Abstract
Recently, there has been a growth in the empirical literature on African Christian communities in Europe, with particular focus on the ‘reverse flow’ phenomenon (Adogame, 2004; Hunt, 2002; Onyinah, 2004; Ter Haar, 1998, 2008; van Dijk, 1997). Spurned by the processes of globalization and transnationalism, ‘reverse flow’ or ‘reverse evangelization’ describes a process in which individual and institutional actors engage in enduring and durable occupations or activities, which give rise to the flow of Christianity from previously peripheral societies to primary centres of faith (Pasura, 2012b). In Britain, the establishment of African migrant churches dates to the early 1920s and accelerated from the 1960s (Adogame, 2004; Hanciles, 2004). Yet it was not until the 1980s that a significant population of African Christians migrated to Europe because of escalating conflicts and crises on the continent and arising from forces of globalization (Hanciles, 2004). African Christian communities vary from small house congregations to large institutionalized congregations and exist in many cities across the continent. As Ter Haar (1998) notes, the majority of African Christian congregations in Britain are formed by people from West Africa, predominantly from Nigeria and Ghana. Ter Haar (1998) also refers to the sprouting up of French-speaking churches with people coming from the Democratic republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).
Published Version
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