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Why are Africans so religious?
It won't be wise to speak for all Africa.

But I can speak for my tribe based on my experiences and observations.

I spent my early years in a riverine community. This community is very close to the Ocean housing every monstrous beast.

The community was an island, this little land was used for housing, planting, hunting and the burying of dead people.

Things were really scary for us little kids then, there were places we couldn't walk past for fear of the unknown.

I think adults were afraid too and they undoubtedly needed something to look up to for protection.

They were known to serve their ancestors, idols, snakes, some powerful animals etc.

These people believed that powerful spirits walk the earth and make important decisions for the living.

There were more than ten shrines in my community, all being worshipped because the people perceived them as powerful gods who answered every of their needs.

My grandfather and the ones before him had their personal idols and often times I heard him begging his gods for protection, and if it wasn't that then they were performing sacrifices by killing animals and pouring gin on them.

So i think fear of the unknown caused all of this.

When the white man came with Christianity, a few of my people abandoned their traditional believes to follow his God because they were convinced it was indeed a more powerful God to answer every of their needs.

But from history books and documentaries I've seen about Nigeria, majority of us ran to churches as our last hope during the stringent military government , mostly during the rule of the dark goggled Gen. Sani Abacha.

In my opinion, I could be wrong though...Africans have always looked up to something to fight things they couldn't fight neither understand.

We're always in search of protection either from God, the white man, the village chief priest, our dead relatives Etcetera.



We're religious not because we love God more or are following the footsteps of Christ, it's our only perceived source of refuge.

If you were to offend my mother today she might probably say "God is not sleeping or I leave it for God."

Africans are good at leaving their responsibilities for perceived higher powers and that has contributed to the present day underdeveloped Africa.

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When such comments come from the likes of you I can't help but to feel good about my little efforts here.

You made my day bro. Thanks!

I can't speak for the rest of Africa, but Nigeria is very religious. Even before the missionaries came with Christianity, the indigenous traditions were steeped in religion. So the answer to this question is likely multifaceted. I think a part of it is:

Religion is the main source of hope for a lot of Nigerians. In the face of bad governance, poverty, underdevelopment, some people have little to look forward to asides from religion. Religion (at least the popular ones here) promises a good life after death, and possibly on earth. I think this is why the prosperity gospel is growing rapidly in Nigeria. Do this and that, and receive God's blessings.

Some of the poorest people do not see how they can achieve their dreams without some form of divine intervention. The Bible is full of stories of people overcoming great odds, that's very inspiring. There are also very many cases of people who were aided or inspired by religion to achieve something great. Also, in some of the rural areas, it is religious institutions and NGOs that provide basic services (particularly education and health services) to the people. So these people are likely to see religion in the most positive light.

I used to think it was just ignorance that caused sick people to go to prayer houses instead of hospitals. I have come to learn that many times it's desperation that drives people to seek answers in prayer houses. I have so many examples, but will give only one. A woman with a good job in an oil company had an infant with cerebral palsy. This child was always in an out of hospitals due to seizures and respiratory problems. During a physiotherapy session, the mother announced that they were traveling abroad that weekend for medical treatment, and so the treatment sessions would have to be paused for a while. A couple of weeks later, another staff mentioned that he ran into this woman and her family in another town at a revival, and that she seemed embarrassed and hurriedly moved away.

We all look up to some thing(s) for answers, hope, identity etc. Family, government, religion, science, and many more. When one fails (or stops meeting our needs) we turn to another.