Religion, Colonization and Decolonization in Congo, 1885-1960. Religion, colonisation et décolonisation au Congo, 1885-1960

A comprehensive history of the interaction between religion and colonization

Religion in today’s Democratic Republic of Congo has many faces: from the overflowing seminaries and Marian shrines of the Catholic Church to the Islamic brotherhoods, from the healers of Kimban-guism to the televangelism of the booming Pentecostalist churches in the great cities, from the Orthodox communities of Kasai to the ‘invisible’ Mai Mai warriors in the brousse of Kivu. During the colonial period religion was no less central to people’s lives than it is today. More surprisingly, behind the seemingly smooth facade of missions linked closely to imperial power, faith and worship were already marked by diversity and dynamism, tying the Congo into broader African and global movements.

The contributions in this book provide insight into the multifaceted history of the interaction between religion and colonization. The authors outline the institutional political framework, and focus on the challenge that old and new forms of slavery entailed for the missions. The atrocities committed at the time of the Congo Free State became an existential question for young Christian communities. In the Belgian Congo after 1908, more structural forms of colonial violence remained a key issue marking religious experiences. And yet, religion also acted as a bridge. The authors emphasize the role intermediaries such as catechists or medical assistants played in the African “appropriation” of Christianity. They examine the complex interaction with indigenous religious beliefs and practices, and zoom in on the part religions played in the independence movement, as well as on their reaction to independence itself. Coming at a moment when Belgium confronts its colonial past, this volume provides a timely reassessment of religion as a key factor.

This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Contributors: Piet Clement (Bank of International Settlements), Bram Cleys (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Anne Cornet (Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren) Marie Dunkerley (Exeter University), Zana Aziza Etambala (Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren), Anne-Sophie Gijs (Université Catholique de Louvain), Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo (University of Coimbra), Emery Kalema Masua (University of the Witwatersrand), Sindani E. Kiangu (Université de Kinshasa), Elisabeth Mudimbe-Boyi (Stanford University) Dominic Pistor (Simon Fraser University), Jean-Luc Vellut (Université Catholique de Louvain), Vincent Viaene

"Religion, Colonization and Decolonization in Congo, 1885-1960. Religion, colonisation et décolonisation au Congo, 1885-1960" was edited by Vincent Viaene, Bram Cleys and Jan De Maeyer.

Vincent Viaene studied history and international relations at KU Leuven, the Sorbonne, and Yale University. He was a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at KU Leuven, a senior Fellow at KADOC and a Marie Curie Fellow at Oxford University. In 2012 he joined the Belgian diplomatic corps. Since 2015 he is seconded to the Belgian Royal Household as Advisor of His Majesty King Philip.

Bram Cleys studied history at KU Leuven and is education officer at the University Centre for Development Cooperation (UCOS), a Belgian NGO.

Jan De Maeyer is professor emeritus of contemporary church history at KU Leuven and honorary director of KADOC-KU Leuven. His research focuses on political and social Catholicism, material Christianity, and the development of religious institutions and congregations.

Yes, "Religion, Colonization and Decolonization in Congo, 1885-1960. Religion, colonisation et décolonisation au Congo, 1885-1960" is part of the "KADOC-Studies on Religion, Culture and Society" series. It's book 22 in the series.

Elena Arigita Maza (Universidad de Granada)
Florian Bock (Ruhr Universität Bochum)
Timothy Brittain‐Catlin (University of Cambridge)
James Chappel (Duke University)
Kim Christiaens (KADOC-KU Leuven)
Kathleen James-Chakraborty (University College Dublin)
​​​​James Kennedy (Utrecht University)
​​​Franziska Metzger (PH Luzern)
Patrick Pasture (MoSa‐KU Leuven) - chairman
Isabelle Saint‐Martin (EPHE Paris)
Thijl Sunier (VU Amsterdam)
Árpád von Klimó (Catholic University of America)
Veerle De Laet (Leuven University Press)
Peter Heyrman (KADOC-KU Leuven) - secretary

Proposals

Proposals and enquiries can be sent to Peter Heyrman. The series welcomes monographs and edited volumes. Book proposals may relate to, for example, the political impact of religion, the dynamics between religion and welfare, and missionary history. All proposals and manuscripts are subject to double blind peer review involving at least one external reviewer (proposals) or at least two (manuscripts). The editors strive towards completing the review of proposals within two months and of complete manuscripts within five months after submission.

Please make use of the submission form to present your manuscript or proposal to our board.
Authors interested in Open Access can consult the available funding options.

Links & Resources

Introduction Religion, Colonization and Decolonization in Congo, 1885-1960 Vincent Viaene, Bram Cleys and Jan De Maeyer
Introduction Religion, colonisation et décolonisation au Congo, 1885-1960 Vincent Viaene, Bram Cleys et Jan De Maeyer
RELIGIONS AND THE COLONIAL STATE / LES RELIGIONS ET L’ÉTAT COLONIAL Premières évangélisations de l’Afrique centrale et éthique sociale, 1500-1900. Entre morale de conviction et morale de responsabilité Jean-Luc Vellut
Internationalism, Religion and the Congo Question An introduction, 1875-1905 39 Vincent Viaene
Religion and Politics in the ‘Congo’. Portugal and the European inter-imperial competition, c. 1865-1890 Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo
Les droits des autochtones. Un enjeu dans les relations jésuites-État, fin XIXe-début XXe siècle Anne-Sophie Gijs
Catholic Missionaries and the Production of Kasai as a Colonial Landscape, 1890-1960 Bram Cleys
INTERMEDIARIES / INTERMÉDIAIRES
Musique et univers sonores dans le champ missionnaire des Grands Lacs. Perception, emprunts et transferts au Kivu, Rwanda et Burundi, 1908-1940 Anne Cornet
Home is where the Heart is? Debates between missions and colonial administrators over accommodation for Congolese students at the École Unique des Assistants Médicaux Indigènes, Léopoldville, 1929-1946 Marie Bryce
Religion et médecine au Congo Belge. Pratiques et savoirs des 1assistants médicaux «indigènes» issus de Kisantu (Fomulac) et de leurs patients, 1937-1961 Emery M. Kalema
Vivre (à) la Mission. Mémoires individuelles, histoire collective Elisabeth Mudimbe-Boyi
THE CRISIS OF THE COLONIAL MISSIONS / LA CRISE DES MISSIONS COLONIALES
Tempels Revisited. The conversion of a missionary in the Belgian Congo, 1930s-1960s Piet Clement
Developmental Colonialism and Kitawala Policy in 1950s Belgian Congo Dominic Pistor
Les missions catholiques et les émeutes de Léopoldville, 4 janvier 1959 Zana Etambala
Le mouvement muleliste comme théorie et pratique religieuses en diocèse d’Idiofa (Province du Kwilu, R.D.C.) Sindani E. Kiangu
Index Authors / Auteurs Colophon