Africans have always been religious. In fact, the African approach to all of life is deeply religious. Africans believe in the existence of a high or supreme being who created the universe.

I think Zuma does not know, or chooses to ignore, the difference between colonisation and evangelisation .

For the greater part of Africa, Christianity arrived on the vehicle called colonisation. Although there are traces of Christianity's arrival in Africa before that (Acts 8:26-40). Yes, it is true that the gospel, like bread, was given to us in plastic; and we swallowed the plastic along with the bread. The plastic being the white man's culture. That is a fact.

I find it difficult to understand why the president chooses to blame Christianity instead of colonisation for the problems in which the continent finds itself. Maybe he tried to be politically safe because someone was going to ask whether he implies the land was stolen.

The president needs to know that theologians are aware of the challenges facing our society. Some of these challenges are the result of eurocentric values which are part of the legacy of apartheid, such as secularism, materialism and consumerism. These challenges have created a deep crisis of consciousness in many of our communities because they accentuate pleasure and greed for material goods.