The Church in Africa, 1450-1950

This first comprehensive history of the church in Africa ... is a magnificent contribution to the Oxford History of the Christian Church and will be welcomed by Africanists as well as by church and mission historians. * Expository Times *
splendid volume...frequently challenging...genuinely illuminates the issues with which he deals * Journal of Religion in Africa *
`Adrian Hastings has established a challenging framework with exceptional clarity. His overall strategy is masterly, often strikingly original; and the framework is indubitably African ... he should succeed in stimulating a fresh generation of research, especially by Ethiopian scholars.' Times Literary Supplement
Splendid history of African Christianity. Very few people are better qualified to compile it...He writes with great fluency and authority,...This is, in the proper sense of an overused word, a magisterial book, and despite the wealth of its detail it does not drag. * The Tablet *
This is a magisterial work ... extraordinarily wide-ranging, racy and idiosyncratic, swinging from detailed analysis to synthetic reflection with hardly a pause ... I cannot recommend this book too highly for those who want either to begin reading about African Christianity, or to widen their knowledge. There can be few who will not here find something new. * Church of England Newspaper *
Hastings starts with the mountain-shielded Christianity of Abyssinia ... and with a pleasing fluency he continues to give us Abyssinian chapters down to recent times. * London Review of Books *
authoritative over-view ... The work is impressive, reliable, detailed, and written with a deceptive simplicity which allows subtle points to be conveyed unobtrusively. It is a study which will prove an indispensable resource for many years ... the book gets the balance between respect for the integrity of inherent customs and the values of imported Christian morality just about right. This impressive book is a sound entry for those who would know about its roots. * Revd Dr E.R. Norman, Church Times *
An account of the trajectory from Ntsikana to Tutu is only one of the many riches of Adrian Hastings's splendid history of African Christianity. Very few people are better qualified to compile it. He writes with great fluency and authority ... a magisterial book, and despite the wealth of its detail it does not drag. * J.D.Y. Peel, The Tablet *
Well-written and well-researched. * Times Higher Education Supplement *
A classic and masterful work ... he focuses sensitively on the role of conversion, the development of church life and its relationship to traditional African religious values ... a balanced account of the positive and negative roles of Christian missionary activity and their political and economic linkages to colonial political power ... Highly recommended for scholars and advanced graduate students. A major library resource on Africa and the history of Christianity. * Choice *
Hastings has the ability to identify and chart significant streams within the flow of...church history. His short portraits of certain significant figures have the power to move his readers deeply. * Epworth Review *
...a magnificent contribution to the Oxford History of the Christian Church abd will be welcomed by Africanists as well as by church and mission historians...this is a history of the church in Africa, not just of missions...we not only have a splendidly empathetic chapter on the Victorian missionary; but also a characterisation of the African societies in which they worked, and an exploration of emerging Christian life. * The Expository Times *
A scholarly history of the development of African-led churches over 500 years. * Missiology: An International Review *
an ambitious work ... Hastings has produced a work worthy of a place on the shelf of every Africanist or religious scholar working in or teaching the history of the period. This is a fine reference work and a valuable addition to any undergraduate library. The narrative masterfully interweaves the religious developments with the major social, political, economic, and cultural factors affecting the progress as well as the set-backs in European efforts to Christianize Africans over the course of five centuries ... a valuable contribution to the field. The formidable bibliography alone is an asset to future scholarship. * Peter Buhler, Boise State University, The Historian *
splendid volume ... To describe it as filling a gap, as it self evidently does, would be to give little indication of the extent of Hastings's achievement. This is not only the first major study of the church in Africa from early times to the mid 20th century. It is a work of pioneering scholarship ... It is conspicuously readable and frequently challenging, a book to be enjoyed for the questions it raises as much as for the information it imparts. Hastings's greatest strength is his ability to make comparisons across regions and centuries that genuinely illuminate the issues with which he deals. No one seriously interested in the history of Africa or of Christianity as a world religion should fail to gain access to it. * John McCracken, University of Stirling, Journal of Religion in Africa, XXVI, 2, 1996 *
Adrian Hastings ... has returned to a subject he has treated before and one that is being increasingly written about. He has expounded on it with fresh eyes in a lively style. By placing his own personal stamp on the subject, he gives the book its distinctive flavor. Hastings' book is a confident, self-assured presentation of the subject and of the enormous literature that has grown especially since about 1960. Anyone who seeks guidance on the broad, general course of Christianity in modern Africa cannot go far wrong in looking to the book. * Lamin Sanneh, Missiology, Oct '96 *
