Persistence and Change in Contemporary African Religion

Abstract

In recent years the religious scene in Sub-Saharan Africa has changed enormously. Everywhere new (charismatic) churches are proliferating, and at the expense of other strands of Christianity. It is possible to see this as generational change; the .rst generation being the mission churches, the second, the African Independent (or Instituted) Churches which peaked about the 1960s, and the third, these charismatic churches. The author examines the nature of this new Christianity, in all its diversity. He argues that its main characteristics are an emphasis on success or wealth, and the persistence of the “enchanted” imagination which sees spiritual forces at work everywhere. He claims that the emergence of this Christianity cannot be divorced from the economic plight of Africa and its political marginalization.

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