Religion in Africa

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A map of the Africa, showing the major religions distributed as of today. Map shows only the religion as a whole excluding denominations or sects of the religions, and is colored by how the religions are distributed not by main religion of country. Where overlap, majority is displayed except for traditional religions practiced in a syncretic fashion.

Religion in Africa is multifaceted. Most Africans adhere to either Christianity or Islam. Some adherents of either religion also practice African traditional religions, with traditions of folk religion or syncretism practised alongside an adherent's Christianity or Islam.^[1]^[2] ^[3] Judaism also has roots in Africa (especially Ethiopia). According to the Bible, Israelites spent time in Egypt before the Exodus.^[4]

The original religions of many ethnic groups in Africa have been declining over the past century due to the influences of colonialism, acculturation and increasing proselytizing by Christian and Muslim practitioners.^[5]^[6]^[7]

[edit] African traditional religion

Main article: African traditional religion

Early 20th century Yoruba divination board

Voodoo altar with several fetishes in Abomey, Benin

Africa encompasses a wide variety of traditional beliefs. Traditional religious customs are sometimes share by many African societies, but they are usually unique to specific ethnic groups. Since the rapid expansion of Christianity and Islam they have become a minority across much of Africa. Some African Christians and Muslims maintain aspects of their original traditional religions. Some of these characteristics shaping the Islamic and Christian orthodoxies. ^[8]^[9]

Some indigenous African religions worship a single God (Chukwu, Nyame, Olodumare, Ngai etc.), and some recognize a dual or complementary twin God such as Mawu-Lisa. Obeisance can be paid to the primary God through lesser deities (Ogoun, Da^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Agwu, Esu, Mbari, etc.). Some societies also deify entities like the earth, the sun, the sea, lightning, or Nature. Each deity can have its own priest or priestess.Jacob Olupona and Charles E. Long, Editors, African Spirituality. New York: Cross Road Publishing Co., 2000. Sabine Jell-Bahlsen, The Water Goddess in Igbo Cosmology; Ogbuide of Oguta Lake. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2008.^{[citation needed]} The Ndebele and Shona ethnic groups of Zimbabwe have a trinity - a fundamental family group - made up of God the Father, God the Mother, and God the Son. Among the Fon of West Africa and Benin, God, who is called "Vondu", is androgynous, with both male and female traits.

Numerous Bantu ethnic communities in Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon have a certain religious rite of passage where performers known as Okuyi perform dances alongside chants from a chorus as a way to communicate through spiritual means.

The Ewe people of southern Ghana have a conception of the high God as a female-male partnership. Mawu who is female is often spoken of as gentle and forgiving. Lisa who is male renders judgment and punishes. Among the Ewe it is believed that when Lisa punishes, Mawu may grant forgiveness. Here we see the complementarity of male and female that characterizes many of the traditional African religions.

The only example in Africa of a female high Goddess is among the Southern Nuba of Sudan, whose culture has matriarchal traits. The Nuba conceive of the creator Goddess as the "Great Mother" who gave birth to earth and to mankind. (Mbiti, J.S., Introduction to African Religion, Oxford, 1975, p. 53.)

Polytheism in Africa has developed several times independently and in very different ways. For example in the case of ancient Egypt where a pantheon was worshipped or in the case of the Orisha religion in West Africa.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Abrahamic religions

The majority of Africans are adherents of Christianity or Islam. Both religions are widespread throughout Africa. They have both spread at the expense of indigenous African religions, but are often adapted to African cultural contexts and belief systems. They have both spread at the expense of indigenous African religions, but are often adapted to African cultural contexts and belief systems forming Africa's own orthodoxies^[10]^[11]. It was estimated in 2002 that Christians form 40% of Africa's population, with Muslims forming 45%.^[12]

[edit] Islam

Main article: Islam in Africa

The Great Mosque of Kairouan, erected in 670 by the Arab general Uqba Ibn Nafi, is the oldest mosque in North Africa,^[13] Kairouan, Tunisia.

Abuja National Mosque in Nigeria.

According to the World Book Encyclopedia, Islam is the largest religion in Africa,^[14] with 47% of the population being Muslim, accounting for 1/4 of the world's Muslim population.^[15] Its historic roots in Africa stem from the time Muhammad whose relatives and the epic followers migrated on a hijra to Abyssinia in fear of persecution from the pagan Arabs.

