African Independent Churches: A Spiritual Re-Enforcement for African Development

Abstract

The African Independent Churches have been credited for being deeply rooted not only in culture, but also in socio-economic life of their members. They view salvation in a holistic perspective as they conceive human growth and socio-economic attainment as part of God’s salvation plan for man. This paper focuses on the centrality of religion to the socio-economic life of Africans with particular reference to African Independent Churches. The African Religion is ideal in the provision of good life which is inherent in the African socio- cultural practices. That Africans are religious is not in doubt as aired by several scholars from different fields of study debunking the earlier description of Africans as savage, barbaric, primitive and fetish, depicting idolatry nature. This study examined the African Initiative Churches in the practice of African spirituality as a re-enforcement for transforming development among their kit and kin. To Africans spirituality and socio-economic development are knitted together and inseparable. Thus Africans are religious” because they involved their religion in every aspect of their lives. To achieve the set objectives, the researcher seeks to provide a historical analysis of the African Independent churches as an example. Thus, Africans like most other nations of the world are indebted to religious principles for development. They therefore, sought for a Christianity that could speak to them in their unique situation.