The Writings and Legacy of John Mbiti

This chapter discusses the enduring legacy of John Mbiti, one of Africa’s leading theologians in the decades between 1960 and 2020. First, it offers a biographical sketch of Mbiti’s life to situate his work properly in the continent of Africa that was, in the 1960s, seeking its own identity and trying to tell its own stories to correct the colonial narratives that had, for decades and centuries, been told about African cultures and religion. Second, it discusses Mbiti’s writing, paying attention to some general key themes that shape his work. In this part, the chapter appreciates Mbiti’s overly productive decade at Makerere University in Uganda where he worked between 1964 and 1974. Third, it explores what I consider the three pillars that make up Mbiti’s legacy, and these include (1) his commitment to Africanising Christianity, (2) his work in dignifying African religion and (3) his connecting of African religion and African theology to African philosophy (as a way of Africanising Christianity). In the end, it finishes by appreciating Mbiti’s impact on the field of African theology, making clear that his voice and wisdom are needed in the study of African Christianity even though some of his significant works are more than half a century old.