Final answer:
The two religious practices that have had the largest influence on Africa are Christianity and Islam. These religions have been Africanized to adapt to traditional practices, leading to unique religious expressions that blend with indigenous beliefs.
Step-by-step explanation:
Religious Influence on Africa
The two religious practices that have had the largest influence on Africa are Christianity and Islam. The propagation of these religions has been influenced by Africa's rich tapestry of cultures, resulting in the Africanization of Christian and Islamic practices. This process involved the adaptation of these monotheistic faiths to align with traditional African rituals and beliefs, leading to unique expressions of each religion.
For example, Islam found a receptive audience in African societies that already practiced polygamous marriages, allowing these traditional practices to continue within the Islamic faith. This contributed to the development of a distinctive form of Islam along the Swahili coast, incorporating ancestor worship, spirit appeasement, and unique burial customs.
Christianity, likewise, spread through Sub-Saharan Africa, often blending with indigenous beliefs and rituals. In regions like West Africa and the Kingdom of Kongo, African Christianity took shape, which included aspects of African culture and spirituality, even though the nexus of Christianity and traditional African religions sometimes led to division and civil unrest due to differing belief systems seeking political power.
Despite the widespread adoption of these Abrahamic religions, ancient African belief systems such as Animism and ancestor veneration persisted and continued to play a significant role in many rural African communities.