Missionary activity amongst the Bantu-speaking people in South Africa started at the beginning of the 19th century. Today, according to census returns, 70%of the African population describe themselves as Christians. There was, however, a good deal of initial resistance to Christianisation on the part of independent African chiefs and their people. It is true that the chiefs generally welcomed missionaries; but this was because of their usefulness in such secular spheres as diplomacy and technology. Their religious and moral teachings necessarily involved an attack on African customs, and so were perceived as subversive of the social order and of chiefly authority. This, together with the missionaries' association with the British colonial authority, made conversion appear an act of disloyalty. A convert was seen as casting off his own people and throwing in his lot with the Whites. Consequently chiefs actively discouraged conversion. The converts the missionaries made tended to be the outcasts and misfits of tribal society. Missionaries, discouraged at the frustration of their work, became more and more inclined to the view that the overthrow of savage customs and of chiefly authority by the imposition of British rule was the necessary precondition for African acceptance of the gospel. And, indeed, as the independent power of chiefs was replaced by that of White magistrates, and as economic as well as political factors caused the disintegration of the traditional social structure, so it became easier for members of African societies to accept the new religion without seeming to be traitors to their own people. But converts found they were not accepted as equals by their White co-religionists. This, together with the continuing cultural distinctiveness of African Christians, has led in many cases to Christianity being embraced not simply as it was proffered but in a form adapted to African needs. This content downloaded from 154.117.167.42 on Wed, 26 Apr 2023 16:46:49 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Stickynote

by R.L. COPE Missionary activity amongst the Bantu-speaking people in South Africa started at the beginning of the 19th century. Today, according to census returns, 70%of the African population describe themselves as Christians. There was, however, a good deal of initial resistance to Christianisation on the part of independent African chiefs and their people. It is true that the chiefs generally welcomed missionaries; but this was because of their usefulness in such secular spheres as diplomacy and technology. Their religious and moral teachings necessarily involved an attack on African customs, and so were perceived as subversive of the social order and of chiefly authority. This, together with the missionaries' association with the British colonial authority, made conversion appear an act of disloyalty. A convert was seen as casting off his own people and throwing in his lot with the Whites. Consequently chiefs actively discouraged conversion. The converts the missionaries made tended to be the outcasts and misfits of tribal society. Missionaries, discouraged at the frustration of their work, became more and more inclined to the view that the overthrow of savage customs and of chiefly authority by the imposition of British rule was the necessary precondition for African acceptance of the gospel. And, indeed, as the independent power of chiefs was replaced by that of White magistrates, and as economic as well as political factors caused the disintegration of the traditional social structure, so it became easier for members of African societies to accept the new religion without seeming to be traitors to their own people. But converts found they were not accepted as equals by their White co-religionists. This, together with the continuing cultural distinctiveness of African Christians, has led in many cases to Christianity being embraced not simply as it was proffered but in a form adapted to African needs.