Anglican Mission in Twentieth-Century Africa
Anglican mission in Africa had the capacity to challenge and unseat social, political, and religious hierarchies and identities as much as to create and reinforce them. This chapter considers how twentieth-century movements in colonial statecraft, welfare and development, anti-colonial nationalism, and decolonization found expression in Anglican mission in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, it looks at how the Anglican missionary commitment to indigenization played out in government and society, education and knowledge production, ritual and spirituality, political dissent, and devolution—often in unexpected ways that thwarted the intent of mission establishments and reshaped the character of Anglicanism. Approaching missions as communities, structured by changing norms of authority and social cohesion, can reveal the complex interrelationships of local, regional, and global dynamics of Anglican ideology and practice.