How to use this atlas
T
his atlas contains a large number of maps, graphs,
charts, diagrams and tables, as well as essays and
text accompanying the graphics. These two pages give a
brief orientation to the material one will encounter in the
demographic presentations in the atlas.
The core of the atlas is Part III, where the history and
demographics of Christianity are presented by continent
or region in a series of four-page spreads. We have
chosen to highlight the second two pages of the Africa
spread (pages 112–13) to comment on the elements used
throughout the atlas. More than 20 different visual cues
is used to indicate few or none (shown here only on the
1910 map) and yellow is used for less than 2% Christian. A
similar scheme is used for other religions in Part I.
The layout of the two-page spreads in Part III follows
a progression, starting with the broadest picture of the
status of Christianity in the continent or region, and
ending with the most detailed distinctions. First, the
religious demographics of the entire area are presented,
with estimates of the numbers of adherents of each
religion (including atheists and agnostics) in 1910 and
2010. Average annual growth rates for the 100-year period
on Christianity in Africa are present. The text boxes surrounding the two-page spread offer specific information
on each of the elements.
The colour schemes used throughout the atlas
allow for quick visual comparisons. Major religions are
distinguished by colour; data about Christianity are shown
primarily in blue. Shades of colour are used to represent
the magnitude of a quantity, such as the percentage of
the population that is Christian, shown by province in
the map of Africa on the facing page. The more intense
the shade, the higher the percentage of Christians. White
with comparative graphs on percentages and growth
rates. One other feature is the annual change in the
number of Christians, broken down into gains and losses,
with estimates of their three component elements.
Fifth, a map showing the percentage of Christians
in 2010 at the level of provinces is presented. This map
includes a ‘statistical centre of gravity’ for both 1910 and
2010. A smaller map presents percentage Christian by
country in 1910. Finally, a small table lists the 10 largest
provinces by number of Christians in 2010.
Third, the major traditions within Christianity are
compared. Estimates of the numbers of adherents in
1910 and in 2010 are given for each tradition, along with
100-year and 10-year growth rates and the numbers of
denominations and congregations in each tradition. For
ease of interpretation these data are given in both tabular
and graphical form.
Fourth, more details of the trends in Christianity are
given across the bottom of the two-page spread, this time
classified by geographic subdivisions (regions or countries). Once again, estimates are given for 1910 and 2010,
(1910–2010) and for the current 10 years (2000–2010) are
given for each religion and for the total population. These
data summarize the status of Christianity in the area, relative to other religions.
Next, the distribution of Christians in the area is summarised in a wheel, or modified pie chart, and map. These
present the distribution of all Christians by country, the
percentage of each country’s population that is Christian,
and the percentages of the populations of larger geographic units that are Christian.
Christianity in Africa, 1910–2010
I
t
Sou
hA
fric
Western
Africa
a
% by tradition
Ug
Ta
n
ascar
Zam
bia
Madag
Cameroon
za
!
!
1910
Eastern
Africa
2010
Fastest growth
1910
% Christian
1 Saint Helena
100.0
2 Cape Verde
99.0
3 Seychelles
97.1
4 Spanish North Africa
89.9
5 Reunion
52.0
6 British Indian Ocean
41.2
7 South Africa
40.7
8 Madagascar
39.1
9 Ethiopia
38.0
10 Mauritius
33.5
2010
% Christian
Seychelles
96.2
Saint Helena
95.7
São Tomé & Príncipe
95.7
DR Congo
95.4
Cape Verde
95.0
Angola
93.7
Burundi
92.9
Lesotho
92.4
Namibia
91.2
Gabon
90.5
1910–2010
1 Burkina Faso
2 Chad
3 Burundi
4 Rwanda
5 Central African Rep
6 Ivory Coast
7 Kenya
8 Niger
9 Zambia
10 Sudan
% p.a.
13.58
13.44
11.86
11.80
11.54
9.55
9.05
9.04
8.69
8.17
2000–2010
Burkina Faso
Gambia
Sierra Leone
Benin
Liberia
Chad
Burundi
Guinea
Eritrea
Sahara
% p.a.
5.16
4.00
4.00
3.94
3.93
3.91
3.90
3.79
3.74
3.71
1910
Religious affiliation and growth in Africa, 1910 and 2010
1910
Adherents
%
11,663,000
9.4
39,695,000 32.0
72,090,000 58.0
8,400
0.0
304,000
0.2
240
0.0
1,100
0.0
3,600
0.0
1,200
0.0
453,000
0.4
3,700
0.0
2,600
0.0
2,200
0.0
0
0.0
1,200
0.0
230
0.0
124,228,000 100.0
2010
Christians
Muslims
Ethnoreligionists
Agnostics
Hindus
Baha'is
Atheists
Buddhists
New Religionists
Jews
Jains
Sikhs
Chinese folk
Confucianists
Spiritists
Zoroastrians
Total population
= 1% of population
= All other religions
2010
Adherents
%
494,668,000 47.9
417,644,000 40.5
107,016,000 10.4
6,183,000
0.6
2,891,000
0.3
2,176,000
0.2
623,000
0.1
292,000
0.0
132,000
0.0
131,000
0.0
92,100
0.0
70,600
0.0
69,800
0.0
20,000
0.0
3,700
0.0
850
0.0
1,032,012,000 100.0
Rate*
1910–2010 2000–2010
3.82
2.55
2.38
2.25
0.40
1.54
6.82
2.24
2.28
1.53
9.54
2.39
6.54
1.94
4.49
1.69
4.81
2.12
-1.23
0.47
3.27
2.30
3.36
1.95
3.52
1.44
7.90
0.95
1.13
1.79
1.32
-0.35
2.14
2.31
Northern
Africa
Christians in Africa
The wheel on the right shows three kinds of data:
Ethiopi
a
Proportion of all Christians in Africa, 2010
Nigeria
1. The pie graph denotes the proportion of a
country’s Christians of all Christians in Africa.
