Around the World in 80 Faiths

Africa (1x3)

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Pete Owen Jones presents the definitive guide to faith on earth, with 80 rituals across six continents in the space of a year. The big six world religions are only part of the story. Faith is belief in the sacred, and it is expressed in a rich diversity of rituals, in denominations, sects, cults, tribal faiths and new religious movements. Pete's mission is to witness and take part in rites rarely filmed before, to take the religious pulse of the planet and to understand the depth of humanity's fascination with the divine. As an Anglican priest, Pete will be confronting cultures that will challenge his values and prejudices - he will be surprised, even offended, but also enlightened. Pete continues his year-long religious odyssey with a gruelling journey exploring the spiritual traditions of Africa. He sets off hoping to get a glimpse of man's first experience of the divine. His journey begins with the ancient practice of voodoo in Benin, where he is confronted with rites that contradict his own deeply held religious convictions. He is forced to decide whether he should even take part. Later, he travels to Botswana to meet the San Bushmen, inheritors of the earliest religious faith on earth. In South Africa, he discovers surprising new developments in religious belief when he meets the members of the 12th Apostolic Church and is stunned to find Afrikaners who believe the world is about to come to an end. In Ethiopia, he finds a group of one of the world's youngest religions - Rastafarians who have set up a Utopian community in this harsh and unforgiving land. His journey reaches its emotional conclusion in the highlands of northern Ethiopia.