The Problem of Syncretism in African Initiated Churches: A Theological Evaluation of Belief and Practice in South West Nigeria

This doctoral study presents a rigorous theological evaluation of syncretic belief and practice within African Initiated Churches (AICs) in South West Nigeria, with a focus on Celestial Church of Christ, Cherubim and Seraphim, and the Christ Apostolic Church. AICs represent one of the most significant and theologically complex expressions of African Christianity, combining Yoruba cosmological elements with Christian revelation in ways that have been variously celebrated as inculturation and condemned as theological compromise. Employing a critical constructive theology methodology that draws on systematic theology, inculturation theory, African religious studies, and field ethnography, the study gathers primary data through twelve months of participant observation in nine AIC congregations across Lagos, Ogun, and Osun states, supplemented by sixty interviews with AIC leaders, trained theologians, and long-standing members. Theological analysis focuses on selected syncretic practices including the use of candles and holy water, prophetic healing, ancestral veneration at graveside services, and the role of visions in communal discernment. The study develops an original evaluative framework distinguishing between legitimate inculturation, which contextualises the gospel through cultural forms, and theological syncretism, which compromises core Christian doctrine. Constructive theological guidelines for AICs navigating the inculturation-syncretism boundary are proposed and tested through dialogue with AIC theological educators. Keywords: syncretism, African Initiated Churches, inculturation, Yoruba Christianity, South West Nigeria