How did Christianity come to South Africa?

Christianity was first introduced to South Africa in the 1600s when large numbers of Christian missionaries began arriving from the Netherlands. Further missionaries from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Scandinavia and the United States started to arrive from the early 1800s.

What did African worship before Christianity?

Polytheism was widespreaded in most of ancient African and other regions of the world, before the introduction of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. An exception was the short-lived monotheistic religion created by Pharaoh Akhenaten, who made it mandatory to pray to his personal god Aton (see Atenism).

What was the impact of Christianity in West Africa?

CONTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO WEST AFRICA Apart from giving to the converts a new religious faith which they consider is superior to the traditional religions, the Christian missionaries did pioneering work in introducing new crafts, industries, Western education and modern health services.

What was their purpose in Africa and were they successful?

The goal of the missionaries were to impose their religion which was Christianity among the people of Africa. They were successful by translating the Bible into many African languages.

What does West represent in the Bible?

In Judaism, west is seen to be toward the Shekinah (presence) of God, as in Jewish history the Tabernacle and subsequent Jerusalem Temple faced east, with God’s Presence in the Holy of Holies up the steps to the west. According to the Bible, the Israelites crossed the Jordan River westward into the Promised Land.

Why is South African religion important?

The people follow many spiritual traditions and religious faiths. In South Africa the constitution protects freedom of religion. The most important thing is that in the new South Africa religion and spirituality are used to create greater understanding and harmony rather than to divide people as was done in the past.