Challenges for the sociology of religion in the African context: Prospects for the next 50 years

On the occasion of Social Compass's 50th anniversary as a leading journal for the sociology of religion, the author was asked to define the challenges which this discipline will face in the African context in the next 50 years. After retrospectively sketching both the African situation (with its three pillars of historic African religion, Islam, and Christianity) and some Africanist themes in the sociology of religion, globalization is discussed as a major challenge: how does it affect religion and identity, and how does the model of the formal (self-) organization which it favours, have an impact especially with regard to representation and resilience of African religious forms? The second major challenge clusters around the problematic state of civil society in Africa: in the face of disorder and violent conflict. Here the pivotal question is: can African religious forms contribute to the societal consensus that is central to modern statehood?.