ABSTRACT

This chapter gives a broad overview of the history and development of Christianity on the African continent. It begins by addressing the question whether Christianity is an “African religion”. It then discusses the long historical presence of Christianity in Africa, especially in North Africa and Ethiopia, featuring in particular the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The chapter continues by discussing the 18th-19th century history of missionary Christianity on the continent, and the emergence of African initiated churches in the 20th century. It proceeds by discussing the “Africanization” of the originally European mission churches, and concludes with some statistics about the growth of Christianity on the continent. Thus the chapter develops several arguments towards the conclusion that Christianity can, indeed, be considered an African religion.