Christianity, Colonialism and African Identity in Selected African Plays: A Postcolonial-Theological Reading

This study examines the relationship between Christianity, colonialism, and African identity in selected African plays through a postcolonial-theological perspective. It explores how Christian beliefs and institutions, introduced during colonial rule, interacted with indigenous religious systems, cultural practices, and conceptions of identity. Using selected dramatic texts as primary sources, the study interrogates the representation of Christianity as both a vehicle of colonial influence and a resource for moral, cultural, and spiritual negotiation. The analysis focuses on tensions between Christian theology and indigenous worldviews, the disruption of traditional identities, and the ways African characters respond to religious and cultural domination. A postcolonial-theological approach is adopted to bring together postcolonial criticism and theological inquiry, allowing the study to examine both the colonial uses of Christianity and possibilities for an African-centred reinterpretation of Christian faith. The study argues that the selected plays do not present African identity as simply destroyed by Christianity or colonialism; rather, they portray identity as contested, negotiated, and continually reconstructed. The study concludes that African drama provides a critical space for questioning colonial representations of Christianity while exploring forms of faith that engage African cultural realities and historical experience.

Keywords: Christianity; Colonialism; African Identity; Postcolonial Theology; African Drama; Cultural Hybridity