[CliffFletcher]

I'm an atheist, so I don't really have a dog in the hunt of what religion Africans adopt or don't adopt. But they are adopting Christianity (and Protestantism in particular) in large numbers, so it's worth considering reason why. I don't think we can blame colonialism for that in 2019.

The Economist article is behind a paywall, but the gist of it (which I've seen substantiated in other articles as well) is women in the developing world like Protestantism because the men tend to reduce their drinking and use of prostitutes. The Protestants in the developing world also tend to be more literate and affluent. If people see families in the community who are more stable, virtuous, and affluent, they'll want to sign up too.

Which is interesting, because historically post-Roman Empire Christianity spread in Europe in much the same way, with women in places like Scandinavia as early adopters in their societies because Christianity offered a more appealing ethos to them than the heroic pagan culture where men killed one another all the time and kept multiple wives.

The atrocities of the past aren't very important to most people in the developing world. They're busy getting on with their lives and doing what they think will make those lives better in the future. If that means adopting Protestantism, or Mormonism, or Buddhism, why should we care?