Spotlight: What We Learned About Africa | Christianity Today

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Christianity Today, June, 2010

Spotlight: What We Learned About Africa

The Pew Forum issued an extensive report on the world's "most religious" continent.

posted 6/03/2010 09:04AM

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The report, Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa, is available from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Religion News Service also reported on the report.

Previous Christianity Today articles on Africa include:

Africa Unbound | God may be clearing the stage for the next act in his redemptive drama. (November 21, 2007)

Gospel Riches | Africa's rapid embrace of prosperity Pentecostalism provokes concern—and hope. (July 6, 2007)

On the Edge of Famine | Politics hinders aid to 11 million East Africans. (June 1, 2006)

CT previously spotlighted American Idol, Haiti, Robert Park, persecution, Supreme Court and crosses, and international religious liberty advocates.

June 2010, Vol. 54, No. 6

Comments (9)

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Displaying 1–5 of 9 comments

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janet sparrow

June 08, 2010 6:21pm

many tribes are very happy , living off the forest with their own beliefs in a God. are we doing more harm by forcing a western culture on them that they do not understand and impiorishes them rather than improve?

Rajiv B

June 07, 2010 11:09pm

American Christianity is still more idolatrous and worldly than anywhere else in the world. And to the dispensationalist bigot who asserts that "charismatic" Christians are responsible for the situation in Africa, think again because pentecostals in Africa tend to be the most theologically orthodox denomination. Most of the Africans who practice syncretic beliefs tend to be in the category of "Catholic". By the way, most of the violent Christians in Africa tend to be nominal baptists and other dispensationalist, mainline protestant denominations.

Bruce Fleming

June 06, 2010 12:26am

The percentages and observations from Pew are all over the map - literally. Africans report that they are Christians on Sunday, but not the rest of the week. They look for training, but obviously what they have learned has not been usable by them. The underlying truth is that most non-Westerners in the world learn by oral methods. They think think in terms of event, relationship, and story. After Matthew-Acts, the books of the New Testament are letters that contain abstract ideas that are foreign to oral communicators. Those who God has gifted to feed the rest (Eph 4:11) in Africa's churches need to be trained in an oral presentation of the NT Letters. Those books deal with the Christian life. Until we do, this sad state will continue. Practical issues will not be addressed. Pray for the Lord to raise up workers to work in this important field! Bruce C. E. Fleming Think Again Ministries

America bares some blame for the shallow Christianity in Africa.

June 05, 2010 3:24pm

A lot of the so called Christianity in Africa has come from American missionaries, a lot of them charismatic Americans with their false health and wealth prosperity gospel. American Christianity is in part responsible for the poor state of Christianity in Africa.

john smith

June 04, 2010 9:01pm

We have long heard that Africa Christians were a mile wide and an inch deep so this is no news. Wait doesnt that sound like American Christians also? Wheres the map for America?

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