The Social Mission of Religious Organizations in Africa: New Challenges and Potential Limitations

This paper addresses the challenges of state oversight relating to the non-religious activities of religious actors in Africa, whose growing influence allowed them to transform into an alternative to state institutions. In the analysis of this phenomenon, the authors use religious economy theory (religious market), which evaluates a religious organization’s competitiveness by its capacity to attract followers. A measurable indicator of such competitiveness is its growing demographic share of a certain religion within a specific region. Using an exponential growth model, the study forecasts the proportions of major religions and their branches in the African population for 2025. It is shown that, as a result of the reduction in the conversion base for Christianity and Islam due to a decrease in the number of followers of ethnic religions, the competition between these religions has increased. Based on the size, the rate of conversion growth, and the specifics of its non-religious activities, the Roman Catholic Church stands out for its high competitiveness in Africa, due to the largest scale of social service in African countries. The research underscores the significant role of social services‒education, healthcare, charity, and faith diplomacy‒in the mission strategies of these organizations, which allows them to partially fulfill state’s social functions. The authors highlight risks associated with the increasing influence of religious organizations, including their use as instruments of foreign influence, trends toward politicization, radicalization, etc. The paper outlines a set of state regulatory mechanisms designed to optimize the positive developmental impact of religious organizations while minimizing associated risks.