Close to half of all West Africans are Muslim and it’s very much a north–south divide: the countries of the Sahel and Sahara are predominantly Muslim, while Christianity is more widespread in the southern coastal countries.
What are the three major religions in West Africa?
The three main religious traditions—African traditional religion, Christianity, and Islam—constitute the triple religious heritage of the African continent.
What was the first religion in West Africa?
The Story of Africa| BBC World Service. Christianity came first to the continent of Africa in the 1st or early 2nd century AD. Oral tradition says the first Muslims appeared while the prophet Mohammed was still alive (he died in 632). Thus both religions have been on the continent of Africa for over 1,300 years.
What religions are practiced in West Africa?
West Africa
- Abwoi religion (Nigeria)
- Akan religion (Ghana, Ivory Coast)
- Dahomean religion (Benin, Togo)
- Efik mythology (Nigeria, Cameroon)
- Edo religion (Benin kingdom, Nigeria)
- Hausa animism (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Togo)
- Ijo traditional religion (Ijo people, Nigeria)
What are the two main religions practiced in West Africa Why is the region also considered a transition zone for religion?
Islam is the dominant religion on the north side of the African Transition Zone; Christianity is more dominant to the south. The two religions often clash in the areas where they meet. Traditional beliefs and animist religions are also practiced in the African Transition Zone.
Who is God in African traditional religion?
Generally speaking, African religions hold that there is one creator God, the maker of a dynamic universe. Myths of various African peoples relate that, after setting the world in motion, the Supreme Being withdrew, and he remains remote from the concerns of human life.
What is Africa’s main religion?
The majority of Africans are adherents of Christianity or Islam. African people often combine the practice of their traditional belief with the practice of Abrahamic religions. Abrahamic religions are widespread throughout Africa.
What is the oldest religion?
The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma (Sanskrit: सनातन धर्मः, lit.
What was Ethiopia’s religion before Christianity?
Judaism was practiced in Ethiopia long before Christianity arrived and the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible contains numerous Jewish Aramaic words.
How did Christianity spread in West Africa?
Once in North Africa, Christianity spread slowly West from Alexandria and East to Ethiopia. Through North Africa, Christianity was embraced as the religion of dissent against the expanding Roman Empire. In the 4th century AD the Ethiopian King Ezana made Christianity the kingdom’s official religion.
How was slavery practiced in West Africa?
Slavery in historical Africa was practised in many different forms: Debt slavery, enslavement of war captives, military slavery, slavery for prostitution, and criminal slavery were all practised in various parts of Africa. Slavery for domestic and court purposes was widespread throughout Africa.
How did Islam make its way into West Africa?
Islam first came to West Africa as a slow and peaceful process, spread by Muslim traders and scholars. … Goods passed through chains of Muslim traders, purchased, finally, by local non-Muslims at the southern most end of the route.
What is the most valuable resource in West Africa?
Africa’s two most profitable mineral resources are gold and diamonds. In 2008, Africa produced about 483 tons of gold, or 22 percent of the world’s total production.
What countries are in western Africa?
The West Africa UN subregion includes the following countries:Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte D’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo .