Themes and Methods in the Study Of Conversion in Ethiopia: a Review Essay

Abstract Although conversion is one of the major themes in the religious and cultural history of Ethiopia, it has yet to benefit from extensive and systematic comparative discussion. For generations, scholars have worked to deepen our understanding of conversion to both Orthodox Christianity and Islam in the Ethiopian highlands. Recent works, moreover, are noteworthy for their efforts to expand our knowledge of both regions and groups hitherto neglected. Modern Islam, Evangelical Christianity and the religious histories of the peoples of Southern Ethiopia are only a few of the topics that have benefited from scholarship during the past decade. We are, therefore, in an unprecedented position to offer a review of research which, while by no means comprehensive, at least offers broader coverage than was previously possible.