HAS THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN PRIMITIVE AND HIGHER RELIGIONS ANY SOCIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE VN could raise several questions of definition before tackling such subject in order to make clear to oneself as well as to others the scope and limi tations of the subject under discussion One could begin by asking for example how one defines and distinguishes primitive from higher religions or what sociological is intended to cover in this context At meetings dealing with the comparative sociology of religion such questions are inevitable and unavoidable and will no doubt frequently arise in the course of the discussions of this section But it would be stifling to attempt the definitions and distinctions at the beginning and in order to avoid tardy take-off by undertaking what do not feel competent to do leave these questions for discussion at the Conference In what follows may state at the outset that write from rather limited experience against the background of what know of the primitive religions of Africa and of the invasion of Africa of two higher religions Christianity and Islam Our subject compels us to try to grasp as far as possible the relations between religions and the social structures out of which they have grown or within which they are practised African traditional religions are polytheistic and animistic their world is peopled with many gods and spirits Islam and Christianity are on the other hand monotheistic religions and one may ask whether the difference has any sociolo gical significance The religions of Africa have grown among communities that were generally small in size more or less self-contained and isolated from other communities It may be postulated that changes in religious concepts from poly theism to monotheism follow changes in social organisation from the growth by peaceful means or otherwise of isolated tribes into nations From the ancient world of Africa the history of Egyptian religion would support this hypothesis Egyptian religion was polytheistic particularly marked feature was the worship of animals the ape the bull the cat the cobra the cow the crocodile the dog the fish the goat the goose the grasshoper the hawk the hippopotamus the lion the pig the scorpion and the vulture were all worshipped as gods One theory advanced for this is that each clan considered itself to have descended in the remote past from the particular animal which its clan members worshipped So with the many tribes of the Egyptians were as many gods 22