Western
Africa
Africa
South
Per cent Christian
2. The segment colours denote the percentage
Christian of a country’s population.
Christian
centre of
gravity
= Few or none
!
Zimb ndi
abwe
Zambia
Buru
!
1910
Eastern
Africa
2010
ania
Madagascar
Egypt
Per cent by tradition
2010
Adherents
50,866,000
169,495,000
98,819,000
3,663,000
48,286,000
137,207,000
5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100
a
Tanz
Major Christian traditions in Africa, 1910 and 2010
1910
Adherents
443,000
2,153,000
46,900
980
5,431,000
2,177,000
2
Ugand
Congo
t
Benin
Sudan Coas
Ivory nda
Rwa
Cameroon
Eritrea
Chad
Central African Republic
Togo
Burkina Faso
Note: Countries with too few Christians to
depict here are found in regional pages.
Anglican (A)
Catholic (C)
Independent (I)
Marginal (M)
Orthodox (O)
Protestant (P)
0
Kenya
3. The region colours inside the wheel denote the
percentage Christian of each of Africa’s regions.
Colours correspond to map legend on facing page.
Middle
Africa
Churches, 2010
Rate*
1910–2010 2000–2010
4.86
2.68
4.46
2.85
7.95
2.40
8.57
4.26
2.21
2.27
4.23
2.87
Denominations
Total Average size
41 1,241,000
60
345,000
12,550
8,000
230
16,000
90
510,000
1,930
71,000
100-year and 10-year growth rates*
Congregations
Total Average size
63,100
810
17,300
9,800
298,000
330
26,400
140
17,300
2,800
413,000
330
1910
Christians by country
Church sizes, 2010
10
8
8
6
4
All
Christians
3.82
2
0
A C
I M O P
6
4
All
Christians
2
0
2.55
A C
1,241,000
1,000,000
Average congregation size
2010
Average denomination size
Provinces with the most Christians, 2010
10
1910
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
I M O P
A C
10,000
Province
1 Amhara
2 Oromiya
3 Southern Nations
4 Haut-Congo
5 Rift Valley
6 Bandundu
7 KwaZulu-Natal
8 Gauteng
9 Lagos
10 Equateur
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
I M O P
A C
I M O P
Africa
Eastern Africa
Middle Africa
Northern Africa
Southern Africa
Western Africa
Population
124,228,000
33,030,000
19,443,000
32,002,000
6,819,000
32,933,000
1910
Christians
11,663,000
5,266,000
207,000
3,107,000
2,526,000
557,000
Country
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
DR Congo
Kenya
DR Congo
South Africa
South Africa
Nigeria
DR Congo
Population
23,071,000
31,239,000
17,305,000
9,113,000
9,900,000
8,515,000
10,364,000
9,716,000
10,662,000
7,892,000
Christians
18,561,000
13,652,000
11,075,000
8,794,000
8,474,000
8,217,000
8,084,000
7,812,000
7,485,000
7,479,000
%
80.5
43.7
64.0
96.5
85.6
96.5
78.0
80.4
70.2
94.8
Southern
Africa
Christian loss and gain, 2010
Christians in Africa, 1910 and 2010
%
9.4
15.9
1.1
9.7
37.0
1.7
Population
1,032,012,000
332,107,000
129,583,000
206,295,000
56,592,000
307,436,000
2010
Christians
494,668,000
214,842,000
105,830,000
17,492,000
46,419,000
110,084,000
% Christian, 1910
%
47.9
64.7
81.7
8.5
82.0
35.8
% Christian, 2010
Africa
Eastern Africa
Middle Africa
Northern Africa
Southern Africa
Western Africa
0%
50%
100%
Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year
Annual Christian change
Net change
Loss
Gain
11,607,000
9,845,000
21,452,000
5,641,000
3,798,000
9,439,000
2,884,000
2,342,000
5,226,000
233,200
316,100
549,300
% of Christian loss
Emigrants
Rate* 1910–2010
% of Christian gain
Defectors Deaths
Births
Converts
3.82
3.78
6.44
1.74
2.14
2.33
1.91
1.88
1,100,000
1,387,000
2.95
2.14
2,290,000
4,851,040
5.43
2.26
100%
⇐
0%
⇒
Christian
Rate* 2000–2010
Population
Immigrants
287,000
2,561,040
100%
2.55 2.31
2.80 2.59
2.93 2.86
1.50 1.69
-2
0%
2
4
6
8
0.92
0.86
2.65
2.53
-2
0%
2
4
113
a
ni
a
Middle
Africa
Churches, 2010
Rate*
1910–2010 2000–2010
4.86
2.68
4.46
2.85
7.95
2.40
8.57
4.26
2.21
2.27
4.23
2.87
Denominations
Total Average size
41 1,241,000
60
345,000
12,550
8,000
230
16,000
90
510,000
1,930
71,000
100-year and 10-year growth rates*
Christians
72,302,000
65,803,000
52,477,000
40,260,000
33,393,000
28,923,000
23,690,000
17,327,000
15,309,000
12,001,000
and
go
Con nin
Be an ast
d
Su ry Co
Ivo nda
a
Rw
Bu
ru
Zim ndi
ba
bw
Eg
e
yp
t
2010
Adherents
50,866,000
169,495,000
98,819,000
3,663,000
48,286,000
137,207,000
Christian
centre of
gravity
5 10 40 60 75 85 90 95 100
la
go
1910
Adherents
443,000
2,153,000
46,900
980
5,431,000
2,177,000
2
An
Anglican (A)
Catholic (C)
Independent (I)
Marginal (M)
Orthodox (O)
Protestant (P)
0
= Few or none
Major Christian traditions in Africa, 1910 & 2010
2010
Nigeria
DR Congo
Ethiopia
South Africa
Kenya
Uganda
Tanzania
Angola
Ghana
Malawi
Labels and outlines
On continental maps the regions are located
and labelled. Countries are labelled only on the
maps of the individual regions. Borders of surrounding countries are presented in grey outline
where appropriate.
