, Sorry, you have Javascript Disabled! There are quite a few famous churches and monasteries located throughout the continent. These faiths are usually confined to local areas and tribes, and are passed down from one generation to the next, mostly through oral tradition. There are numerous indigenous faiths still found throughout Africa. Initially taking root in the late 19th century following British colonization, Hinduism arrived with many Indians brought to Southern and Eastern Africa as indentured servants. As you might guess, just as there are many beautiful churches throughout Africa, there are also many stunning mosques. Share Tweet. old and beautiful churches, monasteries, and other holy buildings and sites. Christianity is the most popular religion in Africa alongside Islam. There are quite a few famous churches and monasteries located throughout the continent. 334. Roughly half of all Buddhists in the continent reside in South Africa. But also prominent are sects of Christianity that are unique to Africa or most prominent on the African continent, such as Pentecostalism and other African-Christian denominations. The Islam of Morroco, Algeria, Libya, a,d the rest of Northwest Africa is distinctive from Wahabiism, or Sunni Islam, Shi'a made few if any inroads in Africa. Those who practice Hinduism in Africa are largely (but certainly not exclusively) confined to the Indo-African communities where it has been passed down since the times of the British Empire. Many of the Buddhist adherents in Africa are of Chinese, Vietnamese, or Japanese descent, again due to the high numbers of immigrants from those countries. Followers: 2.4 Billion. Vodun gave rise to a number of different diaspora faiths, throughout the world collectively known as “Voodoo” or “Vudú.”. We use cookies to personalise ads and to analyse our traffic. Furthermore, there is a large population of Sufism that differentiated with other Muslims because of their philosophy. Today, Christianity, Islam and Bahá’í are the major religions, but if you visit the continent, you may also encounter practitioners of indigenous faiths, as well as Buddhists, Hindus, and followers of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Rastafarianism. Na wa ooo, Your email address will not be published. Abrahamic religions are widespread throughout Africa. There are quite a few famous churches and monasteries located throughout the continent. The indigenous religious beliefs and practices of African people include various traditional religions. Meanwhile, sailors and merchants making port in West Africa continued to preach the faith. There are such huge numbers of various religions honed in various parts of Africa including conventional religions which exists inside specific tribes specifically districts. Be sure to check out our articles ranking Africa’s most beautiful churches and mosques before you plan a tour of Africa’s religious destinations! Alongside Armenia, it is believed that Ethiopia may have been the first country on the planet to accept the religion. Alongside Armenia, it is believed that Ethiopia may have been the first country on the planet to accept the religion.. Mirroring the statistics of the rest of the world, the Muslim population in Africa is predominantly Sunni, but there is a large Shia population as well. About 420 million people practice it. While they have also have a strong presence in Egypt (the country where they were arguably introduced to the continent) and Northern Africa at large, political strife resulted in their rights being taken away as a religious group, and they have struggled since to regain their rights and societal standing. It is also worth mentioning syncretism here. image: Max Pixel. Christianity is the most popular religion in Africa alongside Islam. We also share information about your use of our site with our advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information they have obtained. Alongside Armenia, it is believed that Ethiopia may have been the first country on the planet to accept the religion. Learn how your comment data is processed. I never knew Islam is this popular in Africa ooo. The first university was an Islamic institution at Timbuctu in the heart of the Sahara, and Egypt is … African people often combine the practice of their traditional belief with the practice of Abrahamic religions. Christianity is the most popular religion in Africa alongside Islam. Indo-African communities are extremely common thr… This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Okay, so it is a little weird starting out a list with “Other,” but bear with me—I am starting out with the less popular religions and working up toward the most widespread faiths. Almost all are oral rather than scriptural, they include belief in a supreme being, belief in spirits and other divinities, veneration of ancestors, use of magic, and traditional medicine. Finally, small pockets of groups are scattered throughout the continent that have developed their own traditions, but are rooted in Jewish tradition and trace back to ancient Israel. Large minorities of Chinese immigrants live in South Africa and Mauritius, making up the majority of these communities, but, representing the diversity of the continent, they can really be found in every region. Traditional African religion is still popular throughout Africa and stems from the beliefs of Central and West African ancestors. Traditional African religions have been passed down from one generation to another orally and can be found through art, rituals and festivals, beliefs and customs, names of