Hastings has produced a volume which is about the African Church rather than about Western Missions but has managed to remain essentially balanced ... the book is clear and readable ... He has a first-hand and sympathetic knowledge of modern Africa ... he seems to have read almost everything and he has broken new ground ... a history of African Christianity which non-African readers will understand and enjoy. * Peter Hinchcliff, Journal of Theological Studies, Vol. 47, No. 1, Apr '96 *
This volume represents a monumental achievement, the magnum opus of a leading scholar in the field of African church history ... a study that combines the sensitivities and insights of a longtime participant in African church development with the expertise of a scholar who has a formidable grasp of the primary and secondary literature ... this is a book that will be a standard text for some time to come. Historians of Africa, missiologists, and leaders of the church in Africa will find it most useful. * Jack E. Nelson, Pacific University, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Summer, 1996) *
Adrian Hastings has written a monumental study which will remain a standard in the history of the church for the whole of Africa. It is without peer in its chronological scope, depth of coverage, and analytical commentary. ... the ambitious task of covering the history of Christianity in Africa is undertaken with a lively narrative style ... The author strikes a comfortable balance between generalization, detail, and thematic development. ... It is this scope and perspective in one volume which makes Hastings's study the most comprehensive and understandable history of the African church to date and an absolutely essential starting point for comprehending the topic in terms of details, themes and concepts. * Church History, December 1996 *
a fine blend of report and evaluation ... fascinating ... It is without a shadow of doubt destined to become a standard text for the foreseeable future and will remain influential for longer than that ... a massive and complex topic, and its compression into the pages of a single volume, sustained by balanced treatment and a lucid wordcraft, is brilliantly done ... Hastings deftly handles his selected material to create a convincing tapestry, covering topic after topic with masterly conciseness and precision. Hastings has given us an inclusive survey without a current rival. The breadth of coverage is staggering, especially in combination with the depth of treatment, and both are a direct result of Hastings's skill with words ... provides a balanced, informed discussion, replete with insight, evaluating the general in the light of specifics ... a superb job. * R.I. Sim, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol.60, No. 3, 1997 *
this is a remarkable book ... Hastings operates at many different levels ... its enormous bibliography, the offer of illuminating detail and sweeping summaries, the combination of insight laced with provocation, make it a real pleasure to read and, with its welcome appearance in paperback, will ensure its place as a source of reference and inspiration for many years * Andrew Porter, King's College, London, African History, Vol 38 - 1997 *
a comprehensive and illuminating account of the complex and dynamic history of the Church in Africa ... Theology and spirituality, gospel and culture, religion and politics, nationalism and particularism and slavery, are important themes in a book which provides a vivid and frank account of Catholic and Protestant missions and missionaries ... this work is a necessary and valuable contribution by an author who makes a very difficult task appear less difficult than it is, and one to whom students of African history and missiology owe a considerable debt, not least for the excellent annotated bibliography. * Emmanuel M. Jacob, Journal of Ecclesiastical History *
Rather high standard for others to emulate ... carefully researched and provides abundant resources for further study ... Hastings ... presents the reader with the result of a mature scholar. It is obvious that this publication is the result of many earlier studies and long reflection. The author's ability to connect developments in many areas while keeping the flow of his narrative moving is the result of deep familiarity with the material and profound understanding of its meaning ... Hastings understands the importance of presenting work in a manner that draws the reader into the reading enterprise ... a significant advance in the field of African religious studies and offer themes for further rewarding research. * African Studies Review *
A consummate historian, theologian, social activist and critic, Hastings begins this enterprise by briskly clearing the historiographical underbrush before building a monumental structure which will serve as a signpost for decades ... This book is made very readable and interesting by the depth of analyses and a tradition of recovering empowering memories. Maps and a good bibliography are provided as further aids. * Cristianesimo Nella Storia *
'...extraordinarily wide-ranging volume...Hastings's monograph, backed by deep scholarly experiences and the tradition of the Oxford University Press, is a major volume of great importance in which there is something new for a readyer of advanced standard.' * Getnet Tamene, Asian and African Studies, Vol.7/1998, no.1 *