JOURNALS

ABSTRACT

Various postcolonial critics have addressed the issue of undermining African traditional beliefs and viewing them as inferior to Western values. Both Bhabha and Said have approached this issue in terms of the rejection of polarization which ultimately favours the majority, and have, in their writings, challenged some assumptions and canon that, under the pretext of false universality, push Western ideas as the basis of judgment. The consequence of this is the inferiorisation of the values of the postcolonial subjects, which include their culture, religion and other aspects, rooting in their minds the assumption that their practices are superstitious and evil. This paper seeks to redefine the African Traditional Religion in Contemporary African literature, examining its representation by the selected contemporary African authors: Adichie and Emezi while attempting a criticism of its role in the fictional contemporary African societies presented by these authors. It takes the postcolonial approach to deconstruct the negative assumptions provided in the process of polarization and redefines the African religion not as impeccable but as one also worthy of the same regard given to Western religion.