The spread of Islam in North Africa came with the invasion of Egypt under Caliph Umar, through the Sinai Peninsula - followed by the rapid conquest of North Africa by the Arab armies. Islam in West Africa was through Islamic traders and sailors. While in Zanzibar it was associated with the Arab slave trade.

Islam is the dominant religion in North Africa and the Horn of Africa, and it has also become the predominant and historical religion of the West African interior and the far west coast of the continent as well as the coast of East Africa. There have been several Muslim empires in Western Africa which exerted considerable influence, notably the Mali Empire, which flourished for several centuries and the Songhai Empire, under the leadership of Mansa Musa, Sonni Ali and Askia Mohammed.

[edit] Christianity

Main article: Christianity in Africa

The Hanging Church of Cairo, Egypt.

Christianity is now one of the two most widely practised religions in Africa and is the largest religion in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most adherents outside Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea are Roman Catholic or Protestant. Several syncretistic and messianic sects have formed throughout much of the continent, including the Nazareth Baptist Church in South Africa and the Aladura churches in Nigeria.There is also fairly widespread populations of Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses. However, the oldest Christian denominations in Africa are the Coptic church in Egypt and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, all Oriental Orthodox, which rose to prominence in the fourth century AD after King Ezana the Great made Ethiopia one of the first Christian nations.^[16]

In the first few centuries of Christianity, Africa produced many figures who had a major influence outside the continent, including St Augustine of Hippo, St Maurice, Origen, Tertullian, and three Roman Catholic popes (Victor I, Miltiades and Gelasius I), as well as the Biblical characters Simon of Cyrene and the Ethiopian eunuch baptised by Philip the Evangelist.

Christianity existed in Ethiopia before the rule of King Ezana the Great of the Kingdom of Axum, but the religion took a strong foot hold when it was declared a state religion in 330 AD, becoming one of the first Christian nations.^[17] The earliest and best known reference to the introduction of Christianity to Africa is mentioned in the Christian Bible's Acts of the Apostles, and pertains to the evangelist Phillip's conversion of an Ethiopian traveler in the 1st Century AD. Although the Bible refers to them as Ethiopians, scholars have argued that Ethiopia was a common term encompassing the area South-Southeast of Egypt.

Other traditions have the convert as a Jew who was a steward in the Queen’s court.^{[clarification needed]} All accounts do agree on the fact that the traveler was a member of the royal court who successfully succeeded in converting the Queen, which in turn caused a church to be built. Tyrannius Rufinus, a noted church historian, also recorded a personal account as do other church historians such as Socrates and Sozemius.^[18]

Some experts predict the shift of Christianity's center of gravity from the European industrialized nations to Africa and Asia in modern times. Yale University historian Lamin Sanneh stated, that "African Christianity was not just an exotic, curious phenomenon in an obscure part of the world, but that African Christianity might be the shape of things to come."^[19] The statistics from the World Christian Encyclopedia (David Barrett) illustrate the emerging trend of dramatic Christian growth on the continent and supposes, that in 2025 there will be 633 million Christians in Africa.^[20]

[edit] Rastafari movement

There are Rasta communities present in modern-day Africa. In the Ivory Coast presidential candidates tried to reach out to voters in the Rasta village of Port Bouet.^[21]^[22]

[edit] Judaism

Main article: African Jews

Adherents of Judaism too can be found scattered across Africa. Perhaps not as well known as the history of Christianity and Islam in Africa to the outside observer, Judaism has an ancient and rich history on the African continent. Today, there are Jewish communities in many countries; including the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, the Abayudaya of Uganda, the House of Israel in Ghana, the Igbo Jews of Nigeria and the Lemba of Southern Africa.

[edit] Baha'i

Bahá'í House of Worship, Kampala, Uganda.

Baha'i Faith is the 3rd most widespread organized Abrahamic religion in Africa after Islam and Christianity.^[23] African Bahá'í Community statistics are also hard to come by. However, Africans have a long history with the Bahá'í Faith; several of the earliest followers of both the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh were reportedly African. From 1924 to 1960 the religion was declared one of the legally sanctioned faiths in Egypt, but has since then been subject to restrictions and outright persecution by authorities and others

[edit] Hinduism

Main article: Hinduism in Africa

The history of Hinduism in Africa is, by most accounts, very short in comparison to that of Islam, Christianity, or Judaism. However, the presence of its practitioners in Africa dates back to pre-colonial times and even medieval times. There are also sizable Hindu populations in South Africa and the Great Lakes region.