people and places, songs and dances, proverbs, and myths. Bahá’í is the third most popular Abrahamic faith in Africa, following Christianity and Islam. Baha’i House of Worship, Kampala, Uganda – Image credit to Bxtst – CC BY-SA 3.0. Though it was introduced to the continent later as a result of immigration from India in the 19th century, Jainism has grown in Africa. No doubts why Islam is the second largest and most popular religions in the world. The Untold History Of African Kings Who Ruled India, Did You Know? 1 Christianity. Unsurprisingly, the largest pockets of Muslims live in Northern Africa, but the Horn of Africa, the Swahili Coast, and West Africa also have large populations. Hinduism made its way to Africa in the late 19th century, brought over from British Imperial colonists—more specifically, by their indentured Indian servants. Ashkenazi Jews live in South Africa, where many Lithuanians fled during the Holocaust, and strong Jewish communities grew up throughout the country, especially in Cape Town. The churches in this amazing UNESCO World Heritage site were constructed through a process of excavation, and are among the most unique structures in the world. I'm not saying i know everything about Africa but I'm here to offer the world some of the most accurate and interesting facts about the continent. Other strong Buddhist communities exist in countries along the Indian Ocean, and Mauritius has a high Buddhist population as well. The World Book Encyclopediahas estimated that in 2002 Christians formed 40% of the continent's population, with Muslims forming 45%. Hot Christianity has become one of the accepted religion in Africa with over 500 million Christians of different affiliations, Catholics, Anglican, Pentecostal, Jehovah witness and so on. Though only one country in Africa (Mauritius) has Hinduism as its dominant religion, it has a strong presence throughout the continent that can be felt especially in East Africa. The main reason is essentially that Hinduism—at least in its main form—is a non-proselytizing religion. Though many don’t consider atheism a religion, the high number of Africans who identify as atheists make it important to include in this list. Share Tweet Get Stories like this. An example would be a person who identifies as Christian, but incorporates aspects of African traditional religions—or who identifies as some combination of the two. While reading the articles on our site, you have probably noticed that there are quite a few which focus on old and beautiful churches, monasteries, and other holy buildings and sites. Conclusion: Africa is a Continent of Spiritual Richness and Diversity. Most of the people practising Islam live in Northern Africa, the Swahili coast in Kenya as well as West Africa. In fact, the faith got its start on the continent all the way back in the 1stcentury AD. It is difficult to generalize these indigenous religions due to the diversity of African cultures, but they do have some characteristics in common. Smaller sects are also included such as Unitarians, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, and Religious Science. Strong Jain communities exist in Kenya in particular — one of the first countries to receive Jain immigrants — and temples in Nairobi and Mombasa organize cultural and religious activities year round. However, there is a good percentage of the Shia population too. Christianity is the most popular religion in Africa alongside Islam. Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews have a strong presence in Northern Africa, where thousands have been since the first Jewish diaspora, and many more followed after their expulsion from Iberia in the 15th century. Most of Africa's organized religions were brought to the country from Europeans and other foreign settlers. A couple examples include the Monastery of Saint Anthony, founded in 356 AD in Egypt, and the Church of Our Lady Marion of Zion in Ethiopia, founded in … Nearly half (47%) of Africans are Muslims, comprising a quarter (possibly as high as a third, according to some estimates) of the entire global Muslim population. This is why both are far more popular than Hinduism. Buddhism is not a very common religion in Africa either—there are only a few hundred thousand practitioners, largely immigrants from China. Required fields are marked *. Even after colonial rule ended, many facets of Indian culture remained, as did descendants of former servants. Even after colonial rule ended, many facets of Indian culture remained, as did descendants of former servants. Interestingly enough, there is actually a country where it is the most popular religion. The most infrequent participation in services were noted for individuals that said they followed ancestral, tribal, animist or other traditional African religions. They have both spread and replaced indigenous African religions, but are often adapted to African cultural contexts and belief systems. It was also esti… In the Republic of Mauritius, an African island nation in the Indian Ocean, 54.4% of the population are Hindu. While the largest Buddhist population on the continent lives in South Africa (somewhat surprising, given its geographical distance from Asia), it only makes up between 0.2 percent to 0.3 percent of the population — though it has been shown that this number is growing by the year. How Africa The number of atheists is lower in Africa than in many other parts of the world, particularly the West and Asia. To see this page as it is meant to appear, please enable your Javascript! 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