AFRICA
Note: Countries with too few Christians to
depict here are found in regional pages.
Highest percentage
Christians
3,431,000
2,446,000
2,262,000
1,115,000
641,000
206,000
204,000
134,000
132,000
130,000
Data
Data on maps are reported at the provincial
level to offer more detail on the distribution
of religionists.
Kenya
Eritrea
Chad
Central African Republic
Togo
Burkina Faso
1910
1 Ethiopia
2 South Africa
3 Egypt
4 Madagascar
5 Algeria
6 Nigeria
7 Uganda
8 Mauritius
9 DR Congo
10 Tunisia
Four-page spreads
Most of the atlas (especially Parts II, III and V)
consists of a two-page essay followed by two
(or sometimes more) pages of demographic
information. This organisation by spreads appears in the table of contents.
2. The segment colours denote the percentage
Christian of a country’s population.
Colours correspond to map legend on facing page.
Largest population
Christians in Africa by province, 2010
Proportions of religions, 1910 and 2010
*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent per year, between dates specified
112
Per cent Christian
3. The region colours inside the wheel denote the
percentage Christian of each of Africa’s regions.
J. N. K. MUGAMBI
Allan Anderson, African Reformation: African Initiated Christianity
in the 20th Century (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2001).
Valentin Dedji, Reconstruction and Renewal in African Christian
Theology (Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2003).
Laurenti Magesa, Anatomy of Inculturation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis
Books, 2005).
J. N. K. Mugambi, Christian Theology and Social Reconstruction
(Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2003).
Diane B. Stinton, Jesus of Africa: Voices of Contemporary African
Christology (Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa, 2004).
Christianity in Africa by country, 1910 and 2010
111
Religions in Africa
Rate* 1910–2010
Northern
Africa
O
Eth
iop
ia
eria
Diversity today
Perhaps the greatest mistake we could make in assessing African Christianity today would be to generalise
too much, for diversity is the order of the day. Among
the churches wide differences can be discerned in
cultural identity, doctrinal standpoint, social concern,
pastoral approach, mission strategy and ecumenical
commitment. Christians are among the wealthiest and
the poorest, among the most politically conservative
and among the most politically transformative, among
the most ethically exemplary and among the most
scandalous, among the most Westernising in cultural
values and among the greatest champions of African
tradition. Mission outreach of African churches meets
some of the most receptive situations and some of
the most resistant. African Christianity is a source of
conflict, and it is a source of reconciliation. It is the
most visible agency of social cohesion and at the same
time the most divisive. Denominational identity has
sometimes replaced and sometimes reinforced ethnic
identity. Many of the civil conflicts in post-colonial
Africa have denominational overtones and undertones.
Political parties have often been associated with particular denominations, and political leaders have often
manipulated churches for votes. African Christianity is
not homogeneous. Nor is it by any means static. It is a
dynamic movement today, and its future will depend
on which strands in its diverse composition strengthen
and which weaken in years to come.
AFRICA
Nig
1. The pie graph denotes the proportion of a
country’s Christians of all Christians in Africa.
2010
Malawi
The wheel on the right shows three kinds of data:
% Christian
1910
facing African Christianity in general with regard to
its contextual relevance in a rapidly changing society.
Christianity in the North Atlantic countries faces the
problem in reverse. Whereas tropical Africa has numerous churches without enough adequately trained
theologians, churches in the North Atlantic countries
have an excess of trained theologians without enough
Christians to serve. Whereas the churches in tropical
Africa lack finances and other resources to serve their
congregations adequately, those in North Atlantic
countries are relatively well endowed and seek outlets
for surplus capital abroad within the framework of
the foreign policies of their respective governments.
Under these circumstances it remains an open question
how the churches in the affluent nations should best
relate with those in the pauperised nations of tropical Africa and elsewhere. Debates on this question in
the various World Christian communions indicate
that the question will not be solved easily, because
cultural presuppositions and power relations tend
to overshadow any chances of unanimity in matters
of doctrine, institutional structure, pastoral care and
conceptual clarity.
In view of the fact that most countries of Northern
Africa remain predominantly Islamic, there is a tendency to lump those countries with those of Western
Asia. In terms of national population, the largest
Islamic nations are neither in the Arabian Peninsula
nor in Northern Africa. This fact should remind us all
that taken as a whole, Africa is far from the description
of a ‘Christian’ continent. It is in Africa, perhaps more
than anywhere else, that religious diversity is most
clearly evident.
Christianity in Africa, 1910–2010
ver the past 100 years Africa has
experienced the most dramatic
demographic religious transformation of any continent. In 1910 Africa
was largely animistic in the south
and Muslim in the north. There were
11.7 million Christians and just under
40 million Muslims. By 2010 Christians
have mushroomed by 40 times to
more than 490 million, while Muslims
have grown by 10 times to 418 million.
Ethnoreligionists dropped precipitously from 58% in 1910 to about 10%
by 2010. Yet today’s presence of even a
small percentage of ethnoreligionists
is an unexpected development, for
many in the early twentieth century
predicted the complete disappearance of these traditional religions in a
generation. Another surprising trend
has been the rise of agnostics, who
numbered fewer than 10,000 in 1910.
Found especially in urban centres,
agnostics now number over six million,
with one of the fastest current growth
rates of any ‘religion’.
