African crossroads: Conflicts between African traditional religion and Christianity

This paper focuses on the conflicts between African Traditional Religion and Christianity. Although there are other religions in Africa such as Islam and Judaism, this study concentrates on African Traditional Religion and Christianity. Religion is the strongest element in traditional African culture and exerts great influence upon the conduct of the African people. Religion is closely bound up with the traditional way of African life; therefore, religion has shaped the lives of Africans, at the same time life has shaped religion as well. Whenever two or three cultures meet, there is potential conflict. Spiritual conflicts exist between African Traditional Religion and Christianity. It is difficult to separate African culture from African Traditional Religion because religion is embedded in African culture. African Traditional religion is part of the African’s ethos and an understanding of it should go hand in hand with Christian evangelization. Ignoring these traditional beliefs, attitudes and practices may lead to a lack of understanding of African behavior and problems. This paper work uses Nollywood, the Nigerian movie industry, to showcase the clash between African Traditional Religion and Christianity.