Figure 1.--This very moving image of John Paul II and two Togolese boys gra[hically illustrates the modern face of Catholcism in Africa. The press caption of this photograh read, "Greetings: Pope John Paul II enbraces two native children to his chest during a visit to the northrn Togo village of Karra, Friday, on the second day of the Pomtiff's 12-day, seven-nation African tour. From Toho the Pope will priceed to the Ivort Coast and then to five other African countries. The photograph was dated August b10, 1985.

Traditional religious practices which once dominated the continent have declined as both Islam and Christianity have spread in Africa. There is some Hindu practiced among the Indian immigrants in East Africa, but this has not spread among the African popoukation. Africa today is dominated by two religions. Islam in the north and Christianity in the south. Traditional religious tend to hold on in isolated rural areas. And while they have declined, traditioinal religious elements survive in both Islamic and Christian religious observation. Today Christianity and Islam are the two major monotheistic religions in Africa. The Christian denominations were at first mostly the mainline churches of the colonial powers. Interestingly, the African churches tend to retain some more of the original Biblical teachings than their modern European mother churches which have become increasingly liberal. Rgw African churches have been less affected by the liberalism and the retreat from metaphysical teachings prevalent in modern Europe. The most dynamic churches in Africa, however, tend to be the Protestant evanglical churches unrelated to the 19th-20th century missionary effort. Islam in the north has been affected by developments in the Middle East. African Islam is being radicalized by the increasingly fundamentlist teachings coming out of thde Middle East. A mnajor factor here is the wealth of the oil states and the Whabbi belkieves prevalent there, especially Saudi Arabia. A small amount of money can gave a major impact in the relatively poor African countries. Islamists claim that there is war against Islam. In fact, increasingly militany Islaicists are launching a war against Christianity and other religions. Money from oil rich Middle Eastern states is proving an increasingly estabilizing factor in Sub-Saharan Africa. Islamicists have perpetrated unbelievable crimes in East Africa, the Sahel and now West Africa, often attacking children. Groups like Boko Haram are causing havoc, attacking Christia schoolls, killing the boys and kidnapping the girls foruse as sex slaves.

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Created: 1:18 AM 4/18/2015
Last updated: 8:18 PM 9/19/2018