Africa's Religion

How religions in Africa have changed over time and what inspired these changes

This map shows how religion made its way to Africa and how different faiths spread quickly through the continent. The red pins represent a place where someone important was born. Blue marks represent significant places, and black represents a virus.

Christianity first began in Africa in the 15th century. It is believed that the religion of Christianity was already formed when the Prophet Mohammed was still living. Christianity was believed to have formed in Jerusalem, which then spread to Europe, and then Africa. In the 4th Century, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Islam soon came too. Muslims were fleeing the Arab Penisula and spreading their religion to Africa. This caused Christianity to slowly decrease and pushed Christians away from coastal areas and into Sub-Sarhan Africa.

While Islam was the dominant religion, the Black Plague started spreading in Europe, and traveled down to Africa. 1/3 of Africa was dominated by the Islam religion.

By the 19th century, Islam had taken over and there were very few people practicing Christianity. Catholic missionaries were sent around Africa. They spread the word of many different religions. This allowed Africans to find a true sense of self. It also connected European rulers and African rulers to each other. The missionaries taught Africans many things. After the missionaries came, the people of Africa had learned about new denominations and wanted to share the news with others. Before, there was only a presence of Christianity and Islam in Africa.

Christians worshiping God and mourning the loss of a fellow Christian leader.  https://www.cfr.org/blog/giant-religion-africa-dr-lamin-sanneh-passes-away 

Currently, the main religions that are practiced in Africa today are Christianity and Islam, but many more are too. Once Muslims were fleeing persecution, Islam spread quickly. Christianity spread fast too with the help of missionaries spreading the word of different faiths around the continent.

Christians worshiping God and mourning the loss of a fellow Christian leader.  https://www.cfr.org/blog/giant-religion-africa-dr-lamin-sanneh-passes-away