Do not speak of Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, or even Evangelicals, but rather “Wake up Churches”, “Churches of African Initiatives” or “postcolonial churches” … L ‘Sub -Saharan Africa sees multiplying a myriad of new unclassifiable churches, which also arrive in Europe. Decryption with the historian and sociologist Sébastien Fath.
Interview by Gaétan Supertino
Sébastien Fath is a historian and sociologist within the societies, religions, secularism of the CNRS, specializing in the study of evangelical Protestantism and “postcolonial” Christianity. On the occasion of the Pope’s trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan, he deciphers, in an interview with the world, the recompositions at work within African Christianity, where the established churches are moreover In addition to competition by new churches with growing aura, including beyond the continent.
What are the major trends of African Christianity?
Between 1900 and 2010, the share of Christianity in the African population would have increased from 9 % to 57 %. The long trend is therefore growth. But, in detail, there is little reliable data. All states do not make censuses based on religion. In addition, there is sometimes a phenomenon of double belonging, with people who can go from one Church to another according to their religious needs of the moment.
To summarize, however, we can say that African Christianity is made up of four major blocks: Catholicism, a “classic” Protestantism from colonization (including Anglicanism), an evangelical block and a last block, composed of a multitude of churches that do not fall into any of these categories.
All these “blocks” do not know the same dynamic. Ancient churches (Catholic, Lutheran or Anglican) are very structured, with networks of schools and infrastructure. But the others are booming. It’s very clear in Congo, for example. In the Congolese urban space, the places of worship of the awakening churches are today much more numerous than those of the Catholic Church. They took advantage of the call for air of decolonization and are no longer marginal today.
In your work, you often use the term “postcolonial churches” to designate all these Christian communities Africans who do not fall into any classic category. Why does this expression seem relevant to you?
It is above all a descriptive expression, used by historians. It also applies to certain evangelical churches. This makes it possible to designate all these churches which developed in the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s. Some already existed before, but they have grown during or after the various independence movements of African States.
For example, celestial Christianity, in Benin, Tokoism, in Angola, or the Harrist Church, in Côte d’Ivoire, are certainly born before decolonization, but they were often persecuted in colonial era. These churches were on the sidelines of the system and they only really fulfilled themselves. They now have a space of freedom that allows them to deploy.
You have 79.42% of this article to read. The continuation is reserved for subscribers.