Ironies of Christian Presence in Southern Africa
Christianity was meant to be one of the most potent weapons in the armory of European Imperialism. John Philip characterized mission stations as the cheapest and the best military posts any wise government can employ to defend its frontiers against the predatory incursions of savage tribes (Villa-Vi...
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| Vydáno v: | Journal for the Study of Religion Ročník 31; číslo 2; s. 209 - 231 |
|---|---|
| Hlavní autor: | |
| Médium: | Journal Article |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Vydáno: |
KwaZulu-Natal
Association for the Study of Religion in Southern Africa (ASRSA)
01.01.2018
Association for the Study of Religion in Southern Africa |
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| ISSN: | 1011-7601, 2413-3027 |
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| Abstract | Christianity was meant to be one of the most potent weapons in the armory of European Imperialism. John Philip characterized mission stations as the cheapest and the best military posts any wise government can employ to defend its frontiers against the predatory incursions of savage tribes (Villa-Vicencio 1988:44). Christianity was meant to colonize the conscience and consciousness of the colonized in ways that would make them lose their indigenousness. It was meant to ‘make’ or ‘create’ the colonized in the image of the colonizer. The irony of this situation is that, among other things, it created conditions for the desire among the colonized to be free; it contributed to the emergence of African Nationalism through notions like ‘brotherhood’ and ‘oneness in Christ’. It became a serious problem for the Christianized and educated natives to find themselves excluded from the Christian family on the basis of their ethnicity. David Chidester’s work on the history of religion in Southern Africa provides a very useful background for exploring the ironies of Christian presence in Southern Africa. Lamin Sanneh’s observation about the role played by indigenous religions to enable both Islam and Christianity to take root is invoked in this context. Christianity became part of the complex that laid the foundations for African nationalism and the pan-Africanist ideology. It provided a platform in mission stations and mission schools for the forging of a unified African identity. Education, given to Africans to become ‘civilized’ and alienated from their African compatriots, instead, helped in creating a consciousness for liberation among the oppressed Africans. |
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| AbstractList | Christianity was meant to be one of the most potent weapons in the armory of European Imperialism. John Philip characterized mission stations as the cheapest and the best military posts any wise government can employ to defend its frontiers against the predatory incursions of savage tribes (Villa-Vicencio 1988:44). Christianity was meant to colonize the conscience and consciousnes s of the colonized in ways that would make them lose their indigenousness. It was meant to 'make' or 'create' the colonized in the image of the colonizer. The irony of this situation is that, among other things, it created conditions for the desire among the colonized to be free; it contributed to the emergence of African Nationalism through notions like 'brotherhood' and 'oneness in Christ'. It became a serious problem for the Christianized and educated natives to find themselves excluded from the Christian family on the basis of their ethnicity. David Chidester's work on the history of religion in Southern Africa provides a very useful background for exploring the ironies of Christian presence in Southern Africa. Lamin Sanneh's observation about the role played by indigenous religions to enable both Islam and Christianity to take root is invoked in this context. Christianity became part of the complex that laid the foundations for African nationalism and the pan-Africanist ideology. It provided a platform in mission stations and mission schools for the forging of a unified African identity. Education, given to Africans to become 'civilized' and alienated from their African compatriots, instead, helped in creating a consciousness for liberation among the oppressed Africans. [...]from its very foundation it has been translated into various languages: 'The fact of Christianity being a translated, and translating, religion places God at the center of the universe of cultures, implying free coequality among cultures and a necessary relativizing of languages vis-a-vis the truth of God' (Sanneh 2003:105). According to Gosnell Yorke (2004:154), scholars like Sanneh and Bediako 'have shown that there is a clear correlation between the translation of the Bible into indigenous African languages and the cultural renaissance that we see at work in the rapidly proliferating African Independent, Instituted or Indigenous Churches '. [...]t]he broad character African Pentecostalism is very ecumenical, against ethnicity or tribalism while effecting a new unity in Christ among Christians of various hues' (Kalu 2002:129). According to Ranger (1991), Protestant missionaries were committed to Christianity, commerce, and civilization, and they saw African religion as anti-progress and a force that they needed to fight and defeat. Christianity was meant to be one of the most potent weapons in the armory of European Imperialism. John Philip characterized mission stations as the cheapest and the best military posts any wise government can employ to defend its frontiers against the predatory incursions of savage tribes (Villa-Vicencio 1988:44). Christianity was meant to colonize the conscience and consciousness of the colonized in ways that would make them lose their indigenousness. It was meant to ‘make’ or ‘create’ the colonized in the image of the colonizer. The irony of this situation is that, among other things, it created conditions for the desire among the colonized to be free; it contributed to the emergence of African Nationalism through notions like ‘brotherhood’ and ‘oneness in Christ’. It became a serious problem for the Christianized and educated natives to find themselves excluded from the Christian family on the basis of their ethnicity. David Chidester’s work on the history of religion in Southern Africa provides a very useful background for exploring the ironies of Christian presence in Southern Africa. Lamin Sanneh’s observation about the role played by indigenous religions to enable both Islam and Christianity to take root is invoked in this context. Christianity became part of the complex that laid the foundations for African nationalism and the pan-Africanist ideology. It provided a platform in mission stations and mission schools for the forging of a unified African identity. Education, given to Africans to become ‘civilized’ and alienated from their African compatriots, instead, helped in creating a consciousness for liberation among the oppressed Africans. |
| Author | Masondo, Sibusiso |
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| Title | Ironies of Christian Presence in Southern Africa |
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