The indigenous African churches combine elements of established Christian beliefs with some beliefs based on traditional African culture and religion. These church members wear long white robes and head coverings. Many of these churches date back to the early 1920's, when there was widespread racial and religious segregation. To a large extent, these churches grew out of the Christian churches' failure to adapt to traditional African culture and religion. A notable feature of the indigenous churches is the acceptance and promotion of polygamy.
Many persons continue to believe, in varying degrees, in traditional indigenous religions.
These persons may attend worship in a westernized Christian church on Sundays, but consult with traditional healers during the week. Belief in traditional healers spans both the rural and urban areas. There is some tension between the Government and the indigenous African churches because the latter oppose western medical practices that result in the reduction of avoidable childhood diseases and deaths in those communities. The traditional indigenous religions believe in healing through prayer only and refuse to have their members' children vaccinated. The Ministry of Health has only had limited success in vaccinating children in these religious communities against childhood communicable diseases.