An overview of African religions

There are three main religions practiced in Africa: traditional religion, Islam and Christianity. Traditional religion is an inherent religion of black Africans with a long history and broad social foundation. Islam and Christianity are religions that were later introduced to Africa from the outside world. On the surface, among the 37 black countries south of the Sahara, there are 21 countries where Muslims and Christians make up the majority of the national population (8 are Islamic, 13 are Christian), more than the countries where traditional religious believers are the majority (16 pieces). In fact, traditional religion still has a deep-rooted influence in all aspects of African social life. Because Islam and Christianity have not been able to truly replace traditional religion in any black country, but have been integrated with traditional religion. Both Islam and Christianity in Africa have a process of absorbing elements of traditional religions and taking the road of localization.

African traditional religion has its own characteristics. It is different from world religions with a large number of classics, many temples and monks. It has no written history and scriptures. However, where there are no documents, people's memories tend to be stronger. To this day, some African traditional religious ceremonies still use a secret language, or it is called a ritual language. This liturgical language is the dialect of the place where the ritual originated. This shows that although African traditional religion has no classics, it still passes down its rituals from generation to generation through oral communication between teachers and students. The basic contents of African black traditional religion include: nature worship, ancestor worship, totem worship, tribal god worship and supreme god worship. Its core content is to respect heaven and ancestors. The so-called heaven is nature and ancestors are ancestors.

Each African nation often believes in many gods. For example, the Yoruba people alone are said to have 1700 gods, and it is usually said that there are 401 gods. These gods are all related by blood to each other, headed by a supreme god. The Supreme God is considered to be the creator of heaven and earth, and is often related to the myth of tribal origins, or is considered to be the creator of tribal ancestors. Therefore, belief in God is sometimes combined with worshiping tribal ancestors. The Supreme God is considered by black Africans to be the omnipotent God. His characteristics are: omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and present at all times. He can provide people with sympathy, compassion, kindness, blessing and blessings. He is the creator of everything in the world. Under the Supreme God, there are a group of gods closely related to human production activities. They are responsible for a human affairs and protecting the tribe. Each different nation has its own supreme god and its own different legends.