Religion in Africa Today: Blending Old and New Faith

Africa is now one of the most religious places on earth. In the Pew Research Center's survey of 19 sub-Saharan countries, in many of them about nine in ten people or more said religion is very important in their lives. Faith shapes how people vote, how they settle disputes, how they treat illness and how communities rebuild after war. To understand modern Africa, you need to understand its faith.

Many Africans see no conflict between going to church or mosque and honouring ancestors, consulting a traditional healer or wearing a protective charm. A person might pray in church on Sunday, then pour a drink for the ancestors at a family ceremony. Funerals and weddings often mix Christian or Muslim prayers with traditional customs. Some religious leaders welcome this, saying faith should be at home in African culture; others condemn it and ask believers to choose.

Since the 1970s, Pentecostal and charismatic churches have spread rapidly across Africa, from Nigeria and Ghana to Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. Their lively music, prayers for healing and miracles, use of local languages and young leaders appeal to many people, especially in fast-growing cities. Some have become very large, with television channels and branches abroad.

Some churches teach that giving money to the church will bring blessings of wealth and health. Supporters say this message gives hope and encourages hard work. Critics, including many African church leaders, say it can be used to take money from poor people, and that some preachers become very rich while their members stay poor. It is one of the most debated issues in African Christianity today.

Many young Africans remain deeply religious, often joining newer churches or Islamic movements. Others are questioning religion, especially online, and some, in Africa and among Africans living abroad, are rediscovering traditional spirituality as part of their cultural identity. Cities, the internet and education are all changing how people practise and talk about faith.

South Sudan became independent in 2011 after decades of war. Churches played a major role during and after the conflict. Church leaders spoke out for peace, organised meetings between rival communities and provided food, schools and health care when the state could not. The South Sudan Council of Churches, which brings together different Christian churches, has been involved in efforts to promote peace and reconciliation.
At the same time, traditional beliefs remain important. Many South Sudanese Christians still give cattle in marriage, respect the role of spiritual leaders such as the Dinka masters of the fishing spear, and keep traditional ceremonies at funerals. Faith in South Sudan, like much of Africa, is both new and very old at once.