ABSTRACT
The history of Christianity in Africa is incomplete without reference to a vibrant and widespread phenomenon: African Initiated Christianity. Although scholars have come up with diverse and sometimes contradictory explanations as to why African Initiated Christianity came into being, it is clear that it not possible to ignore this significant mode of religious expression. Amidst the quest for the most appropriate label for this complex religious occurrence, African Initiated Christianity has continued to expand phenomenally in Southern Africa. In the case of Zimbabwe, African Initiated Christianity has attracted millions of followers, hence the concept of “multiplying in the Spirit” (Chitando et al 2014). Similarly, these churches attract millions of followers in South Africa, Malawi, Zambia and hundreds of thousands of members in Swaziland, Lesotho and Namibia. In addition, it is critical to note that prophets and prophetesses provide services to many clients who belong to other strands of Christianity, African Traditional Religions or other religions found within Southern Africa. This chapter seeks to describe the remarkable growth and expansion of African
Initiated Christianity in Southern Africa. It will highlight some of the major reasons that have been put forward for the emergence of this movement. The chapter will also outline some of the key debates that have been raised in relation to African Initiated Christianity. In the first section, the chapter highlights contestation around terminology in the study of African Initiated Christianity. In the second section, the chapter discusses major reasons for the emergence of African Initiated Christianity in the region. In the third section, the chapter analyses African Initiated Christianity in the contemporary period. In conclusion, the chapter maintains that African Initiated Christianity remains a significant aspect of African Christianity. It is important to acknowledge that Southern Africa is a vast region and that African Initiated Christianity is a diverse phenomenon. Consequently, the chapter is very selective in approach and utilizes a few
examples from different countries to illustrate specific points. A longer narrative is required to do justice to the complexity of the phenomenon in this vast region.
Most concepts in the academic study of religion remain contentious. These include key concepts such as religion itself, healing, salvation, myth, ritual and others. This is because most of the concepts used in the discipline are used in everyday conversation and many people assume they know exactly what these terms mean. However, when scholars subject the key concepts to closer scrutiny, it emerges that these terms are not as straightforward as they seem. This has led to the challenge of defining religion. Wilfred Cantwell Smith famously declared that religion is notoriously difficult to define. This challenge of definition also applies to African Initiated Christianity. There are various terms that have been used to characterise African Initiated
Christianity. These include, African Independent Churches, African Indigenous Churches, African Instituted Churches, African International Churches and others. A longer study is required to do justice to these concepts. In this section, the chapter will explain the key thrust of each one of them. From the 1960s to the 1990s, the term African Independent Churches was quite popular. Its appeal can be found in the fact that in many instances, African church leaders broke away from the churches founded by the missionaries to establish their own churches. In this regard, they were ‘independent.’ The classical definition is by Harold Turner (1979: 92), who defined an African Independent Church as, “a church which has been founded in Africa, by Africans, and primarily for Africans.” This definition enjoyed a lot of currency before some realities have challenged it. Essentially, it tied this movement geographically to the continent. However, it has become clear that these churches have gone beyond the continent (Adogame 2013). Another popular description is, African Initiated Churches. This descriptor
highlights the agency of Africans in the emergence of the phenomenon. It places emphasis on African initiatives in the growth of African Initiated Christianity (Pobee and Ositelu 1998). The thrust of this term is to recognise that Africans were very deliberate and purposeful in founding these churches. In other words, the churches did not emerge as a historical accident, but Africans were quite intentional about establishing these churches. Whereas the term ‘Independent’ retains the sense of European missionaries as the source of ‘genuine Christianity,’ the term ‘Initiated’ celebrates the primary role of Africans in spreading the gospel. The term ‘Initiated’ seeks to express the idea that Africans did not come up
with their own churches as a reaction to the actions of others. Sometimes the
notion of ‘Independent’ church communicates the notion that these movements are only a result of protest and not the outcome of careful deliberation. This is very important as Africans have been robbed of their agency in the study of African Initiated Christianity. By placing emphasis on African initiatives, the term seeks to express the idea that Africans were very much in charge of the process. They were not merely reacting to the actions of the missionaries. Closely related to the ‘Initiated’ descriptor is the ‘Instituted’ label. The Orga-
nisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), an umbrella body for AICs in Africa with its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, has embraced this label. They feel it expresses their agency in the emergence of African initiated Christianity. Like the term ‘Initiated,’ it draws attention to the active role that Africans played in setting up churches that were independent and autonomous. The ‘Initiated’ category succeeds in highlighting the point that these movements were not historical accidents: they were the outcome of very deliberate and calculated steps that were taken by Africans. To a very large extent, all the various descriptors continue to be used in the
study of Christianity in Africa. Each one of them has specific strengths and the fact that they all remain relevant confirms the complexity of the phenomenon that is being studied. Although the term ‘Independent’ is less popular, with the ‘Instituted’ and ‘Initiated’ categories gaining more ground, it has not been rendered redundant. In the scholarly literature that is available, scholars tend to use all the different descriptors. What is important is to acknowledge that they realise that Christianity has since changed radically from the version that was introduced by the missionaries to the Christianity that is found in Africa today. In the following section we explore reasons for the emergence of AICs (this is a widely accepted abbreviation that I adopt) in Southern Africa.
