Religion in Africa
1032627
225915716
2008-07-16T00:17:35Z
Fuhghettaboutit
665998
Example of how to stack, but It doesn't work well with image below
{{Refimprove|date=January 2008}}
{{Expand|date=January 2008}}
{{FixBunching|beg}}
[[Image:Religion distribution Africa crop.png|thumb|A map of the Africa, showing the major religions distributed as of today. Map shows only the religion as a whole excluding denominations or sects of the religions, and is colored by how the religions are distributed not by main religion of country. Where overlap, majority is displayed ''except'' for traditional relgions practiced in a [[syncretic]] fashion.]]
{{FixBunching|mid}}
{{Religion by Country}}
{{FixBunching|end}}
'''Religion in Africa''' is multifaceted. Most Africans adhere to either [[Christianity in Africa|Christianity]] or [[Islam in Africa|Islam]]. Islam and Christianity contest which is larger, but many adherents of both relgions also practice [[African traditional religion]]s, with traditions of [[folk religion]] or [[syncretism]] practised alongside an adherent's Christianity or Islam. <ref>Encyclopedia Britannica. Britannica Book of the Year 2003. Encyclopedia Britannica, (2003) ISBN 9780852299562 p.306 <br />According to the Encyclopedia Britanica, as of mid-2002, there were 376,453,000 Christians, 329,869,000 Muslims and 98,734,000 people who practiced traditional religions in Africa. [http://www.greenwoodsvillage.com/gor/islam.htm Ian S. Markham,(A World Religions Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 1996.)] is cited by Morehouse University as giving the mid 1990s figure of 278,250,800 Muslims in Africa, but still as 40.8% of the total population. These numbers are estimates, and remain a matter of conjecture. See Amadu Jacky Kaba. The spread of Christianity and Islam in Africa: a survey and analysis of the numbers and percentages of Christians, Muslims and those who practice indigenous religions. The Western Journal of Black Studies, Vol 29, Number 2, June 2005. Discusses the estimations of various almanacs and encyclopedium, placeing Britannica's estimate as the most agreed figure. Notes the figure presented at the [http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/Statistics.htm World Christian Encyclopedia, summarised here], as being an outlier. On rates of growth, Islam and Pentecostal Christianity are highest, see: [http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3835 The List: The World’s Fastest-Growing Religions], Foreign Policy, May 2007. Sunni Islam is the largest single sect, both in Africa and worldwide. See: [http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/30/news/islam.php Islam overtakes Catholicism in number of adherents], Reuters, 30 March 2008.<br /></ref>
==Agregate estimates==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ '''Religious adherence in Africa (2006 estimates)'''<ref>[http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/regions/ The Association of Religion Data Archives], Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University. 2006 regional figures. Note that the regions are NOT the United Nations standard. For instance, "Eastern Africa" includes most of the nations of [[East Africa]], but also [[Zimbabwe]], [[Madagascar]] [[Mozambique]] and [[Zambia]]. [[Angola]] is placed in ''Middle Africa'', leaving this ''Southern Africa'' much smaller that the UN [[Southern Africa]]. Population figures and % of religious belief are from different sources, combined by the ARDA.</ref>
|- bgcolor=#CCCCFF
! Region
! Total population (2006)
! % Christian
! % Muslim
! % Traditional
! % Hindu
! % Bahai
! % Jewish
! % No religion
! % Atheist
|- ALIGN=center bgcolor=#F0F8FF
| Middle Africa
| 118,735,099
| 81.3%
| 9.6%
| 8.0%
| 0.1%
| 0.4%
| 0.0%
| 0.6%
| 0.0%
|- ALIGN=center bgcolor=#F0F8FF
| Eastern Africa
| 302,636,533
| 62.0%
| 21.1%
| 15.6%
| 0.5%
| 0.4%
| 0.0%
| 0.3%
| 0.0%
|- ALIGN=center bgcolor=#F0F8FF
| Northern Africa
| 209,948,396
| 9.0%
| 87.6%
| 2.2%
| 0.0%
| 0.0%
| 0.0%
| 1.1%
| 0.1%
|- ALIGN=center bgcolor=#F0F8FF
| Southern Africa
| 50,619,998
| 82.0%
| 2.2%
| 9.7%
| 2.1%
| 0.7%
| 0.1%
| 2.7%
| 0.3%
|- ALIGN=center bgcolor=#F0F8FF
| Western Africa
| 274,271,145
| 35.3%
| 46.8%
| 17.4%
| 0.0%
| 0.1%
| 0.0%
| 0.3%
| 0.0%
|- bgcolor=#99FFFF
! Region
! Total population
! % Christian
! % Muslim
! % Traditional
! % Hindu
! % Bahai
! % Jewish
! % No religion
! % Atheist
|}
==Abrahamic religions==
The majority of Africans are adherents of the [[Abrahamic religion]]s: [[Islam]] and [[Christianity]]. Both religions are widespread throughout Africa. These religions are often adapted to African cultural contexts and indigenous belief systems.<ref>"The Africanization of Missionary Christianity: History and Typology", Steven Kaplan, Journal of Religion in Africa 16 (3) (1986), 165-186. [http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0126/p01s04-woaf.html In Africa, Islam and Christianity are growing - and blending]. Abraham McLaughlin [[The Christian Science Monitor]], 26 January 2006. </ref>
===Islam===
{{main|Islam in Africa}}
[[Image:AbujaNationalMosque.jpg|thumb|[[Abuja National Mosque]] in [[Nigeria]]]]
Islam has adherents throughout Africa as it is arguably the most widely practiced religion in the continent. Its historical roots in Africa stems from the time of its founder [[Muhammad]] whose relatives and followers [[Migration to Abyssinia|migrated on a hijra to Abyssinia]] in fear of persecution from the [[pagan]] Arabs. Islam is the dominant religion in [[North Africa|North]] and [[Horn of Africa|Northeast Africa]], and it is also well established and prominent in [[Central Africa]] and [[West Africa]] (particularly in [[Côte d'Ivoire]], northern [[Ghana]], southwest and northern [[Nigeria]]), and along the coast of [[East Africa]]. Islam continued a rapid growth into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Today, backed by gulf oil cash, Muslims have increased success in proselytizing, with a growth rate, by some estimates, that is twice as fast as Christianity in Africa.<ref>http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_10733.html Islam making in-roads in Zambia</ref>
===Christianity===
{{main|Christianity in Africa}}
Christianity has existed in Africa for two millennia. The [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Orthodox Coptic Church]], today prominent in [[Egypt]], [[Ethiopia]] and [[Eritrea]] were, according to Christian scriptures, established by the [[Mark the Evangelist|Apostle Mark]] approximately [[AD 42]].{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Missionary activity during the [[Colonial Africa|colonial period]], as well as [[evangelism]] and [[Pentecostalism]] in modern times, has firmly established Christianity in Africa, particularly in [[Central Africa|central]], [[Southern Africa|southern]] and [[East Africa|eastern]] Africa, and around the [[Gulf of Guinea]].
===Judaism===
{{main|African Jews}}
There are several communities of [[Jews and Judaism in Africa|African adherents of Judaism]] dispersed across the African continent, including the [[Beta Israel]] of [[Ethiopia]], the [[Abayudaya]] of [[Uganda]], the [[House of Israel]] in Ghana and the [[Lemba]] of [[Southern Africa]].
==Hinduism==
{{main|Hinduism in Africa}}
The history of Hinduism in Africa is, by most accounts, very short in comparison to that of Islam, Christianity, or even Judaism. However, the presence of its practitioners in Africa dates back to pre-colonial times and even medieval times. There are sizable of Hindu populations in [[South Africa]] and the [[East African]] coastal nations.
==Traditional religion==
{{main|African traditional religion}}
Traditional African religion encompasses a wide variety traditional beliefs. Traditional religious customs are sometimes shared by many African societies, but they are usually unique to specific ethnic groups. Many African Christians and Muslims maintain some aspects of their traditional religions.
==See also==
{{portal|Africa|Africa satellite orthographic.jpg}}
{{portal|Religion|P religion world.svg}}
* [[African mythology]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index_section6.shtml BBC]
*[http://afrikaworld.net/afrel/ Afrikaworld.net]
*[http://www.ucalgary.ca/%7Enurelweb/books/atoms/fred.html Text of "Atoms and Ancestors", considered a classic study]
*[http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/religion/african-traditional-religion.html Stanford Page]
*[http://www.africamissions.org/africa/african_religion.html African Religions at Africa Missions Resource Center]
*[http://www.ibogaine.desk.nl/fernandez.html "Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagination in Africa", James Fernandez, Princeton University Press, 1982]
* http://www.scn.org/rdi/kw-gods.htm
*[http://afrikaworld.net/afrel/goddionah.htm The Meaning of Peace in African Traditional Religion and Culture]
*[http://eblackstudies.org/intro/ Introduction to Afro-American Studies]
{{Africa topic|Religion in}}
{{Africa topics}}
[[Category:Religion in Africa| ]]
{{religion-stub}}
[[cs:Náboženství v Africe]]
[[de:Religion in Afrika]]
[[pl:Religie rodzime Afryki]]
[[sv:Afrikas religion]]
[[no:Afrikanske religioner]]
[[pt:Religião na África]]