Editing Africa (section)

=== Religion ===

Africa is religiously diverse. Christianity and Islam are the largest religions on the continent, while traditional African religions and local spiritual systems remain important in many communities. Many people combine local customs with Christianity or Islam.

Christianity has ancient roots in Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and North Africa. It later expanded through missionary activity, colonial institutions, African-led churches, Pentecostal movements, Catholic missions, Protestant denominations, Orthodox traditions, and independent churches.

Islam spread across North Africa, the Sahara, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, the Swahili Coast, and parts of West Africa through conquest, trade, scholarship, migration, and local conversion. Islamic law, education, architecture, and scholarship shaped many African societies.

Traditional African religions vary widely. They may include ancestor veneration, sacred kingship, ritual specialists, spirits, local cosmologies, initiation systems, healing practices, and community ceremonies. These traditions remain influential even where formal religious identity is Christian or Muslim.