Christianity does not have a
monolithic presence in Africa. Not only
are all six major traditions substantially
represented, but thousands of denominations have grown out of African soil,
most of which are Independent – the
most diverse and fastest-growing
movement within Christianity. The
largest denominations are still Roman
Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican, but
Independent churches are the most
represented on a list of the 100 largest denominations in the continent.
African Christians increasingly are
providing leadership in global Christian
forums both within and across major
Christian traditions. Nonetheless, all
traditions have slowed considerably
in growth by the beginning of the
twenty-first century.
While Christianity in Africa as a
whole has shown remarkable growth,
Northern Africa has seen a decrease in
its Christian population due to emigration and strict religious laws imposed
by Islamic governments of the region.
Christians in Africa now number almost 50% of the population. However,
births and deaths have now become
more significant than conversions or
defections in the overall growth of
the Christian Church in Africa. Note as
well that the centre of Christian gravity
within Africa continues to move south
and west, reflecting both the explosive
growth in the sub-Saharan regions,
most notably in Middle Africa and parts
of Southern Africa, and the exodus of
Christians from Northern Africa.
Over the past 100 years,
Christianity has grown at nearly twice
the population rate of Africa. Islam
has grown at a slower but steady rate.
The map of majority religions in Part I
shows that these two religions meet
today in the Sahel; countries on this
boundary line are experiencing tensions that at times break into violent
conflicts. For example, Sudan has gone
through decades of bloody conflicts
resulting in the massacre of Christians
in the south and Muslims in the west.
Kenya and Nigeria also have experienced violent ethnoreligious conflicts
in which hundreds of Muslims and
Christians have been killed.
Christians in Africa
Proportion of all Christians in Africa, 2010
0
scramble for converts in Africa, and the competition
continues unabated. The modern ecumenical movement was started by European and Northern American
visionaries who foresaw the dangers of too much
competition in the mission fields, where duplication
of efforts undermined rather than enhanced missionary outreach. The World Missionary Conference in
1910 at Edinburgh was the greatest achievement of
these visionaries. It paved the way for the eventual
launch of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in
1948. African branches of the major Protestant North
Atlantic denominations are members of the WCC and
its affiliate national and regional ecumenical councils. However, there are many African churches that
stay out of the modern ecumenical movement. The
Roman Catholic Church is not a member of the WCC,
although through its Ecumenical Relations office it has
representation on the WCC Commission on Faith and
Order. At the continental level ecumenical relations in
Africa are facilitated by the All Africa Conference of
Churches (AACC), whose headquarters are in Nairobi,
Kenya. The AACC membership includes most major
Protestant denominations and a few of the African
Instituted Churches (AICs). The Organization of
African Instituted Churches (OAIC) also has its headquarters in Nairobi and serves many of the churches
established outside the modern missionary enterprise.
Africa has hosted two of the nine conferences of the
WCC. The fifth Assembly was held at Nairobi, Kenya,
in November 1975, and the eighth Assembly was at
Harare, Zimbabwe, in December 1998.
(5) Mission outreach: Books on the establishment of
Christianity in tropical Africa give credit to the pioneer
missionaries from the North Atlantic who introduced
their respective denominations to this continent.
However, it is important also to appreciate and honour
the first and second generations of African lay leaders
who took the trouble to spread the gospel beyond the
confines of the mission stations where the foreign
missionaries worked. Without the dedicated efforts
of such local lay leaders, the missionaries would not
have succeeded in their efforts. Indeed, there is ample
evidence that wherever the missionaries failed to win
a nucleus of local converts, the missionary initiative
collapsed.
(6) Pastoral training: The long-term sustainability
of Christian churches depends greatly on the effectiveness of pastoral training. In tropical Africa most
pastoral training has been conducted by missionaries,
the majority of whom know little or nothing about the
inner dynamics of the African cultural and religious
heritage. This situation persists because of the high
cost of residential pastoral formation and the lack
of contextualisation of the training curricula. To cut
costs, African bishops are prepared to invite foreign
missionary instructors to conduct training in their
pastoral diocesan institutes, even without regard to
contextual considerations. As long as the syllabi of
African theological colleges are imported from elsewhere, pastoral training will continue to be out of tune
with the cultural and religious dynamics of African
societies among whom the trainees are expected to
work after graduation. Curriculum development is a
professional undertaking, which must begin from the
context of the learners and proceed to discern the texts
that can provide relevant knowledge, skills and experience appropriate for each particular context. From this
perspective the pedagogy of Jesus is exemplary. The
dissonance between pastoral training and contextual
relevance leads to the burden of a pastoral workforce
that cannot deliver relevant contextual service to the
congregations, in both rural and urban areas.
The foregoing outline of social concerns is not
exhaustive. However, it provides a glimpse of the crisis
110
Ghana
= 1% of population
= All other religions
Christians, 1910: 11,663,000
% Christian, 1910: 9.4
Christians, 2010: 494,668,000
% Christian, 2010: 47.9
Christian 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 3.82
Christian 10-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.55
replications of European and Northern American
machines, tools, implements, textiles, foods, utensils,
cutlery and stationery. The marketing of these goods
is driven by the principles of supply and demand, not
ideology and theology. In contrast, the interactions
of tropical Africa with the North Atlantic have been
primarily through schooling and indoctrination. The
curricula in schools, colleges and universities have
been overloaded with cultural values from Europe
and Northern America at the expense of the African
cultural and religious heritage. Christian instruction
has reinforced this cultural alienation, and the use
of foreign languages as the media of instruction has
reinforced this alienation of African youth from their
culture.
