In his introduction to this diverse and well-researched volume, Harri Englund valiantly sums up the theoretical antecedents and the historical and contemporary context that have informed the study of religion and Christianity in Africa. His task is no simple one. Conceptualising religion as more than personal reflection and internal experience has led to a tendency for descriptions in terms of political statements and action. Theorists must struggle with secular accusations of fundamentalism, as well as spiritualist demands for religion to be differentiated from other modes of social performance and cognitive frameworks. In this volume contributors from various disciplinary backgrounds set out to explore Christianity in Africa as an integral part of everyday life amongst a range of what are defined as ‘publics’. This terminology is employed as a means of bringing religion into the open whilst keeping ‘its impact in perspective’. Christianity is seen as being of great importance, but as an aspect of life or everyday discourse rather than ‘an all-consuming force’ that its opponents might fear.

Amidst excitement over media-savvy Evangelical performances, Marja Hinfelaar reminds us that traditional or mission churches have not gone away in Zambia. Christianity's historical importance is also highlighted as Nicholas Kamau-Goro describes Ngugi wa Thiongo'o's formative Christian experiences. Barbara Cooper, Ruth Prince and Damaris Parsitau dig down into the riveting evolution of reproductive politics in Niger, Luo widow inheritance in Kenya and, in the same country, the very public scene of domineering female pastors. Birgit Meyer steps back to consider some lessons learned from her work in Ghana, and areas that require further research. Harri Englund then contributes from his own work in Malawi on Evangelical media and Islam. Michael Okyerefo argues the case for Evangelical churches as positive resources for socio-economic development in Ghana. Thus, the sheer ubiquity of religion in Africa is highlighted and addressed, in terms of the everyday importance of particular public contestations of Christianity. This helps to avoid portrayals of exotic exceptionalism.

We are thus provided with fascinating descriptions of communities that continue to be characterised by frictions, negotiations and fluidities as they evolve internally and in response to external conditions. James Pritchett argues this well in his compelling opening chapter, describing early mission stations that ‘could easily have been the most complex social aggregates on the African landscape’. Having said this though, individuals are not only located inside looking out. The practicality of religion in Africa means that individuals dip in and out, move around, and negotiate. The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) in Durban as described by Ilana van Wyk, for example, strikes me as a ‘drive through’ church, utilised by some people, some of the time, for particular purposes. Attendees may well find sites of ‘community’ elsewhere, just not at the UCKG. Therefore, portrayal of African publics in this volume slightly restricts consideration to intra-group actions, when inter-group motion is so important for characterising Christianity in Africa. This point aside, the book is a timely and engaging contribution to an important and growing debate on religion's role in public life, offering a range of fascinating perspectives.