African Christianity Research Articles

Inducting the Socratic Method of Forming Faith in African Contexts

The Socratic method of questioning and answering as a learning and teaching strategy has been used widely over time, for it effectively stimulates meaningful learning. Its learner-centered and transformative nature promotes ongoing dialogue. Since cultural differences influence the nature of questions asked, induction of the Socratic method is inevitable so that faith formation leads to thinking theologically where faith becomes a contextual form of thinking and thinking a form of contextualized faith. Some mainline churches in Africa have adopted catechisms with pre-asked and pre-answered questions formulated in Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. The challenges of time, culture, and geographical contextual differences create a gap between the church’s faith formation and context-based spiritual quests. These gaps demand asking the right questions that challenge and inverse wrong attitudes that foster deep reflective self-evaluation, interpretation, and understanding, shaping appropriate perceptions to address the contemporary spiritual quests of Africa. Using the qualitative literature review methodology, this article discovered that there are some gaps between questions and answers in catechisms used in mainline churches and contemporary spiritual quests of Africa. This article aims to discuss the means of closing the gap between questions and answers in catechism and context-based spiritual quests. It recommends induction of the Socratic method so that the questions and answers in catechisms are contextual, communicable, assimilable, and appropriable in African contexts. This study contributes to faith formation by recommending the induction of the Socratic method so that the questions and answers in catechisms are contextual, communicable, assimilable, and appropriable in African contexts. Keywords: Inducting, Socratic Method, Faith Formation, Questions and Answers Communicability, Assimilability, Appropriateness

A plea for vengeance in Psalm 35: 1-3 and its reflections in Africa (Yoruba) indigenous churches

Psalm 35 is one of the most popular, widely read and used Psalm among the African indigenous churches (Yoruba) in Nigeria. This article investigates why and how Psalm 35 vv. 1-3 is used as a plea for vengeance among the Yoruba Christians in African indigenous churches in Nigeria. The article explores how the plea for vengeance is understood and expressed in the African traditional context. African biblical hermeneutics with the view of providing a useful lens to reread biblical text in African context was adopted for the study. It was discovered that as early as the 3rd-century Christian era, the book of Psalms was used in the liturgy of the church. The notion of vengeance as found in Psalm 35 vv. 1-3 is a recurrent theme in African indigenous churches in Nigeria. This Psalm is used among the Yoruba Christians in African indigenous churches as a plea for divine intervention against their enemies. Through a synthesis of biblical and traditional African sources, this article demonstrates how the plea for vengeance is expressed in the cultural practices and beliefs of African indigenous churches. The plea for vengeance in this Psalm is a reflection of African indigenous churches’ understanding of key social issues such as justice, relationships between individuals and groups, and the need to maintain social integrity. Psalm 35 is usually read, sung, memorised, inscribed on parchment, and chanted by African christians and non-christians as expression of faith in God to intervene in the issues confronting them as he did for the Psalmist.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The Yoruba Christian readers of Psalm 35vv. 1-3 appeal to God for intervention against their enemies. The article emphasises that Christians should not take laws into their hands but trust in God for justice.

The Dignity of Creation

In cognizance of the effect of the influence of a dualistic view, that has influenced a simultaneous oppression of both nature and women, this research article suggests a turning of the gaze to an African women eco-theology. It constructs a methodology from the theological reflections of a social Trinitarian understanding of God, as seen in Jürgen Moltmann’s works, and incorporates animism to it as a way of reconciling all creation in unity with God. It appraises a recognition of the hierarchical nature of dualism in western thought forms, which contributes to an intertwined oppression of nature. It critiques a transcendental apathetic God, in response to ecological crisis; and affirms the African religious view of animism as a way of retrieving nature, to an active voice. In view of this, it offers a shift from dualist view of creation to an interconnected sacredness in order to accord dignity to the creation. The significance of the article will be to shift the attitudes of African Christians, from a dualistic worldview, towards creation

Inculturation of Luhya Birth and Naming Rituals in Christian Worship: A Study of The Baptist Church in Vihiga County, Kenya

