The Protestant church in Congo: the Mobutu years and their impact

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Periodical article

Title:	The Protestant church in Congo: the Mobutu years and their impact
Author:	Garrard, David J.
Year:	2013
Periodical:	Journal of Religion in Africa (ISSN 0022-4200)
Volume:	43
Issue:	2
Pages:	131-166
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Congo (Democratic Republic of)
Subjects:	Protestant churches Church history Church and State
About person:	Mobutu Sese Seko (1930-1997) is Joseph Désiré Mobutu
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1163/15700666-12341246
Abstract:	This paper examines the Protestant Church in Congo/Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) during the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko. It reviews its origins as a loose affiliation of denominations during the days of the Belgian colony and the changes which came about under Itofo Bokeleale - its driving force and central figure. His goal was to do away with the autonomy of the denominations and create a super Protestant Church in the nation. With the help of government legislation, forced union and centralization took place. It is the purpose here to highlight some of the forces that were at work and to decide what the consequences were in this marriage of the Protestant Church and the State in Zaire. Not all Protestants yielded to the pressures of State and church and by the 1990s new expressions of faith were emerging in the nation. What then were the outcomes? Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]