Zambezia (1998), XXV (i).BOOK REVIEWSThe Study of Religions in Africa: Past, Present and Prospects Edited by J.Platvoet, J. Cox and I Olupona. Cambridge, Roots and Branches, 1996,333pp.It always takes time to get proceedings from scholarly symposia published.This volume contains papers presented at a hopefully epoch-makingseminar on the study of religions in Africa at the University of Zimbabwein September 1992. It was the first regional conference of the InternationalAssociation for the History of Religions, which dealt with the religioushistory of Africa. In addition to a Word of Welcome by the then ViceChancellor, Professor Gordon Chavunduka (p3), it contains 17 items. Sixof them are by scholars who are Š or have been Š related to the Universityof Zimbabwe either on a permanent basis (M. Bourdillon), or moretemporarily (J. Platvoet, J. Cox and F. Verstraelen).The volume is quite informative. Even if the main focus is on the studyof religions in Africa, it also shares interesting insights about Africanreligious history. Platvoet offers an ambitious long-term perspective (pp46-102), which also adds some qualifications on Terence Ranger's plea forthe historical study of African traditional religions (see also pp 126-7).There are most useful items on the rise of Islam, and the development ofJewry in South Africa (cf. pp 293-309 and 434-57).The strength of the volume is its contribution to the historiography ofreligious studies, even if the regional focus of the respective authors arevery evident. His Ghanaian experience qualifies Platvoet's surveys (pp 46-102), and 105-38), as do the South African and Nigerian starting pointsinform what M. Prozesky and J. Olupona provide (cf. pp 229-51 and 185Š200, with supplementary general survey on West Africa, 211-19).By implication, the volume pleads for methodological pluralism in thestudy of religions in Africa. Most sophisticated is Cox, who spells out anargument in favour of an open-ended phenomenological approach to thestudy from within of different African traditional religions (pp 155-82). Inhis very informative survey of the study of religions in Nigeria, Oluponaillustrates his methodological comprehensiveness (pp 185-218). In hispersonally involved and very thought-provoking contribution, Bourdillonconvincingly shows how anthropological epoche has to be combined withjudgements with reference to common human concerns (cf. pp 139-54).Commenting on the volume as a whole, I have to share a few criticalobservations. Given the provenance of the papers, it is to be regrettedthat they do not give room for an item on the study of Islam in Malawi andZimbabwe by Dr. E. Mandivenga, an expert on the subjects, who at thetime was Chairman in the Department, which hosted the conference.115iifi BOOK REVIEWS11bMy more general observations concern the limitations of what thev )lume has to say about the study of Christianity in Africa. Differentauthors express a necessary criticism of claims to interpret Africantraditional religions from Christian starting points in an attempt to developan African Christian Theology. In his contribution, Verstraelen advances ahealthy but very general argument in favour of the study of Church Historyfrom an African perspective. In his survey of "The Religions of Africa intheir Historical Order" (pp 46-102), Platvoet limits himself to subscribe tothe distinction between "Ethiopian Christianity" (sic!), "Modern MissionaryChristianity" and "Indigenous Christianity" (pp 58-64). This classificationmay serve some purpose at a very general level. It is limited, however, asit does not take very far the study from within of Christianity in its varietyin different African contexts.In his keynote address (pp 37-45), the Secretary-General of theInternational Association for the History of Religions, Dr Michael Pye,challenged the conference to consider "what is the deep-seated frame ofreference .. which informs cultural insider's reflection on African religion";we may add in its plurality (cf. p 45). It seems to me that Olupona'scomprehensive contribution on the study of religions in Nigeria is closestto an answer to that question.Institute of Development Studies CARL F. HALLENCREUTZEmpowerment or Repression? ESAP and Children in Zimbabwe ByRodreck Mupedziswa. Silveira House Social Series No. 13, Gweru, MamboPress, 57pp.This welcome book brings together many of the issues concerning childrenin Zimbabwe today that give rise to grave concern. These include:deteriorating educational opportunities and attendance at school,deteriorating nutritional levels, deteriorating health and health facilities,increasing shortage of housing, child labour and child sexual abuse. It isuseful to have this data brought together in an accessible form.One problem I have with the book is the precise relationship betweenthe Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) and the problemsdescribed. Some of the problems are directly related to the policies ofESAP, such as the introduction of fees for education and health services.However, the social development fund was introduced with ESAP toalleviate these problems, and poor administration of the fund is not thefault of the programme. Other causes of problems, such as the decline inemployment opportunities, the lack of funds in government and the declineof the value of the Zimbabwean currency, are assumed in this book to