obey and know yourself. Love yourself and show love to each other. I soon realize being adult doesn’t mean you have to go through life by yourself. Without family and friends, a human being won’t grow, function or complete a simple task. The perfect example was told by the author, Kwame Gyekye “When people cooperated and work together, they can achieve better results” (Gyekye, 44). I don’t have anything holding me back, meaning slavery or being told negative information about my culture. Peace carried me through life just by obeying the learning’s of religion.

Knowledge comes together with peace. Without peace, a person could