(2) Doctrinal identity: There is nothing specifically
African in the doctrines professed by African branches
of various denominations – Anglicans, Catholics,
Lutherans, Moravians, Presbyterians, Methodists,
Baptists, Congregationalists, Mennonites, Quakers
and so on. Yet in practice African Christians in these
denominations remain rooted in their respective cultural traditions. Christianity in tropical Africa remains
largely a Sunday affair, with little or no direct impact on
the political, economic, ethical and aesthetic norms of
the wider society. This inconsistency between doctrinal
identity and actual conduct among African Christians
brings to question the significance of the rapid numerical increase in church membership in tropical Africa. If
the numbers are swelling but there is no direct impact
of that membership on social norms and attitudes, of
what good is conversion to Christianity in a continent
burdened with civil strife, administrative inefficiency
and economic failure? It appears that many Africans are
turning to the Church for refuge, hoping that through
the Church they might perhaps survive the collapse
of social institutions that evidently are not serving the
majority of the population. The post-colonial political
crises in various African countries listed as predominantly ‘Christian’ are illustrations of this observation,
for example, Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda,
South Africa and Zimbabwe.
(3) Social engagement: The numerical strength of
African Christianity does not match its social engagement in any African country. Generally, Christianity has
been introduced to the continent as a religion whose
aim is to secure eternal life for believers after their
death. Anything that the believers do now is not for
the purpose of ensuring better livelihood on earth, but
insurance for the life to come. The predominance of this
other-worldly teaching has led to abdication of social
responsibility on the part of clergy and laity, especially
with regard to political and economic affairs. Priests
have access to the pulpit every week, but the content
of their sermons is often so other-worldly that the
worshippers cannot relate it to daily life. Consequently,
ordinary Christians daily have to decide on their own
what is in their best interest to do, since there is no relevant guidance from the religious leadership. During
social and political crises both the clergy and the laity
find themselves unable to distinguish themselves from
the rest of society on the basis of their faith. Instead,
churches are often the focal points for fomenting social
strife. Thus African churches, especially those that are
extensions of foreign denominations, remain largely
detached from the daily social concerns of the nations
to which their members belong. This problem has to
do with pastoral training and in-service upgrading,
which will be discussed below.
(4) Ecumenical relations: The modern Christian
missionary enterprise has been negatively competitive since the establishment of missionary societies
in the eighteenth century. This competition led to the
la
Ango
Christians
Muslims
Ethnoreligionists
Agnostics
Hindus
Baha'is
Atheists
Buddhists
New Religionists
Jews
Jains
Sikhs
Chinese folk
Confucianists
Spiritists
Zoroastrians
Total population
Rate*
1910–2010 2000–2010
3.82
2.55
2.38
2.25
0.40
1.54
6.82
2.24
2.28
1.53
9.54
2.39
6.54
1.94
4.49
1.69
4.81
2.12
-1.23
0.47
3.27
2.30
3.36
1.95
3.52
1.44
7.90
0.95
1.13
1.79
1.32
-0.35
2.14
2.31
Rate* 2000–2010
2010
100
Area (sq. km): 30,380,000
Population, 2010: 1,032,012,000
Population density (per sq. km): 34
Population 100-year growth rate, % p.a.: 2.14
Life expectancy (years): 56 (male 55, female 57)
Adult literacy (%): 61
2010
Adherents
%
494,668,000 47.9
417,644,000 40.5
107,016,000 10.4
6,183,000
0.6
2,891,000
0.3
2,176,000
0.2
623,000
0.1
292,000
0.0
132,000
0.0
131,000
0.0
92,100
0.0
70,600
0.0
69,800
0.0
20,000
0.0
3,700
0.0
850
0.0
1,032,012,000 100.0
Social concerns
The following concerns characterise African Christianity
across denominations and across nations:
(1) Cultural identity: Inevitably, every Christian
mission agency from outside Africa introduces into the
continent cultural and religious values from the home
country of that agency. This cultural invasion is an
integral part of the general encroachment on Africa’s
cultural space by the more powerful nations, especially
those of Europe and Northern America. Interestingly,
African countries import many goods and gadgets
from Asia, but the flooding of African kiosks with
Asian goods has not led to African absorption of Asian
cultural norms. The consumer and capital goods flooding African markets from Asia are almost always cheap
Mozambique
1910
Adherents
%
11,663,000
9.4
39,695,000 32.0
72,090,000 58.0
8,400
0.0
304,000
0.2
240
0.0
1,100
0.0
3,600
0.0
1,200
0.0
453,000
0.4
3,700
0.0
2,600
0.0
2,200
0.0
0
0.0
1,200
0.0
230
0.0
124,228,000 100.0
Congregations
Total Average size
63,100
810
17,300
9,800
298,000
330
26,400
140
17,300
2,800
413,000
330
Tabs
For Parts I–V of this atlas, coloured tabs
on the right side of the essays and
demographic spreads repeat the title in
short-hand form. This offers a quick way to
locate where the reader is in the atlas.
Centre of gravity
The statistical centre of gravity of the religion
or tradition under study is offered here for
both 1910 and 2010. An equal number of
followers of the religion or tradition live to the
north, south, east and west of this geographic
point. See ‘Methodological notes’ (in the Appendices) for how this was calculated.
