Typically Christianity in Africa is thought of as being a recent phenomenon, perhaps only dating back to the colonization of Africa by European nations in the 19th century. In actuality, Christianity has been in Africa even since the earliest years. In pre-colonial Africa, influences of racial tensions affected the newly developing Christian communities, especially those from the slave trade. Still under Portuguese rule, the church’s main role became baptizing slaves before they were shipped off to the new world; a practice seen by the slave traders as an act of Christian mercy, but to the African people just another part of the terrible process. During the colonial era, from the late 1800s to 1900s, European powers divided up nearly ever inch of the continent amongst themselves, creating tremendous influences over all native peoples. Along with the colonizers came Christian missionaries, determined to “spread the light of the Gospel and the benefits of Christian culture and civilization to peoples who sit in the darkness and in the shadow of death” (Pope Pius XI). These missionaries set up churches and schools as a way to “win converts for Christ”, and often worked closely with the government, who sometimes gave the missionaries near-monopoly control over things like education. Missionaries traveled and preached with a drive to eagerly spread their theological opinions, but African Christianity would not have flourished if it weren’t for Africans themselves taking up preaching and spreading the gospel. One such African with tremendous influence was William Wade Harris, a native from Liberia who traveled, baptized and preached the Gospel, and ended up converting over a hundred thousand Africans to Christianity. He was a part of the founding of AIC, (African Initiated Churches), who left the missionary Christian church after concluding it was not biblical, instead launching their own independent congregations and denominations. They disagreed with the missionaries’ beliefs that ancestors were irrelevant, miracles rarely happened, and dreams or visions did not matter. After interpreting the bible for themselves, Africans found that saints and ancestors herein fact important, dreams and visions were a significant way for God to communicate with people, and polygamy was acceptable in some cases,. Therefore, by the 1960’s, over six thousand AICs had been established across Africa. In post-colonization times, these shifted even more toward a self-theorizing church, with much less orderliness than the European model, and much more “free-wheeling” focus on the Spirit. Their freedom from European rule therefore also allowed for a new spiritual independence as well.

Jacobsen states how African Christians have recently begun to separate themselves from western ideals, a move that has allowed them to make connections between cultural traditions and Christianity. Racial tensions stemming from colonization have produced massive genocides or apartheids in countries such as Rwanda and South Africa, proving that Christianity does not prevent social violence. Ancient cultural hierarchies and customs caused anger and resentment toward fellow Christians, but one positive influence of traditional African theology that differs from the rest of the world is ubuntu. Ubuntu refers to the interconnectedness of all people, connecting to their faith by believing that Christianity is about the community, not the individual. “When ubuntu is universalized to include all of humanity, then it has enormous potential to positively shape Christian life and thought” (Jacobsen, 63). This belief, along with others, have given African Christians a unique spiritual “depth” that other western cultures do not have. Theological expressions of ubuntu are reflected in unique beliefs about reconciliation and human values, communion with the ancestors; a second realm resembling heaven but still with abilities to communicate, and the God of everyone and all creation; using a possessive pronouns when talking about God is incomprehensible. “The God that African Christians know and love is a God who vastly exceeds anything any human being could ever fully comprehend or understand and who loves all of creation equally”(Jacobsen, 72).

Considering these unique parts that shape African Christianity, western cultures may be able to learn thing or two from them. The observed strictness of traditional Western Christianity we are accustomed to has led to many diversions and contradicting views within the church, as seen historically in schisms, reformations, new denominations, and others. All the denominations now present in modern Christianity all are because of the goal to have a set of principles and beliefs everyone holds similar. In African traditions, it seems as though their ancient traditions never had to be denied, and this caused the formation of an extremely devout Christian body who claims much more than western people that religion is an important part of their life. This call to cast aside any traditions and adhere to a common belief is what may be causing many people in western cultures to want to dissimulate their traditions, have no desire to be religious, or become atheist and deny God altogether. By believing in a common God, and that all human life is connected and not based on individual beliefs is an important glue that holds all African people together. Jacobsen says Africans sometimes use the acronym WEIRD to describe the Western lifestyle norm; Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. These people, most westerners, view themselves as independent and self-sufficient. To most Africans, this way of thinking is incomprehensible. “Worship is the joyful, exuberant, full-bodied celebration of God and God’s presence within the community of believers on earth”(Jacobsen, 62).