Religion in Africa
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Religion in Africa is multifaceted. Most Africans adhere to either Christianity or Islam. Many also practice African traditional religions, often also in traditions of folk religion or syncretism alongside Christianity and Islam.
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South America
Middle East
Africa
Oceania
Demography of religions by country |
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[edit] Abrahamic religions
The majority of Africans are adherents of the Abrahamic religions: Islam and Christianity. Both religions are widespread throughout Africa. These religions are often adapted to African cultural contexts and indigenous belief systems.[1]
[edit] Islam
Islam has adherents throughout Africa. Its historical roots in Africa stems from the time of its founder Muhammad whose relatives and followers migrated on a hijra to Abyssinia in fear of persecution from the pagan Arabs. Islam is the dominant religion in North and Northeast Africa, and it is also well established and prominent in Central Africa and West Africa (particularly in Côte d'Ivoire, northern Ghana, southwest and northern Nigeria), and along the coast of East Africa.
[edit] Christianity
Christianity has existed in Africa for two millennia. The Orthodox Coptic Church, today prominent in Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea were, according to Christian scriptures, established by the Apostle Mark approximately AD 42.[citation needed] Missionary activity during the colonial period, as well as evangelism and Pentecostalism in modern times, has firmly established Christianity in Africa, particularly in central, southern and eastern Africa, and around the Gulf of Guinea.
[edit] Judaism
There are several communities of African adherents of Judaism dispersed across the African continent, including the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, the Abayudaya of Uganda, the House of Israel in Ghana and the Lemba of Southern Africa.
[edit] Hinduism
The history of Hinduism in Africa is, by most accounts, very short in comparison to that of Islam, Christianity, or even Judaism. However, the presence of its practitioners in Africa dates back to pre-colonial times and even medieval times.
[edit] Traditional religion
Traditional African religion encompasses a wide variety traditional beliefs. Traditional religious customs are sometimes shared by many African societies, but they are usually unique to specific ethnic groups. Many African Christians and Muslims maintain some aspects of their traditional religions.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "The Africanization of Missionary Christianity: History and Typology", Steven Kaplan, Journal of Religion in Africa 16 (3) (1986), 165-186.
[edit] External links
- BBC
- Afrikaworld.net
- Text of "Atoms and Ancestors", considered a classic study
- Stanford Page
- African Religions at Africa Missions Resource Center
- "Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagination in Africa", James Fernandez, Princeton University Press, 1982
- http://www.scn.org/rdi/kw-gods.htm
- The Meaning of Peace in African Traditional Religion and Culture
- Introduction to Afro-American Studies
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