Malawi

Malawi is a small, landlocked republic located in southeastern Africa, bounded by Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zambia. Its diverse geography includes semiarid savannas in the central region, mountains in the north, and the third largest African freshwater body, Lake Malawi. The country has two urban centers in Lilongwe, the capital, and Blantyre; however, the population remains mostly rural and survives on subsistence farming and wage labor. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world with more than 50% of its population living below the poverty line. Christians make up the overwhelming majority among the Tumbuka and Chewa peoples of the central and northern regions, whereas Muslims are the majority among the Yao people of the southern region.

Malawi was settled by groups of Bantu people from the north in the 10th century CE, and by the 16th century these tribes had established three neighboring kingdoms to the west and south of Lake Malawi. Rich oral histories indicate that these civilizations shared many common religious elements, including a Supreme God associated with rain and the sky, worship of divinized royal ancestors, and tribal kings who functioned as rain callers and spiritual leaders of the community. In the 1600s and 1700s, these kingdoms had some contact with Portuguese traders and settlers. Muslim influence came slightly earlier through contact with Arab traders but was limited in scope. The Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingston reached Lake Malawi in 1859, and the Scottish Presbyterian mission of Livingstonia was founded in 1894. Malawi, then called Nyasaland, was ruled by the British from 1894 until independence in 1964. Malawi was ruled by the dictator Hastings Banda until 1994, when his peaceful overthrow resulted in the establishment of a multiparty democracy.

Roughly 75% of Malawi's population are Protestant Christian, 10% are Catholic, 10% are Muslim, and 5% follow traditional African religions or other religions exclusively. However, these numbers have been changing quickly since independence due to a rapid increase in new religious movements, particularly African-initiated Pentecostal groups, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other new Protestant sects. Malawi is the birthplace of several vibrant Pentecostal denominations that are extending their reach beyond its borders, including Living Waters Church International, Agape Life Church, and Destiny Ministries. All of these groups preach the importance of supernatural power and the necessity of a puritan moral lifestyle. These groups have also been hostile to participation in indigenous rites and religious beliefs, which has contributed to the decline of traditional African religious elements in Malawi. Nevertheless, among Malawian Christians and Muslims, there is still a fairly widespread belief in witchcraft, use of traditional healers, and, to a lesser degree, participation in traditional initiation rites.