1910
Christians by country
Church sizes, 2010
8
6
4
All
Christians
3.82
2
0
A C
I M O P
6
4
All
Christians
2
0
2.55
A C
1,241,000
1,000,000
Average congregation size
8
Rate* 2000–2010
2010
Rate* 1910–2010
1910
10
Average denomination size
Provinces with the most Christians, 2010
10
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
I M O P
A C
10,000
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
I M O P
A C
I M O P
Africa
Eastern Africa
Middle Africa
Northern Africa
Southern Africa
Western Africa
Country
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
DR Congo
Kenya
DR Congo
South Africa
South Africa
Nigeria
DR Congo
Population
23,071,000
31,239,000
17,305,000
9,113,000
9,900,000
8,515,000
10,364,000
9,716,000
10,662,000
7,892,000
Christians
18,561,000
13,652,000
11,075,000
8,794,000
8,474,000
8,217,000
8,084,000
7,812,000
7,485,000
7,479,000
%
80.5
43.7
64.0
96.5
85.6
96.5
78.0
80.4
70.2
94.8
1910
Christians
11,663,000
5,266,000
207,000
3,107,000
2,526,000
557,000
%
9.4
15.9
1.1
9.7
37.0
1.7
Population
1,032,012,000
332,107,000
129,583,000
206,295,000
56,592,000
307,436,000
2010
Christians
494,668,000
214,842,000
105,830,000
17,492,000
46,419,000
110,084,000
% Christian, 1910
%
47.9
64.7
81.7
8.5
82.0
35.8
% Christian, 2010
Africa
Eastern Africa
Middle Africa
Northern Africa
Southern Africa
Western Africa
0%
50%
Legend
All maps and graphics include legends indicating percentage Christian (or other religion).
The scales were determined by natural breaks
in the data. Note that white indicates few or
none.
Southern
Africa
Christian loss and gain, 2010
Christians in Africa, 1910 & 2010
Population
124,228,000
33,030,000
19,443,000
32,002,000
6,819,000
32,933,000
Province
Amhara
Oromiya
Southern Nations
Haut-Congo
Rift Valley
Bandundu
KwaZulu-Natal
Gauteng
Lagos
Equateur
1910 map
Percentage Christian (or other religion) in 1910
for each country is shown in a small inset map
to provide a contrast to the larger 2010 map.
Christian growth rates*, 100-year and 10-year
Annual Christian change
Net change
Loss
Gain
11,607,000
9,845,000
21,452,000
5,641,000
3,798,000
9,439,000
2,884,000
2,342,000
5,226,000
233,200
316,100
549,300
% of Christian loss
Emigrants
Rate* 1910–2010
% of Christian gain
Defectors Deaths
Births
Converts
Christian
Rate* 2000–2010
Population
Immigrants
3.82
3.78
6.44
1.74
2.14
2.33
1.91
1.88
2.55
2.80
2.93
1.50
2.31
2.59
2.86
1.69
287,000
1,100,000
1,387,000
2.95
2.14
0.92
0.86
2,561,040
2,290,000
4,851,040
5.43
2.26
2.65
2.53
100%
100%
⇐
0%
⇒
100%
-2
112
Rate
This note appears throughout the atlas to
remind readers that growth is expressed as an
average annual rate, regardless of the period of
time under study.
XVIII
Religious affiliation and growth in Africa, 1910 & 2010
i
*Rate = average annual growth rate, per cent
per year, between dates specified
1910
Historical context
This essay is ecumenical in scope and international in
coverage. A religion reflects the cultures in which it has
been nurtured. Any attempt at abstracting a religion
from its various cultural expressions will distort that
religion because believers are at the same time citizens
or residents of their respective nations. Thus the histories of all religions are intertwined with the secular
histories of the peoples and nations where those religions have thrived or declined. This essay focuses on
Christianity in the continent of Africa as it has taken
shape during the twentieth century. It is important
to emphasise that the geographical, denominational
and numerical expansion of Christianity in Africa is
intertwined with the colonial, post-colonial and missionary history of this continent. For this reason it is
essential to relate missionary and ecclesiastical history
na
Pie charts
These pie charts show the proportions of all
affiliated Christians that belong to each of the
traditions in 1910 and 2010. The graphs that
follow compare the 100-year and 10-year rates
of growth for each of the traditions.
Proportions of religions, 1910 & 2010
Malaw
Major traditions
This table reports adherents of the six major
Christian traditions in 1910 and 2010 as well as
growth rates over the century and in the more
recent period. It also provides a key to colours
in the graphics below.
Christians in Africa by province, 2010
Gha
Wheel
The wheel offers three essential pieces of
information about each region (or continent):
(1) each country’s Christian population as a
proportion of all Christians in the region or
continent, ordered by size around the wheel;
(2) the percentage of each country that is
Christian; and (3) the percentage(s) of the
larger region(s) that are Christian (inside the
wheel). All figures are documented in the
World Christian Database.
Religions in Africa
Mozambique
Religion table
The table to the right of the rectangles
presents figures for followers of all religions
for 1910 and 2010. The growth rate for each
is calculated for the 100-year period and
for the current 10-year period (2000–2010),
using figures for the year 2000 that are not
presented here but are found in the World
Religion Database. Note that throughout the
atlas we highlight 1910 data by a tan colour,
while 2010 data are a light purple.
ver the past 100 years Africa has
experienced the most dramatic
demographic religious transformation of any continent. In 1910 Africa
was largely animistic in the south
and Muslim in the north. There were
11.7 million Christians and just under
40 million Muslims. By 2010 Christians
have mushroomed by 40 times to
more than 490 million, while Muslims
have grown by 10 times to 418 million.
Ethnoreligionists dropped precipitously from 58% in 1910 to about 10%
by 2010. Yet today’s presence of even a
small percentage of ethnoreligionists
is an unexpected development, for
many in the early twentieth century
predicted the complete disappearance of these traditional religions in a
generation. Another surprising trend
has been the rise of agnostics, who
numbered fewer than 10,000 in 1910.
Found especially in urban centres,
agnostics now number over six million,
with one of the fastest current growth
rates of any ‘religion’.
Christianity does not have a
monolithic presence in Africa. Not only
are all six major traditions substantially
represented, but thousands of denominations have grown out of African soil,
most of which are Independent – the
most diverse and fastest-growing
movement within Christianity. The
largest denominations are still Roman
Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican, but
Independent churches are the most
represented on a list of the 100 largest denominations in the continent.
