Esoteric Signs and Symbols in Akan-Ewe Socioreligioculture: Indigenous Constructs for Post-Missionary Theology and Christology
Edward Agboada 
Issue: Vol.11 No. 4 2025 Issue Article 5 pp.163 – 173
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20251145 | Published online 13th May, 2025.
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This study explores esoteric signs and symbols within Akan-Ewe sociocultural and spiritual traditions to uncover indigenous theological and Christological constructs for post-missionary Africa. Employing essential, functional, and ethnographic theories from the phenomenology of religion, the research discovers that Akan-Ewe spirituality contains profound constructs that provide frameworks for the existence of God, the nature of existence, the sanctity of life, and moral accountability that resonate with yet are distinctly different from Western missionary Christianity. In the search for frameworks that adequately and sufficiently fill the impasse created by the prejudices and polemics of Western (Missionary) Christianity against Africa’s context on one side, and attempts by African Christianity to decipher alternatives that provide the right answers to the questions emerging from its Christianity, the study discovers that within Africa’s socioculture and spirituality are embedded esoteric signs and symbols which possess frameworks that provide relevant contexts for Theology and Christology in no less rational ways than Western/European (missionary) contexts. By applying substantive, functional, and social-relational phenomenological approaches alongside qualitative methods, the research contributes to decolonising African Christianity, offering viable alternatives for theology and Christology that emerge from Africa’s own intellectual and spiritual traditions. The findings hold significance for African Christianity and postcolonial theology, advocating for frameworks rooted in indigenous epistemologies rather than missionary paradigms.
Keywords: Esoteric, Signs, Symbols, Christology, Globalisation, Christianity, Theology
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Edward Agboada (Rev.) is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Religious Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He is an Ordained Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. He holds a variety of Academic and professional certificates, including Certificate in Christian Ministry (TTS), Diploma in Theology (TTS), Bachelor of Divinity (TTS), MPhil-Religious Studies (KNUST), MEd- Educational Studies (PUC). Until recently, he was a Senior Lecturer at the Ramseyer Training Centre (Abetifi, Ghana). He taught courses in World Religions, Islamic Studies, Christian-Muslim relations, interfaith dialogue, Cross-Cultural Missions, New Religious Movements, Homiletic (Practice of Preaching), and studies in African Traditional Religions. Presently, his research focus is African Christianity, Theology and Biblical scholarship.
Agboada, Edward. “Esoteric Signs and Symbols in Akan-Ewe Socioreligioculture: Indigenous Constructs for Post-Missionary Theology and Christology,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 11 no.4 (2025): 163 – 173. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20251145
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
