Religiosity, Spirituality and the Miraculous Utopian in Africa: Further Reflections on David Hume’s Proposal on Miracle

There is a high sense of religiosity in contemporary Africa to the extent that there is almost a synonymy between spirituality and religiosity. Spirituality, the underlying canon of religion seems to have been neglected, as the surge in the demand for miraculous deeds continue to surface among contemporary Africans. The need to check and revisit the narratives on miracles and its detrimental effect on society is the onus of this research. Via the method of critical analysis, this paper argues, using the proposal of David Hume, as its framework that excessive reliance on miracles portends a grim scientific future for Africans. The claims to the miraculous are not empirically verifiable yet it has generated a wide followership in African churches and mosques. The position and the arguments of the Scottish scholar David Hume will be used to examine whether or not, claims to the miraculous are at best circumspect. Since the sciences have been conceived strictly as disciplines that engage in physical assessment, the responsibility therefore falls on the humanities to disclose how the quest for miracles can prove detrimental not only to religion and spirituality itself, but to social well-being and harmony of people in Africa