[edit] Syncretism in Africa

"The view that Muslims in (Sub-Saharan) Africa are particularly given to syncretic religious practices and that the Africans conversion to Islam is superficial and incomplete are ideas that were developed in the politically motivated colonial scholarship in Islam."

Bangura, Islam and the West African^[24]

Syncretism is the combining of different (often contradictory) beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. In the commonwealth of Africa syncretism with indigenous beliefs is practiced throughout the region. It is believed by some to explain religious tolerance between different groups. ^[25] Kwesi Yankah and John Mbiti argue that African people today have a 'mixed' religious heritage to try to reconcile traditional religions with Abrahamic faiths.^[26] ^[27]Jesse Mugambi claims that the Christianity taught to Africans by missionaries had a fear of syncretism, which was carried on by current African Christian leadership in an attempt to keep Christianity "pure."^[28] Syncretism in Africa is said by others to be overstated ^[29]and due to a misunderstanding of Africa's abilities to form its own orthodoxies and also confusion over what is culture and what is religion.^[30] Others state that the term syncretism is an elusive one. ^[31] Because it can be applied to refer to substitution or modification of the central elements of Christianity or Islam, with beliefs or practices from somewhere else. The consequences under this definition, according to missiologist Keith Ferdinando, is a fatal compromise of the religions integrity. However, communities in Africa (e.g. Afro-Asiatic) have many common practices which are also found in Abrahamic faiths and thus these traditions do not fall under the category of some definitions of syncretism. ^[32]^[33]

[edit] Table

Country	Christianity % of total population	Islam % of total population	Traditional religions and other % of total population	Sourceⁿ¹
- Central Africa -
Angola	95	0	5	[1]
Cameroon	69.2	20.9	9.9	[2]
Central African Republic	80.3	10.1	9.6	[3]
Chad	34	53	13	[4]
Democratic Republic of the Congo	95.6	1.5	2.9	[5]
Republic of the Congo	90.7	1.3	8	[6]
Equatorial Guinea	93	1	6	[7]
Gabon	73	10	17	[8]
São Tomé and Príncipe	97	2	1	[9]
- East Africa -
Burundi	75	5	20	[10]
Comoros	2	98	0	[11]
Kenya	78	10	12	[12]
Madagascar	41	7	52	[13]
Malawi	79.9	12.8	7.3	[14]
Mauritius	32.2	16.6	51.2	[15]
Mayotte	3	97	0	[16]
Mozambique	56.1	17.9	26	[17]
Réunion	84.9	2.1	13	[18]
Rwanda	93.6	4.6	1.8	[19]
Seychelles	93.1	1.1	5.8	[20]
Tanzania	30	35	35	[21]
Uganda	84	12	4	[22]
Zambia	87	1	12	[23]
- Horn of Africa -
Djibouti	6	94	0	[24]
Eritrea	62.5	36.5	1	[25]
Ethiopia	62.8	33.9	3.3	[26]
Somalia	0	100	0	[27]
- North Africa -
Algeria	1	99	0	[28]
Egypt	10	90	0	[29]
Libya	1	97	2	[30]
Morocco	1.1	98.7	0.2	[31]
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	0	100	0	[32]
South Sudan	50	0	50
Sudan	3	97	0	[33]
Tunisia	1	98	1	[34]
- Southern Africa -
Botswana	71.6	0.3	28.1	[35]
Lesotho	90	0	10	[36]
Namibia	90	0	10	[37]
South Africa	79.7	1.5	18.8	[38]
Swaziland	90	1	9	[39]
Zimbabwe	84	1	15	[40]
- West Africa -
Benin	42.8	24.4	32.8	[41]
Burkina Faso	23	61	16	[42]
Cape Verde	99	0	1	[43]
Côte d'Ivoire	32.8	38.6	28.6	[44]
Gambia	9	90	1	[45]
Ghana	69	15.6	15.4	[46]
Guinea	10	85	5	[47]
Guinea-Bissau	10	50	40	[48]
Liberia	85.6	12.2	2.2	[49]
Mali	5	90	5	[50]
Mauritania	0	100	0	[51]
Niger	5	90	5	[52]
Nigeria	48.2	50.4	1.4	[53]
Senegal	5	94	1	[54]
Sierra Leone	21	77	2	[55]
Togo	48	14	38	[56]