From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christianity is followed by the majority of the population in most Southern, Central and Eastern African nations and in some West African nations. In North Africa, Coptic Christians make a significant minority in Egypt. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Christianity is currently Africa's greatest religion with 46 % of population being Christians.

Contents 1 History of Christianity in Africa 2 Christianity in Africa today 3 Christian Population in Africa 4 See also

Main article: History of Christianity in Africa

According to tradition, Christianity began in Africa in the 1st century when Mark the Evangelist planted the church in Alexandria about the year 43.

Little is known of the first couple of centuries, beyond the list of bishops of Alexandria. At first the church in Alexandria was mainly Greek-speaking, but by the end of the 2nd century the scriptures and Liturgy had been translated into three local languages.

Christianity was also planted in north-western Africa (today known as the Maghreb), but the churches there were linked to the Church of Rome.

At the beginning of the 21st century Christianity is probably the main religion in most of sub-Saharan Africa, while in the northern part of the continent it is a minority religion, where the majority of the population are Muslims. There has been tremendous growth of Christians in Africa. For example only nine million Christians were in Africa in 1900. By the year 2000, there were an estimated 380 million Christians, outpacing the African Muslim population. Much of the Christian growth in Africa is now due to African evangelism rather than Western missionaries. In South Africa, it is rare to find a person with no religious beliefs, which is almost always Christianity amongst the whites, but Christianity is also popular amongst the blacks, especially city-dwellers. Christianity in Africa shows tremendous variety, from the ancient forms of Orthodox Christianity in Egypt and Ethiopia (which have since spread to other parts of the continent) to Zionist faith healers.

Christianity in Africa

Region	Total Population	Christians	% Christian	% of Christian total
Central Africa	91,561,875	55,668,811	60.8%	2.56%
East Africa	225,488,566	105,851,560	46.94%	4.87%
North Africa	161,963,837	10,358,490	6.4%	0.48%
Southern Africa	137,092,019	80,278,746	58.56%	3.7%
West Africa	269,935,590	85,383,474	31.63%	3.93%
Total	886,041,887	337,541,081	38.1%	5.25%

• Hinduism in Africa
• Islam in Africa
• Jews and Judaism in Africa
• Christian Mysticism in Ancient Africa
• Christianity by country