African Christians increasingly are
providing leadership in global Christian
forums both within and across major
Christian traditions. Nonetheless, all
traditions have slowed considerably
in growth by the beginning of the
twenty-first century.
While Christianity in Africa as a
whole has shown remarkable growth,
Northern Africa has seen a decrease in
its Christian population due to emigration and strict religious laws imposed
by Islamic governments of the region.
Christians in Africa now number almost 50% of the population. However,
births and deaths have now become
more significant than conversions or
defections in the overall growth of
the Christian Church in Africa. Note as
well that the centre of Christian gravity
within Africa continues to move south
and west, reflecting both the explosive
growth in the sub-Saharan regions,
most notably in Middle Africa and parts
of Southern Africa, and the exodus of
Christians from Northern Africa.
Over the past 100 years,
Christianity has grown at nearly twice
the population rate of Africa. Islam
has grown at a slower but steady rate.
The map of majority religions in Part
I shows that these two religions meet
today in the Sahel; countries on this
boundary line are experiencing tensions that at times break into violent
conflicts. For example, Sudan has gone
through decades of bloody conflicts
resulting in the massacre of Christians
in the south and Muslims in the west.
Kenya and Nigeria also have experienced violent ethno-religious conflicts
in which hundreds of Muslims and
Christians have been killed.
ngo
DR Co
Comparative rectangles
The two rectangles offer an at-a-glance view
of religious demographics for 1910 and 2010.
This is often the fastest way to understand
how religious adherence has changed (or not)
in the 100-year period. Each of the 100 blocks
represents 1% of the population.
O
DR Congo
Text
The text that accompanies the two-page
spread gives an overview of all of the elements on the pages, highlighting major and
unusual findings presented in the maps,
graphics and tables. In some cases, figures
that are not found in the tables are introduced
to point out interesting trends.
Christianity in Africa, 1910–2010
Types of churches
There are many ways of categorising churches. Every
organisation that claims for itself the honour to be
called a Christian ‘church’ will cite biblical references
to justify the claim. The canonical books of the New
Testament contain evidence of at least five forms of
ecclesial formation: episcopal; presbyterian; congregational; charismatic; and pentecostal. Any church today
can identify with, and fit itself into, one of these five
ecclesial forms. The Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox
churches fit into the episcopal category. The Lutheran,
Reformed and Methodist churches are within the
presbyterian category. Baptist and Congregational
churches emphasise the autonomy of congregations,
and the pastor of a congregation in this category is a
servant and employee of that congregation. Episcopal
churches are centralised in their organisational structure, whereas congregational churches are decentralised. Charismatic churches are closely associated with
their founders, and they tend to fragment when the
founders leave or die. Sometimes the leader of a charismatic church is demoted or expelled when charismatic uniqueness is no longer evident to the members.
Pentecostal churches emphasise the power of the Holy
Spirit. Social status is subordinated to possession of the
Spirit. Thus in pentecostal churches it is common to
find adherents from high and low social status much
more integrated than in other categories.
Africa was a mission field throughout the twentieth century. Missionaries flocked to the continent from
Europe, Northern America and Asia to win converts.
Most of these mission initiatives have produced
African replications of the mother denominations
abroad. This replication of foreign expressions of
Christianity has created a reaction in the formation
of numerous ‘Independent churches’ in Africa. This
continent has the largest number of such denominations in the world. Some of them belong to the
Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC).
African expressions of Christianity have spread to
other parts of the world through adherents who take
residence especially in Europe and Northern America
because of studies, migrant labour and political exile.
Quite clearly, imperial and cultural domination is one
of the most significant factors contributing to church
independency. Conversely, the gospel is a catalyst for
liberation and has provided theological and conceptual
justifications for liberation movements.
During the second half of the twentieth century,
particularly after the 1960s, missionary outreach was
extended beyond the former colonial enclaves. There
was an influx of congregational, Charismatic and
Pentecostal missionaries and evangelists into various African countries with the objective of winning
African souls to Christianity. Some of these focused on
African schools, colleges and universities. Their presence influenced the cultural values of African youth
to the extent that many youth longed to study and
work abroad, especially in Northern America. Thus
the contemporary Christian missionary enterprise in
Africa has contributed to schooling in various African
countries at the same time as it has alienated African
youth from their cultural and religious heritage in
favour of Europe and Northern America. Whether by
design or by accident, this is a fact that African nations
cannot evade.
AFRICA
Titles
Titles throughout the atlas offer brief descriptions for the two-page spreads as well as
headings for the text that often follows below.
established as the home for repatriated slaves from
Northern America, has more denominations from the
USA than any other country. Orthodox Christianity
is more established in Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea,
dating from the early centuries of Christian mission
in Africa.
with secular history in order to appreciate the twoway influence between the two respective sequences
of events.
The history of African Christianity in the twentieth
century begins much earlier, in 1885. In February of that
year the Berlin Conference on Africa was concluded.
The conference had been convened by Chancellor
Bismarck of Germany and attended by representatives
of all the European nations with imperial interests
in Africa. These included Germany, Britain, France,
Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Turkey. The outcome was a treaty committing each interested nation
to mutually respect the ‘spheres of interest’ of all other
nations with territorial interests in Africa. Although
religion was not specifically mentioned in the treaty,
there was tacit understanding that each imperial power
would refrain from seeking to convert or proselytise
the subjects outside its ‘sphere of influence’. Prior to
the Berlin Conference there was free movement and
involvement of missionary societies and agents across
the continent of Africa without any regard to the possible negative consequences of open competition and
rivalry between missionary interests in the ‘mission
field’ of Africa.
Despite the Berlin Treaty, competition for African
souls continued throughout the twentieth century and
still continues into the third millennium. The partition
of Africa into imperial spheres of influence led to the
establishment of commonwealths which remain intact,
even after the establishment of the Organisation of
African Unity in 1963 and its successor, the African
Union, in 2003. The distribution of Christian denominations in Africa has been shaped largely by the
imperial spheres of influence entrenched by the Berlin
Conference.
