The history of Christianity in colonial and postcolonial Africa worked together to capitalize and convert the people of Africa to the western way of life. They particularly came together when it related to education in Africa. “Missionaries started schools as a way to win converts for Christ, and European governments befitted from an educated native workforce that could help them run their colonies. Because most missionaries provided these services at no cost to the state, governments frequently gave missionaries near-monopoly control over education in colonial Africa” (Jacobsen, 49). The understanding of Christianity that they introduced to Africa were the necessary components of Christian living according to the European Protestants: literacy, hard work, time consciousness, democracy and self-discipline. However, the beliefs and practices of the AICs were different from Western Christianity. The AICs “proclaimed a gospel of ‘good news’ for Africans in contrast to what they viewed as the anti-African message of Christianity being spread around the continent by many Western missionaries”(Jacobsen, 50). The postcolonial age had a great effect on these churches. African Christianity and the AIC movements heavily influenced these people to take on leadership positions and take advantage of lack of Europeans during World War II. Additionally, they “had shifted their emphasis away from Western-style reason and orderliness toward a more free-wheeling focus on the Spirit” (Jacobsen, 52).

The idea of “Ubuntu” was “the foundational assumption… that every human life has value and that all human beings are interconnected” (Jacobsen, 64) and “it serves simultaneously as a statement of face and as a moral ideal” (Jacobsen, 62). This idea was applied to many aspects and situations where people either needed inspiration and guidance or in order to explain intangible phenomena. Specifically, it was applied to the theological ideals such as reconciliation, communication with the ancestors, and the African vision of God. Ubuntu illustrates a context of addressing the violence that has plagued the continent by encouraging people to confession to their actions so they may be forgiven during the South African apartheid. When issues continued to worsen between the Muslims and Christians in Liberia. The women took action to encourage “these young men to regain their souls and reintegrating them into the larger community. Justice… was set aside as socially dysfunctional” (Jacobsen, 66). When it came to the issue of life after death, the Africans used Ubuntu to accurately express their beliefs. “These two realms intersect in ways that allow the ancestors to continue to play a role in the world of the living. They remain part of the network of human interrelations” (Jacobsen, 67). Lastly, it helped explained God and his interaction with all things on Earth. “Every living entity on the planet has its source of life in God. This means that Ubuntu is not merely a human concern; it includes all of creation” (Jacobsen, 70). Ubuntu really helped the people with understanding ideas that weren’t easily understood.

Modern Western Christianity can learn a lot from African Christianity, especially in regards to Ubuntu. This idea of honoring each other’s dignity and that of the Earth, modern Western Christianity would be more accepting of each other and the earth around us. Ubuntu takes away the issue of race, beliefs, intellect, etc and just takes each person as a human that deserves dignity and acceptance.