Mission Churches and African Customary Marriage: at What Point Should a Couple Married by African Custom Be Recognised As Married in the Sight of God?

Onesimus Ngundu examines the question of the validity and legitimacy of African customary marriage in the wake of the introduction and enforcement of the European Christian Church marriage tradition in the thirteenth century and civil marriage in the sixteenth century. On one hand, Africans continue to contract their marriages traditionally first before going for either a civil or church marriage ceremony. On the other hand, mission founded-churches, because of their refusal to recognise African customary marriages,continue to publicly discipline any African Christian couple who consummate their marriage after a customary marriage but before a church wedding which can take place several months or even years after the customary marriage. In response to some real social and moral dilemmas that confront African Christian couples at marriage, Dr Ngundu offers contemporary African Christianity a practical approach to African Christian marriage that reduces social, legal and moral dilemmas for African Christian couples at marriage.