Overview
- Shortlisted for the Ecclesiastical History Society 2020 Book Prize
- Explores the uneasy relationship between church and state in the Belgian Congo, showing how the expansion of the Catholic Church contributed both to the construction and dismantling of colonial rule
- Draws on extensive archival research and oral history, taking the Kongolo territory in southeastern Congo as a focus for understanding church-state relations in central Africa
- Contributes to emerging research on the history of the Catholic Church in Africa
Part of the book series: Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies (CIPCSS)
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
‘The author gratefully acknowledges support from the Economic and Social Research Council in the completion of this project.’
Reviews
“Loffman’s first monograph is a welcome addition to the history of Church and state relations in colonial Congo. This book contributes to ongoing academic debates on the region’s pasts while shedding much-needed light on some of its neglected historiographic corners. ... Loffman’s thoroughly documented monograph is a precious contribution to its field and will certainly stimulate future intellectual debates on colonial Central Africa. ... this monograph promises to stimulate, enrich and further our knowledge of Central Africa’s recent political history.” (Benoît Henriet, BMGN - Low Countries Historical Review, Vol. 135, 2020)
“Loffman’s and Morier-Genoud’s monographs offer impressive and much-needed contributions to historiography on the Catholic Church and religious politics in twentieth-century Africa, moving us beyond simplistic tropes of Church-State collaboration or resistance.” (J. J. Carney, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 71 (4), October, 2020)
“Drawing upon painstaking research and a deep knowledge of the scholarship, Loffman revises one of the central historiographical narratives of Belgian colonial history, namely the supposed strong reliance between the Catholic Church and State. His rich mix of archival study and committed fieldwork produces a nuanced model of the imbrication of religion and politics, mediated by chiefs, nobles and Christian catechists alongside the more familiar figures of missionaries and administrators. And in the place of stale institutional histories of missionary societies, his study of religious encounter from below shows how Christianity was never imposed from the outside but was the product of complex cultural negotiation. A vindication of the microstudy, Loffman’s book offers fresh insight into important processes such as state formation, Christian conversion and identity formation. It comes as an important addition to the exciting new scholarship on the history of Congo.” (David Maxwell, Dixie Chair of Ecclesiastical History, University of Cambridge, UK)“In this important, thoroughly researched contribution Reuben Loffman offers a wealth of new insights into the history of the Katanga. Especially valuable is his re-examination of the relationship of the Church to the colonial state, and the quality of the evidence collected at the local level. No one interested in the history of the Katanga, or for that matter of the Congo, can afford to ignore this path-breaking addition to the extant literature.” (Rene Lemarchand, Emeritus Professor, University of Florida, USA)
“Reuben Loffman’s exemplary analysis of church-state relations in colonial and post-colonial DR Congo provides considerable insight into both the autonomy of missionaries and the significant influence upon them of African converts and religious movements alike. Drawing on his painstaking local research, Loffman sheds new light on how one Congolese community experienced a tumultuousperiod of social, political and religious change in a study that will be of lasting value to scholars of Central Africa.” (Miles Larmer, Professor of African History, University of Oxford, UK)
“Scholars of central Africa have every reason to be grateful to Reuben Loffman for his well-researched study of Roman Catholic missionaries in northern Katanga. By prompting us to rethink patterns of state hegemony and Church-state relations in the Belgian Congo, Loffman demonstrates that even in an age of global history, there is still much to be gained from painstaking monographs informed by a deep understanding of local dynamics and ethno-historical contexts. This is an impressive debut.” (Giacomo Macola, University of Kent, UK)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Church, State and Colonialism in Southeastern Congo, 1890–1962
Authors: Reuben A. Loffman
Series Title: Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17380-7
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-17379-1Published: 04 June 2019
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-17382-1Published: 14 August 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-17380-7Published: 23 May 2019
Series ISSN: 2635-1633
Series E-ISSN: 2635-1641
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXIII, 281
Number of Illustrations: 12 b/w illustrations, 3 illustrations in colour
Topics: Imperialism and Colonialism, History of Sub-Saharan Africa, History of Religion