Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien Department of Anthropology and African Studies Arbeitspapiere / Working Papers Nr. 79 Asonzeh Ukah African Christianities: Features, Promises and Problems 2007 The Working Papers are edited by Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Forum 6, D-55099 Mainz, Germany. Tel. +49-6131-3923720; Email:
[email protected]; http://www.ifeas.uni-mainz.de Geschäftsführende Herausgeberin/ Managing Editor: Eva Spies (
[email protected]) African Christianities: Features, Promises and Problems1 Asonzeh Ukah Universität Bayreuth, Germany (
[email protected]) Introduction In contemporary times, the most widely known things about Africa seem to be the “breaking bad news” that the global media disseminate about the continent and its many peoples. Africa is a continent of poverty, disease, corruption, wars, and political instability. Some know of portions of Africa as objects of tourist curiosity. Indeed, very few know that Africa is the land with the largest amount of natural resources and the continent with the largest numbers of practising Christians. Africans are a deeply religious people, where there are many religious traditions, the three most important being indigenous religions, Christianity and Islam. These religions fuse in creative ways to produce rich and innovative religious cultures and lifestyles for the diverse populations of the continent. For many Africans today, religion provides significant identity resource; more significantly, in the period of rapid social change with unprecedented distortions to economic, social and political lifestyles, religion offers a veritable means of anchor and stability and a pathway to meaningful social existence. It is estimated in 2005 that Christians constitute 46% (or 400 million) of the total population of the continent of nearly 890 million, a rise from 9% in 1900.2 Africa represents the fastest increase in Christian population worldwide.