The 60 nations of Africa belong to four commonwealths, reflecting the colonial history of the continent.
Each of the four commonwealths has a corresponding
imperial language, which is used outside Africa by
other nations within the same commonwealth: English,
French, Portuguese and Arabic. Anglophone Africa
comprises Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and southern
Sudan in the east; Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia in the
north-east; Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana,
South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia in
the south; Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and
Gambia in the west; and British island possessions of
Saint Helena (in the South Atlantic) and the British
Indian Ocean Territory. Francophone Africa comprises
Djibouti in the north-east; Rwanda, Burundi, Republic
of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon,
Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Chad
in the centre; Cameroon, Benin, Togo, Ivory Coast,
Senegal, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in the west;
as well as the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar,
Mauritius, Reunion, Comoros, Mayotte and Seychelles.
Lusophone Africa comprises Angola and Mozambique
in the south; Guinea-Bissau in the west; and the
Atlantic islands of São Tomé & Príncipe and Cape
Verde. Arabic-speaking Africa comprises Somalia and
Somaliland in the east; and Algeria, Tunisia, Libya,
northern Sudan, Morocco, Mauritania and Sahara in
the north. Not falling in any of these commonwealths
is Spanish North Africa, territory controlled by Spain
along the coast of Morocco.
The distribution and concentration of Christian
denominations across Africa has been deeply shaped
by the imperial spheres of influence partitioned by
the Berlin Treaty, which in practice ensured that missionary agencies operated in countries where they
could enjoy the protection and patronage of their
respective imperial governments. Former British
colonies have a higher concentration of Anglican and
Protestant denominations and adherents, while Roman
Catholicism is more dominant in former French,
Belgian and Portuguese colonies. Countries that
were predominantly under Islamic influence in the
nineteenth century have remained as such. Islam has
more followers in Northern Africa, particularly where
Arabic is also the official language. Liberia, which was
n this essay the phrase ‘African Christianity’ is used
as a general term referring collectively to the whole
range of African expressions of the Christian faith.
The numerical increase of adherents to Christianity in
tropical Africa during the twentieth century is unprecedented. There was a time during the early centuries
of Church history when Northern Africa (especially
Alexandria and Carthage) had the strongest and the
most outspoken apologists for Christian doctrine, but
the numbers of ordinary believers were few in comparison with the Christians in most countries of tropical
Africa today. Alexandria and Carthage were the homes
of the famous early Church Fathers who defended the
core of Christian doctrine against errant deviations,
and without these men Christianity probably would
have taken different content, organisational form and
institutional structure. These famous defenders of the
faith included Clement, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian
and Augustine of Hippo.
Today the capital cities of the countries of tropical
Africa are the headquarters of numerous Christian
denominations, most of which were introduced into
the continent from Europe and Northern America
through the modern missionary enterprise, especially
after the World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh
in 1910. This missionary legacy still lingers on. African
Christianity is vibrant at home but does not show
corresponding vigour in missionary outreach. The
factors inhibiting missionary expansion from Africa
are various, including self-awareness, policy, personnel, resources and immigration restrictions. It is ironic
that the continent with such rapid growth in Christian
adherents has the least involvement in missionary outreach, while Europe and Northern America continue
to make the largest missionary outreach into tropical
Africa and other regions. This anomaly can perhaps
be attributed to the availability of surplus capital in
the North Atlantic and its absence in tropical Africa.
Without surplus capital, missionary outreach is likely
to be limited in its scope.
It is important to note also that Northern Africa
remains solidly Islamic in both rural and urban
areas. The Coptic Church is strong in Egypt, though
its members are a minority of the total population.
The Orthodox Church is also strong in Ethiopia and
Eritrea, with a long history predating Islam. Within
the whole continent the African cultural and religious
heritage is the bedrock of religious consciousness for
everyone except the few descendants of migrants
who have retained the cultural and religious heritage brought from the North Atlantic, Asia or Arabia.
African expressions of Christianity, irrespective of
denominational identities, are shaped and influenced
by the African worldview, which is often implicit and
unarticulated. African worship is liturgically fluid,
with emphasis on spontaneity, lay participation and
liturgical song and dance. African Christian communities have become for many adherents the new focal
points for mutual social responsibility, especially in
urban areas, replacing the extended family, which
is breaking down under the strains of urbanisation,
labour mobility and secularisation.
0%
2
4
6
8
-2
0%
2
4
113
Number of Christians
Tables at the bottom of pages throughout the atlas give
population figures and the numbers of religionists in 1910 and
2010 in the regions or countries under study. Percentages, given
numerically and graphically, quickly show whether a religion
has been growing or declining over the 100-year period.
Denominations and congregations
Average denomination and congregation sizes
are examined here in the context of the major
traditions. The totals and average sizes are
reported for 2010, with average sizes graphed
below for quick comparisons.
Christian change
This table reports the change for the one-year
period of mid-2009 to mid-2010. The net
change is broken down into two components:
loss and gain.
Christian loss and gain
The Christian loss and gain reported in the table are
further subdivided into three components each. Loss
is a combination of deaths, defections and emigration,
while gain is a combination of births, conversions and
immigration. The graphic shows the relative proportion that each plays in losses or gains. This concept is
explained further in Part II.
Provinces with the most Christians
A small table presents the ten provinces with
the most Christians in the area under study. In
addition to the number of Christians, the total
population and the percentage Christian also
are reported.
Religion growth rates
For each country, region and continent, growth rates
for the religion of interest are reported here for two
periods, 1910–2010 and 2000–2010. The growth rates
for the population as a whole are also reported and
depicted for comparison.
XIX