Some may say that Christianity was first introduced in Africa when Europe started to colonize it, but in fact it dates back to when Portugal was in power. You could see Catholic practices such as baptism be done on slaves before they were shipped off. This was done to show that the slave traders had somewhat of a heart because the act of baptism was seen as a Christian act of mercy even though it may have only seemed like another part of the trade process to the Africans. When colonization of Africa began to happen, Christian missionaries were set out to spread gospel and try to convert the natives. They wanted the natives to convert and to also become missionaries because they often worked for no charge so more profits for the government. The missionaries worked very close with the government and were given almost all say in education. Western Christianity and the AICs (African Initiated Churches) differed on the opinions whether or not ancestors were relevant, miracles were a way for God to communicate, and the idea of polygamy. As time goes on the AICs began to break further and further away from the European ideals and it gave them the opportunity to branch out and have more freedom in their spirituality.

Christianity is often fluid and will change depending on the region and the history behind it. That’s why the West and Africa seem like they have greater differences but that’s because they have experience greater pains as a whole than we have. They have seen violence and genocides take place whereas in the Western world we haven’t been subject to those acts so it makes sense that our faith is different. This is when Ubuntu comes into play. “Ubuntu describes all human beings as dependent on and responsible for one another. In the words of the well-known South African theologian and Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu, Ubuntu is part of ‘the very essence of being human.’ It underscores the fact that ‘my humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours.’” (Jacobsen 62). This is a major difference between western Christians and African Christians, it strays away from focusing on oneself and instead putting a great deal of thought and compassion into the community as a whole.

I believe the west could learn a great deal from African Christianity. They focus a great deal on community and that isn’t what we view here in the US. Here we care mainly about what happens to me or a select few but the community as a whole isn’t helped unless it helps the individual too. I feel as though if we took the community into consideration more we would have more peace than war between one another. I’m thankful that we haven’t experienced the immense amount of pain that Africa has but I do believe that what they have gone through helps shape the way they treat one another and I hope that just by seeing that here that it could rub off onto us.