This book basically emerges from PhD thesis defended in January 2018 to the College of Humanities, University of Dar es Salaam. The present work makes an important historical shift by examining the socio-economic and political dynamics for the emergence and growth of African Independent Churches (AICs). It uses the case study of Mbeya region to analyse the changes which occurred during and after the colonial period as regards the economic, social and political aspects, and how the changes influence the emergence and growth of AICs. In the region, AICs first appeared in Mbozi, Rungwe and Mbeya districts. The work focuses on the dynamics underlying the emergence, growth, opposition to and survival of AICs from the 1920s to 2000.