Religion In South
Africa
By: Trey Ellis, Saiteja C., Patrick Dickey, Cole
Smith, and Simon Democko
Religious Beliefs Before
Colonization
 Animist Religions and belief systems were in
place in Sub-Saharan Africa.
 Between the 5th and 13th centuries in East
Africa, the dominant religion was Christianity.
Religious Beliefs Before
Colonization (cont.)
 Islam was practiced on the Indian Ocean
coastline and the coastline of Sahel.
 Islam hardly reached the interior.
Theistic Beliefs and Rituals
Before Colonization
 The Traditional religion included
many myths with gods and
ancestor heroes, whose lives
were used as examples to learn
from.
 They believed that through
dance and altered states of
consciousness they would
obtain knowledge from the
gods and ancestor’s spirits to
heal a person or help against
evil.
Theistic Beliefs and Rituals
Before Colonization (cont.)
 Most of the people in South Africa believe in a supreme being. They
believed that this god had the power of creation. This god was
basically thought to be unreachable for human beings and beyond
comprehension.
 They believed that spirits could communicate with and influence the
world of the living and were the connection to a great god.
 There were also with doctors that used “magical remedies” to cure
the diseased.
The Impact of Christianity
on South African Culture
 Christianity had negative affects on
south Africa.
 According to Jacob Zuma (the president
of South Africa) “Had destroyed the
safety net for orphans, elderly people
and the poor.” He has blamed
Christianity for the fall of many
important traditions.
 Zuma said it was crucial that South
Africans return to the "old days of doing
things" because the modern way had
caused problems in society.
Dominant Sects During the
1940s
 Pentecostal
 Dutch Reformed Churches
 Apostolic
 Zionist
Works Cited
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