African Christians are in a dilemma of whether to fully embrace western-prejudiced Christianity or to stick to their traditional forms of faith. Influenced by the fear of syncretic worship, the Baptist church in Vihiga County, which is out rightly committed to Western Christianity condemns and opposes Africans who embrace their traditional religious rituals and rites. Despite this, the Luhya community who profess the Christian faith secretly are adamant in practicing their birth and naming religious rituals in worship. The paper argues that inculturation of Luhya birth and naming rites and rituals in Christian worship in the Baptist church in Vihiga County, Kenya has a significant impact on the survival of Christian message among its membership. The faith that does not become culture is not a lived faith. The study was informed by animism and sociological theories. Descriptive research design was employed with qualitative approaches of analysis. The sample size of the study was 221 participants comprising 183 Lay Christian and 38 Key informants (16 Pastors and 22 Church Leaders). The findings revealed that many Baptist Christians are resistant to inculturate Luhya rites and rituals of birth and naming into their worship, instead they condemn them and those that perform such rituals. This resistance makes them live inauthentic Christian life within their cultural context. The study recommended the Church leadership, theologians, and scholars to advocate for values in Luhya birth and naming rites and rituals that are consistent with Christian worship

Beaconsfield Seventh-Day Adventist Church: From First Church in Africa to Museum Status

The first Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church building in Africa was erected in 1890 at Beaconsfield in Kimberley, South Africa. This article examines the history of the Beaconsfield Seventh-day Adventist Church from 1890 to the present. It highlights its growth, impact in the local community, and its eventual transformation into a museum. There are specific events and institutions of the church that will be examined in connection with this history. The article examines how mining, the siege, and the needs of the community influenced and shaped the church and its place in the religious landscape, both locally and globally. It also examines the various challenges and successes the church has faced over the years, both in its role in the global SDA context and in the lives of the local community. Finally, the article examines the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the church building as it embarks on its new mission as a museum

Frank Weston of Zanzibar

On 2 November 1924, Bishop Frank Weston died at Hegongo, in what is now Tanzania. He was a significant theologian and controversialist, defending an Anglicanism rooted in Chalcedonian theology and episcopal ecclesiology. He rejected modernist theology not least because it implied that African Christians had to adopt European liberalism to understand the gospel. He lambasted German and British colonial administrations as disingenuous and inhumane. His commitment to orthodox theology, social justice, and rejection of claims for European superiority, remain relevant in a world still marred by injustice and neocolonial matrices which would seek to diminish the people of Africa.

Nicaea at 1700: Roots and Branches in African Christianity

Call for papers for a themed issue of African Christian Theology (September 2025).

Experiencing Salvation in Africa

A book review essay of Salvation in African Christianity, edited by Rodney L. Reed and David K. Ngaruiya (Langham Global Library, 2023).

Kigame, Reuben. <i>Essays in African Christianity and Theology</i>

A Book Note short review of Essays in African Christianity and Theology by Reuben Kigame (Posterity Publishers, 2023)

Finding the Kingdom of God in Africa

A book review essay of The Kingdom of God in Africa: A History of African Christianity by Mark Shaw and Wanjiru M. Gitau, 2nd edition (Langham Global Library, 2020).

Africa’s Aquifers

While John S. Mbiti (1931–2019) is highly acclaimed for his scholarly contributions to the fields of African religion and philosophy, little attention has been paid to his reflections on African Christian spirituality. Arguing vehemently against “imported Christianity,” he contends that only a genuine encounter between African religiosity and the Christian faith will quench the spiritual thirst of African peoples. This essay identifies and explores a few key contributions Mbiti offers in this regard and outlines certain critiques of his work. The central argument is that like the tremendous resource of Africa’s vast aquifers, African religiosity is a deep, enduring reservoir for enriching the understanding and experience of African Christian spirituality. Examples of the wellsprings of African religiosity that African Christian spirituality draws from include prayer, a unified worldview that does not erect dichotomies between the physical and spiritual realms, and a deeply communal orientation. Mbiti also underlines that certain elements within African religion require discernment in light of the gospel, so that Africans’ prior religious experience might be transposed into the fullness of life in Christ. Thus, African Christian spirituality can enhance not only the faith experience of African believers, but also followers of Jesus throughout the world who seek to deepen their spiritual lives.

