6-7 October 2026 International Scientific Conference "Missionaries and christian churches in Africa: colonial context and contemporary discourse"
THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
INSTITUTE FOR AFRICAN STUDIES
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30/1 ул. Спиридоновка, Москва, 123001 |
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30/1 Spiridonovka str., Moscow, 123001 |
MISSIONARIES AND CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN AFRICA: COLONIAL CONTEXT AND CONTEMPORARY DISCOURSE
International Scientific Conference
6-7 October 2026
First call for papers
First call for papers
On 6-7 October 2026, the Centre for History and Cultural Anthropology and the Centre for Sub-Saharan Africa are holding an international conference: "Missionaries and christian churches in Africa: colonial context and contemporary discourse"
The role of missionaries in the history of African countries cannot be overestimated. Since the colonization of the continent by European countries, missionaries not only actively spread the Christian doctrine but also collaborated with the conquerors.
By establishing primary schools at missionary stations as well as the first secondary and higher educational institutions on the continent, missionaries played a leading role both in the emergence of an educated African class and in the formation of African political elites in the colonies. Members of these elites later spearheaded national liberation movements and became the first leaders of independent African states. Missionaries contributed to the struggle for rights for Africans and the abolition of slavery. They introduced new cultural, economic and social practices to Africa.
At the same time, missionaries were conduits for colonial policies on the African continent. An important consequence of their activities was the division of traditional African society into Christians and polytheists. Many missionaries contributed to the dispossession of Africans and directly or indirectly took part in unjust wars waged against them. Over time, many Africans began to associate Christianisation with the expansionist policies of white people, the loss of independence and the establishment of capitalist relations that undermined traditional communities. In addition, the activities of missionaries were often hostile to the culture of African peoples. They denounced it as barbaric and sought to destroy the traditional worldview. For this reason, missionaries and the Africans they converted to Christianity sometimes found themselves at odds with each other.
Researchers still debate the dual nature of the activities of Christian organisations. On the one hand, they sometimes unwittingly paved the way for the colonisation of vast territories in Africa and created or deepened divisions within African societies. On the other hand, it can hardly be disputed that these organisations also had positive effects, such as the development of education and medicine, the introduction of technical innovations and modern political culture into Africa, and, in some cases, the overcoming of intercultural differences.
Now that Africa has become the region with the largest Christian population in the world, we need to take a closer look at the complex role of Christian churches in Africa, both in retrospect and in the present day. This complicated question will be considered in its historical and spatial development, with a focus on the socio-economic, political and cultural transformations that still happen in African countries. Given that discussions about religion are usually of a ‘sensitive’ nature, the organisers urge participants to base their presentations on empirical data: historical facts, documentary evidence, statistics, normative documents, etc. We hope that this approach will enable us to summarise the interim results of research into the activities of Christian churches and missionaries as objectively as possible.
During the conference, we propose to consider a wide range of topics related to Christian organisations in Africa in the past and present. These topics include:
• European missionary activity in African countries: past, present and future
• Theory and practice of missionary activity: a comparison of the approaches of Christian churches
• Christian organisations as actors of socio-economic development
• The political dimension of the work of Christian organisations: the formation of parties, movements, civil societies and institutions
• The role of Christian organisations in the administration of European colonies and the struggle against colonialism
• Christianity vs traditional culture: destruction of traditions or a path to unity?
• Historical memory of Christianisation
• Spatial characteristics of the spread of Christianity
• Christianity and the state: partnership and competition
• Interdenominational rivalry between Christian churches in Africa
• Analysis of the results and prospects of missionary activity by Christian churches on the African continent.
Papers are welcome. Please, submit an abstract by 1 June 2026. Email for submissions: vgribanova@mail.ru
Your application should include:
• Your details: name and surname, affiliation, academic degree
• Contact details: email and telephone number.
• The topic of your presentation, with a brief abstract (100–300 words).
• Technical requirements.
Presentation length: 15 minutes.
Working languages: English and Russian.
Presentations can be made in person or online.
Attendance and participation are free.
Publication of conference transactions is planned.
Organisers of the conference:
Valentina Gribanova: vgribanova@mail.ru;
Andrey Tokarev: stp79@yandex.ru;
Boris Gorelik: boris.gorelik@inafr.ru
Ivan Zakharov: vanszax@yandex.ru
