Unit One: Why Study Africa?

Module Three: Examining Africa's Diversity

Teacher's Edition

Activity Three: African Religions - Explain

Study the map of Africa below. What are the different types of religious buildings you see in these pictures? Do you recognize any of them?

Click the small pictures on the map below to see larger, more detailed pictures.

Teacher Discussion:

This activity is intended to be a class discussion. Ask students to study the map on the computer, as an overhead projection, or as a handout, and answer the questions provided above.

Note that while most of West Africa is predominantly Muslim, images 1-4 show us that there are also Christian churches (and churchgoers), and that there are different sects within Islam that build different kinds of mosques.

Emphasize to students that distributional maps such as this one only indicate that most of the people in a shaded area are of a particular group, be it a religious, ethnic, linguistic, or other group. There are often other kinds of groups within the shaded areas as well.

Image 1 shows a Christian church.
Image 2 shows a Muslim mosque
Image 3 shows another kind of Christian church
Image 4 shows another kind of Muslim mosque.
Image 5 shows an Eastern Orthodox church.
Image 6 shows a Christian mission church in Southern Africa, the Serima Mission. This mission is famous for the woodcarvings it is covered in, and for continuing to train new generations of expert woodcarvers.

Go on to Activity 4: Making a Living in Africa or select from the other activities in this lesson plan below:

Other Activities in this lesson plan include: