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

Format: Edited volume - ebook

336 pages

ISBN: 9789461662941

Publication: October 22, 2020

Series: KADOC-Studies on Religion, Culture and Society 22

Languages: English: United States | French

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.
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.

[...] a worthwhile contribution to scholarship on Congo [...] hopefully it should help stimulate new research in twentieth- and twenty-first-century Congolese religious history.
David Maxwell, The English Historical Review, 2022, ceac253, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/ceac253

 

 

The book is engaging, enjoyable, and a high-quality product, with all chapters well written and capably edited. Students of the colonial encounter, and in particular of missionary action in Congo, will find rich references and numerous suggested avenues for future research.
Matthew G. Stanard, TSEG, VOL. 18, NO. 2, 2021, https://tseg.nl/article/view/10788/12072, DOI: 10.52024/tseg10788

 
L’ année 2010 est marquée par la commémoration du cinquantenaire de l’ indépendance de la République du Congo. Parmi les très nombreuses manifestations scientifiques qui prennent alors place, le KADOC organise un colloque international intitulé ‘Religion, Colonization and Decolonization in Congo 1885-1960’. Celui-ci réunit une trentaine d’intervenants, historiens et hommes d’Église surtout, dont la plupart proviennent de Belgique, de la République démocratique du Congo ou des États-Unis. Les actes de cette rencontre internationale paraissent dix ans plus tard sous le titre bilingue ‘Religion, Colonization and Decolonization in Congo 1885-1960. Religion, colonisation et décolonisation au Congo, 1885-1960.’