Sub-Saharan African Religion

Changes in religious practice and belief between 1450 and present in Sub-Saharan Africa were dramatic and pronounced. The introduction of European culture and religious beliefs in the later half of the 15th century acted to change the existing religious practices and beliefs of Sub-Saharan Africa. During the years of 1450 and onwards, the religious practices and beliefs in Sub-Saharan Africa had changed very little for centuries and revolved around animistic beliefs. After the European entry into Sub-Saharan Africa during the 1490’s, the introduction of Catholicism begins a period of great change in religious practice and belief. In spite of great changes in religious belief and practice, the devotion of the people to their religion, no matter

The changes to the religions in Sub-Saharan Africa in the late 15th century were prominent and clear. As the Europeans started to enter the “Age of Discovery”, portuguese explorers were among the first to discover the eastern coast of Sub-Saharan Africa. Portuguese explorers such as Vasco De Gama sailed down the eastern Sub-Saharan African coast in 1497 to 1498, and rapidly spread their belief in Christianity. Meaning, more churches and cathedrals were being built. Although, a lot of the native tribes still stayed with their original religion. While on their venture, Alfonso I of the Kongo noticed the explorers, and started to adopt Christianity as his main form of religion. A reason for the sudden change in the Sub-Saharan African kingdom could have been for both an economic and political boost in power for both for the portuguese and the Kingdom of Kongo. It was a way for the Portuguese to gain more political power outside of just their country, and also created a way for the Portuguese to communicate to other native tribes due to their association with the Alfonso I of the Kongo. On the other hand, this also gave more political power to the Sub-Saharan African leaders because it was an efficient form of connecting themselves with the far more powerful societies and possibly gain assistance with any issue to arise in

First, animistic beliefs still played an incredibly large role in many Sub-Saharan African societies. Leaders such as Sundiata of the Mali Empire tried to keep the amount of old animistic beliefs and newer religions such as Islam the same. Traditional practices such as the Khweta Ceremony continue to this present day. The reason for this continuity is that the location for Sub-Saharan Africa causes it to become not completely isolated from the rest of the modern world, but rather just incredibly difficult to get to. Many societies inside of Sub-Saharan Africa would have no particular or compelling reason for them to switch to Christianity or Islam. Another continuity is the practice of some religions that started outside of Sub-Saharan Africa that were brought into Sub-Saharan Africa by european explorers, particularly on the east coast. Societies such as Great Zimbabwe and Mozambique had influences from many other religions such as Islam and Buddhism, and still practice those religions to this