Faith, divisions, and conflict: the development legacy of Christian missionary activities in Africa and its interplay with ethnic diversity and civil conflict

Inspired by the influential work of Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson on institutional persistence, a growing body of research examines how historical events shape contemporary economic and social outcomes. Although valuable insights have emerged from studies that isolate specific historical determinants, some scholars have noted the need for a more integrative approach to understand how these forces interact. This paper aligns with and contributes to that call. I review and synthetize key strands of scholarship on the long-run development consequences of historical legacies in Africa, focusing on civil conflict, ethnic diversity, and Christian missionary activity. By bringing these bodies of work together, I not only identify their intersections and overlooked interactions but also argue that studying these legacies jointly can shed new light on fundamental questions that remain unresolved within each individual literature. Leveraging georeferenced historical sources and meso-level data, notably historical atlases, satellite-derived night-time lights, conflict event datasets, and maps of ethnic groups at different points in time, I provide an overview and critical assessment of the empirical strategies and data infrastructures that underpin each of these literatures, highlighting methodological commonalities that make integrated analysis possible. This paper ultimately advocates for an empirical research agenda that examines these historical legacies – those of civil conflict, ethnic diversity, and Christian missionary activity – in combination, contending that such an approach can deepen our understanding of their collective impact on Africa’s development and, crucially, enrich and reorient the core debates within each field.