Most scientists believe that Man arose in Africa and journeyed across the globe over millennia. So, if Africa was where humanity began, it must also be where religion began. Where and when is not quite established, but it seems religion evolved from a search for understanding with burial being central to worship and belief as early as 2 million – 200,000 years ago, with the start of hominisation – the process of becoming human. Little is known of the original ‘mother religion’, although we do know that all religions have common features – oral tradition, the belief in a spiritual power, the existence of a ‘life after death’ and beliefs surrounding burial.
99% of time since humans emerged, they have been hunter-gatherers. Communities survived in small groups and lived on what nature had to offer. These communities adapted to the world around them – the desert, the tropics. Across the vast continent of Africa a diverse scope for traditional religious development was possible. Men and women were equal in these societies, and the San people of southern Africa are a prime example, where religion was interwoven into life of the group. There were no religious specialists, and oral tradition was the most important.
About 10,000 years ago, humans started to tend livestock and cultivate plants. In these large groups, there is evidence of the inequalities of males and females. Different jobs were assigned to the genders as societies became more complex. Religious specialists emerged (healers) and religion became a semi-separate institution. The earliest forms of ‘state religion’ emerged and the leader of the group (the chief or the king) played an important role in certain rituals. Giving of gifts to divinities (especially blood and the life of sacrificed animals) and oral tradition, featured heavily.
6,000 years ago larger cities, states and empires evolved in different parts of the world. In Africa this occurred along the River Nile. People, goods, religious beliefs and ideas travelled long distances and entered new societies. More developments in inequalities arose – not only between men and women, but also between the rich and the poor.
In these cities, temples were constructed, and system of full time religious leaders developed. In many societies religion of the common populace was seen as superstition and magic, and often suppressed or feared.
Today religion in Africa is as diverse and unique as its historical journey. The influence of the more modern religions have absorbed and evolved the religious landscape, with most countries showing an increase in especially Catholicism.
In the future, the complexities of secularisation, the deep traditional beliefs and the impact of the West, will have more of a profound impact on religion in Africa. Social life has become more complex, and the modern individual faces many conflicting roles in daily living. Religion, in many cultures, has become more private and socially more ‘invisible’. African religion has also become pluriform (not a scared whole) and science has provided a modern base.
Africa has a unique religious history and an exciting evolution ahead.
