African religions are, according to John Mbiti, greatly misunderstood. Some scholars reduce African (traditional) religions to “ancestor worship” but Mbiti argues that “to see them only in terms of ‘ancestor worship” is to isolate a single element, which in some societies is of little significance”

Mbiti went on to argue that “other writers have tried to study or refer to African religions in terms of magic (…). A careful examination of the situation of African societies shows that magic is part of religious background, and it is not easy to separate the two. Some of the ceremonies (…) incorporate both religion and magic (…) Magic belongs to the religious mentality of African peoples. But religion is not magic. Religion is greater than magic, an only an ignorant outsider could imagine that African religions are nothing more than magic”

Source: John Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy, 1970, pp. 12-13