(According to sociological research) L. A. ANDREEVA Doctor of Philosophy Institute of Africa, Russian Academy of Sciences religion Keywords:, christianity, Sub-Saharan Africa The history of Christianity in Africa dates back about two thousand years, and its spread began in the second century AD in Egypt and Ethiopia. The main event of the early Christian era was the formation of the Monophysite Church in the fourth century AD, which united the Christians of Egypt and Ethiopia. The next stage of Christianization is associated with the beginning of the colonial expansion of Catholic Portugal in the XV century, but only from the middle of the XIX century, when European countries began to seize vast territories on the African continent, it was possible to talk about the mass conversion of the local population. The religious affiliation of the colonizing country was automatically transferred to the controlled territory as an attempt to Christianize the population. Thus, the contours of the Protestant and Catholic regions of modern Africa were predetermined by the colonizing countries. The greatest success in Christianizing Africans was achieved by missionary orders and Roman Catholic societies. ("White Fathers", "Society of the African Mission", etc.) and Protestant churches. In the mid-twentieth century, after the collapse of colonialism, a new stage of Christianization began. In 1951, Pope Pius XII addressed Catholics with an encyclical in which he stressed the need to modify the activities of the Church in the colonies and semi-colonies in accordance with and with the maximum adaptation of religion to local conditions. In line with the new policy, decisions were also taken, for example, by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), which granted Africans the right to conduct services in local languages, the ability to beat drums and dance during mass. This stage of the Christianization of Africa is characterized primarily by syncretism - the fusion of some elements of lo ... Read more