Praise and Worship Music in African Christianity

Christianity has been growing in the Global South, changing power dynamics in all the major Christian branches. Sub-Saharan Africa has registered an increase of Protestantism in general and Pentecostalism in particular.... [ view full abstract ]

Christianity has been growing in the Global South, changing power dynamics in all the major Christian branches. Sub-Saharan Africa has registered an increase of Protestantism in general and Pentecostalism in particular. Praise and worship music used in African Churches is a focal point of Christian faith and a representation of the different forces that have influenced the religion. From Nigeria and Burundi to South Africa and Sierra Leone, Pentecostal praise and worship music creates a devotional style that allows Christians to connect to God through familiar tunes while contrasting sharply with traditional liturgical music of the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Black African Pentecostal churches, now sending missionaries to the West, especially exhibit a rich diversity of styles and theological content. Today, Africans are redefining a religion that once was used to oppress them and bringing it back to the west through music and other creative and intellectual forms of expression.