Christian Historical Heterogeneity in Sierra Leone: A Sociological Prospect and Interpretation

Abstract

Sierra Leone, today a country with a Muslim majority (78.6%), has undergone an intense process of Christian religious conversion. Christianity was first introduced in Sierra Leone in 1792. Today, 20.4 % of the population is Christian, with a ‘Born–Again’ or protestant majority surpassing previous national historic denominations of Catholicism, the Pentecostal, Anglicans, Baptists, Jehovah Witnesses and Apostolicism, mainly in the minority. ‘Born–Again’ churches are a repertoire of Nigerian and Sierra Leonean religious leaders tutored by Nigerian theocrats called the redeemed Christian leaders. This article seeks to establish the dimension of divergent Christian religious groups in terms of follower compositions and to inject a sociological lens of these compositions, suggesting interpretations that influence Sierra Leonean Christian perceptions and diversions.