Print Media and the Propagation of Christianity in Africa: A Historical View

This paper examines the role of the print media in communicating the gospel to indigenous Africans. Through a historical lens, the study identifies several factors that contributed to the effective use of the print media in the propagation of Christianity across Africa. These factors include the development of orthography for various African languages, the establishment of Western education, the rise of African missionaries, the translation of the Bible into local languages, and the emergence of modern journalism, with a particular focus on Nigeria. The findings reveal that the print media significantly promoted the spread of the gospel by facilitating the contextualisation of Christian teachings, fostering a spirit of ecumenism, advancing Western education, and reinforcing the commitment to fulfilling the Christian mission in Africa. The paper concludes by suggesting that the continued production and distribution of Christian literature such as tracts, magazines, handbills, posters, and further Bible translations into African languages would greatly enhance the ongoing propagation of Christianity throughout the continent.

The challenge of secularism to religion: A South African Christian perspective

The challenge of secularism to religion: A South African Christian perspective

The African Church confronting the cosmic powers

This article focusses on the church in Africa, dwelling with God, empowered by the Holy Spirit to confront the cosmic powers. Using the African ‘circular’ patterns, God’s presence with his people from the Old Testament times through the New Testament, an argument is presented that the African church possesses the potency to confront the cosmic powers that impinge upon the human dignity, with intentions of breaking down the community of Christ. The circle is presented as a force building towards community cohesiveness and, therefore enhancing the communality for strength against eternal forces that are aimed to destroy the church. The secret of the victory of the community over the cosmic powers is through God’s presence with his people, communality (togetherness) of his followers, and the empowerment by the Holy Spirit. God made his presence visible through shekinah, tabernacle, miracles of provision for their needs, sacrificial rituals, temple and prophetic leadership. The article concludes that God has always opted to commune with his people, because he himself is a communal God. He is in community, the trinitarian God dwelling together with and among his people. During the uncertain times of confrontation with cosmic powers, he has been at the centre while his people are encircling him and look towards him as a centre of attraction.Intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary implications: Understanding the context of African church, confronted with cosmic powers, the church is encouraged to understand the power of the presence of God. With anthropological concept of a circle, one understand the importance of community as a way of being empowered to stand the challenges of cosmic powers.

O Beatum Carcerem : The Rhetoric of Incarceration in the Letters of Tertullian and Cyprian

Abstract This article argues that Tertullian and Cyprian invoked commonplace imagery related to combat, agriculture, and mysticism to construe incarceration as spiritually beneficial for their North African Christian audiences. By subjecting to literary analysis passages from their letters in which incarceration is reimagined positively, we aim to demonstrate how these letters functioned rhetorically to teach and persuade Christians—both inside and outside of prison—about the value of incarceration and the need to persevere in the face of its well-known hardships. We also maintain that their innovative perspectives on incarceration not only addressed important issues in the second and third centuries, such as apostasy and martyrdom, but also operated within a broader Greco-Roman philosophical discourse that viewed incarceration as potentially beneficial for those capable of adopting the right mindset.

The Russian Orthodox Church in Africa – For Political or Ecclesial Reasons?

Since 1921, the See of Saint Mark has been the sole canonical Eastern Orthodox Church serving the African continent. Alexandria allows presbyters from other Orthodox jurisdictions to serve immigrants of their nations, but under local Alexandrian jurisdictions. This practice of not having other Orthodox jurisdictional dioceses or bishops in Africa has helped eliminate the so-called ‘diaspora problem’ ( Holy and Great Council 2016 ) in Africa. That was until December 2021, when the Patriarchate of Moscow created two dioceses in Africa, after Alexandria supported the 2019 autocephaly of Ukraine awarded by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Was this invasion done for ecclesiastical reasons or state politics? What caused Alexandrian clerics to leave their mother Church? Did the Moscow–Ukrainian war, schism and autocephaly cause this? Using textual and oral evidence, this study unveils the Russian state using their inherent religious-state model as the reason for Moscow's invasion of Alexandria, and the Alexandrian clerics having joined Moscow because of administrative challenges of their dioceses, long before the Ukrainian autocephaly and war.

God, Philosophers and Theologians in Africa

There is renewed interest in philosophical and theological investigations about God, religions and the implications of religious beliefs among philosophers and theologians in Africa. This development is itself profitable because the question or the problem of God is a relevant discourse in Africa where the majority of people are theists. However, unlike the exploration of the first-generation African scholars—philosophers and theologians—whose primary objective was to show the symmetry between Christianity and African Traditional Religions (ATR), contemporary discourses arise within the clamour for decoloniality. The investigations, with varied emphasis, advocate the decolonisation of the concept of God, epistemic decolonisation, decolonisation of Christianity and African Christian theology, etc. In this essay, I critically examine the contemporary decolonial discourse about God, divine attributes, religious belief, and the relationship between African Christian theology and ATR. I argue that most of the contemporary literature is entangled in conceptual convolution and as such, there is a lack of clarity about what needs to be decolonised. Put differently, most works do not clearly distinguish between reality (the person or phenomenon “God”), thought (the concept “God”), and conceptions of God (language, that is, the terms and images used in making assertions about God). Further, I argue that when conceptual clarifications are adequately attended to, there is no need for decolonisation of discourses about God, divine nature, divine attributes, and the relationship between Christianity and ATR.

A Theological Reflection on African and Jewish Cultural Views on the Afterlife

This paper examines the African and Jewish views of the afterlife in their cultural contexts. It attempts to draw notable similarities and contrasts between the two. The African view is assessed from a study of relevant literature on the topic while the Jewish view is collated from an Old Testament Scripture passage. The paper evaluates the African afterlife view from a collation of secondary sources that are relevant to the study. It conveys an introduction section to the African view of the afterlife that encapsulates the role of the ancestors and lesser divinities in the African afterlife view. In the Jewish context, the paper evaluates the afterlife from the study of 1 Samuel 28, a passage that reveals the afterlife strand from the context of Jewish theological thought. Samuel’s spirit was recalled from the afterlife abode and he pronounced God’s judgment on king Saul. The paper concludes with a brief summary capturing the key similarities and contrasts between the two cultural worldviews. This study has established that the afterlife is embraced by both societies even though the cultural spectrums on the activities of the spirits of the dead significantly differ in each context. The African and Jewish afterlife views are significant for a cross-cultural religious study between the two views. A comparative study of the two afterlife views is significant in outlining the influence of traditional Jewish theological thought on African Christianity.

Sustainability Hermeneutics: The New Task of African Biblical Studies

As a new and emerging approach to biblical interpretation, Sustainability Hermeneutics (SH) combines aspects of the environment, economy, and society in its interpretation of biblical texts. Such an approach to biblical interpretation shows the interaction of the environment, economy and society in biblical texts in line with the understanding of sustainability. It is therefore integrative and holistic. This article argued that such an approach holds so much promise for African Biblical Studies (ABS) at a time when the African continent is faced with myriads of developmental issues. While Sustainability Hermeneutics ingrains biblical texts into an integrative African worldview, the article also argued that the urgency of the use of Sustainability Hermeneutics in African Biblical Studies lies in the fact that the Bible and its messages still make sense to many African Christians. So, Sustainability Hermeneutics, if well utilised in African Biblical Studies, will motivate many African Christians to take actions that will lead to sustainable African societies.

Leadership among African Independent Churches

Abstract African Independent Churches are known to be the fourth segment of Christianity in Africa – after Roman Catholics and Orthodox Churches, and Western Protestant Churches. The early leaders had no books to read about leadership, no Bible Colleges and Seminaries where they learned about leading people. They did not have the opportunity to attend conferences and seminars on leadership. The means of getting information were scant. Despite all these challenges, they commanded thousands and even millions of people today and are influential. Some of their leaders were and are deified. This paper looks at the leadership qualities and dynamics of African Independent Churches to the extent that some of their leaders were and are treated as demigods. They have introduced a new style of leadership to African Christianity, which is gradually becoming the norm in most churches.