Subject Areas

Christianity in Africa contributed greatly to the renewed awareness in the latter half of the twentieth century that Christianity is a ‘non-Western religion’ (Andrew Walls, Kwame Bediako). As such, the study of African Christianity is not only important in Africa itself, but also for the church worldwide. Many academic institutions in other regions now offer courses in African Christianity, which is crucial for understanding Christianity worldwide and its future. Christianity in Africa can of course pride itself with a long history going back to references in the Bible itself and expressions that originate in the time of the early church. In particular, the Ethiopian church has been iconic in the self-understanding of a number of later African Christian movements. Many of the Christian denominations originating with modern western mission movements are strongly represented and an integral part of the African Christian landscape, but have taken on contextual forms. The differences between Roman Catholic, Anglican or Methodist may therefore not carry the same weight and meaning as in the regions where these traditions originated. Africa has also produced its own expressions of Christianity in African Independent Churches and in African Pentecostalisms. These are no longer confined to the region, but have spread elsewhere through the African diaspora and African mission.

African Christian thought is expressed in a great variety of ways. It is not necessarily written down and may often be expressed in oral discourse and dialogue. The other subject areas such as ‘Bible in Africa’ and ‘Engaging Africa’ are of course equally examples of African Christian thought, because much African Christian reflection is developed reflecting on the Scriptures and responding to many pressing issues that the church and the continent are facing. This section focusses on the contributions of Africa’s older and newer theological traditions (such as Roman Catholicism or African Independent Churches), the work of particular African Christian thinkers, and theological themes such as the Trinity, cosmology and sacrifice.

The twentieth century has seen a profound renewal in mission thinking shared broadly among Roman Catholics, the Ecumenical movement and the Evangelical movement that understands mission not primarily as one of the tasks of the church, but as the missio Dei, the mission of God, who sends Son and Spirit for the redemption of the world and the renewal of creation. In this overarching perspective, the Bible, from beginning to end, is seen as the story of this mission Dei and the church itself becomes part of the encompassing mission of God. From this perspective, all Christian theological engagement with Africa falls within the scope of the missio Dei and contributes to the understanding and practice of mission. While recognizing that the different aspects of the missio Dei can never be separated or understood separately, this section focuses on the aspects related to the calling of the church to share the Good News of Christ and to call all the nations to become members of the new people of God united in Christ. This section will also include African involvement in mission beyond sub-Saharan Africa itself.

In an important sense, most African theology can be called ‘public theology’. In line with Africa’s pre-Christian tradition, religion related to all aspects of life. In this respect, it resembles North Atlantic expressions of Christianity before the influence of modernity led to an increased separation between the sacred and the secular, and religion and the public life. Studies of the Bible are intended to speak into everyday and public life. African Christian thought is in most cases not about individual piety or abstract academic problems, but about the life of the community. Modernity in Africa has, however, also produced a development of politics, economics, science and other areas of life as relatively independent spheres, but the church and theology speak into these realities in various ways. This subject area focuses on the way theology and the church speak into the many challenges that Africa faces, which are not merely the issues of the life of the church, but shared with the wider society.

Christianity in Africa is deeply shaped by the Bible. In many cases the Bible was the first book translated into local languages and one of the few printed books available to pastors, evangelists and catechists. The reading and interpretation of the Scriptures in local communities has been one of the major factors in the development of local theologies. These local readings were not only meant as applications of the message of the Scriptures to new situations. The readers often believed that they (re-)discovered aspects of the Scriptural message that had gone unperceived when these texts were read in different cultural contexts, academic settings, or social situations removed from the questions at the grassroots. Readers believed that they heard the voice of the Spirit in a new way in their contexts. Their interpretations should not only be studied as examples of local readings, but also in relation to their claim to provide new insights into the Scriptures that have meaning for the church worldwide and for academic exegesis. In sub-Saharan Africa, academic exegesis and grassroots readings of the Scriptures have not been separated in the same way as has been the case in the modern Western university and this may well be one of its enduring contributions to the church worldwide.