'This is a very interesting collection, which invites the reader to revise all existing assumptions about the origins, basis and nature of Fundamentalism.' - Reviews in Religion and Theology

'This book comes as a timely reminder that there is more to 'fundamentalism' than al-Qa'ida ... a volume that marries in-depth area expertise with conceptual richness.' - International Affairs

'This is a very interesting collection, which invites the reader to revise all existing assumptions about the origins, basis and nature of Fundamentalism.' - Reviews in Religion and Theology

'This book comes as a timely reminder that there is more to 'fundamentalism' than al-Qa'ida ... a volume that marries in-depth area expertise with conceptual richness.' - International Affairs

Through the efforts of Western missionaries and home-grown churches and evangelists, Christianity has taken root in Africa with astonishing speed, to the point that Africa is now considered one of the heartlands of world Christianity. In a surprising reversal of the nineteenth-century missionary tradition, Africa no longer merely receives missionaries but is also the source of evangelization as African-influenced Christianity spreads around the new African diaspora. While Africans have wholeheartedly appropriated the symbols, scriptures, and traditions of historical Christianity elsewhere, they have also built on the rich history of the continent's indigenous spiritual beliefs. African Christianity has been influenced by and influences these beliefs and cannot be fully understood outside of this context.In "How God Became African," Gerrie ter Haar focuses in particular on the importance of African beliefs about the spirit world and spiritual power and their relationship with Christianity. Africans have historically acknowledged a distinct but not separate world of spirits existing alongside the material world that human beings can interact with through dreams, visions, spirit possession, and miracles. Also of key importance is the acute awareness among Africans of evil in the world and of witchcraft, the channeling of that evil by humans. Ter Haar continues with a consideration of how these beliefs affect issues of human rights and development in Africa, issues that are seen elsewhere in the world as fundamentally secular.

Only after his appointment as RC Archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia, in 1969 did Emmanuel Milingo become aware of his healing powers. Members of his congregation suffering from sickness or misfortune believed they had been possessed by evil spirits, and that Milingo was able to provide healing. Milingo, an orthodox Catholic, "plunged into darkness" with his parishioners. He called on the Holy Spirit of Christian faith to liberate thousands of Zambians from the evil spirits which they considered to be the source of their suffering. He also made outspoken attacks on corruption in Zambian public life and other forms of misgovernment, which he equally saw as symptoms of evil. Under the influence of the Charismatic Renewal movement in the West, Milingo came to believe that spiritual forces are present not only in Africa but all over the world. But the West, he believes, has lost its ability to communicate with the spirit world and thereby the ability to combat evil. He sees it as his mission to persuade the Catholic Church to re-learn this skill from Africa. In 1982 Milingo was removed from Lusaka by order of the Vatican, and since then has lived and worked in Rome. Under the personal protection of the Pope, he continues to heal hundreds of sick and troubled people every week in Italy - having been forbidden to do so in Zambia. This book, based on research in Africa and Europe, provides the facts about Milingo's life and work, discusses his thought and his actions, and explains how he was forced to leave the country. It also describes and analyzes the conflict surrounding his healing ministry.

With Christian revivals (including Evangelicals in the White House), Islamic radicalism and the revitalisation of traditional religions it is clear that the world is not heading towards a community of secular states. Nowhere are religious thought and political practice more closely intertwined than in Africa. African migrants in Europe and America who send home money to build churches and mosques, African politicians who consult diviners, guerrilla fighters who believe that amulets can protect them from bullets, and ordinary people who seek ritual healing: all of these are applying religious ideas to everyday problems of existence, at every level of society. Far from falling off the map of the world, Africa is today a leading centre of Christianity and a growing field of Islamic activism, while African traditional religions are gaining converts in the West.
One cannot understand the politics of the present without taking religious thought seriously. Stories about witches, miracles, or people returning from the dead incite political action. In Africa religious belief has a huge impact on politics, from the top of society to the bottom. Religious ideas show what people actually think about the world and how to deal with it. Ellis and Ter Haar maintain that the specific content of religious thought has to be mastered if we are to grasp the political significance of religion in Africa today, but their book also informs our understanding of the relationship between religion and political practice in general.

After his appointment as RC Archbishop of Lusaka in 1969, Emmanuel Milingo became aware of his healing powers. Members of his congregation believed him to be able to liberate them from evil spirits. This work examines Milingo's life and work and the conflict surrounding his healing ministry.