The Church and Cultural Reconstruction for Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Increasingly, Christianity is becoming the majority religion in many Sub-Saharan African countries. The impressive number of adherents of the faith however, in most cases, is at odds with the cultural beliefs and practices of the peoples of these nations. From a critical historical perspective, the paper examines the influence of Christianity on selected cultures and argues that organized religion, particularly Christianity, holds the key to the development of Sub-Saharan Africa through cultural reconstruction, starting from the church’s sub-culture. Consequently, the paper concludes that African theological reflections, directed towards the challenges of cultural deconstruction and reconstruction within the Church and the larger society, will be able to deepen the roots of the average African Christian and make room for enhanced socio-economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords

• church
• culture
• reconstruction
• development