This edited collection examines church-state relations in the European colonies in Africa during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The chapters focus on the period stretching from the most agitated stages of the ‘scramble for Africa’ during the 1870s and 1880s, to the great wave of independence of African colonies in the 1950s and 60s, and culminates in a discussion of colonial legacies during its aftermath. The Church and the State, although often having conflicting goals and agendas, walked hand-in-hand throughout the entire colonial period, with ‘imperialism of the spirit’ being inconceivable without the groundwork of Catholic missionaries. Exploring the major domains that determined the course of church-state relations in the colonies, the authors analyse relations between the Holy See and the colonial powers, and between national Catholic authorities and secular authorities, as well as the international order and socio-political developments in the metropoles. They argue that interactions between state and church in Africa’s European colonies were contingent upon the complex dynamics of interests that both secular and ecclesiastical entities endeavoured to preserve or promote. With a particular focus on the Belgian and Portuguese colonies in Africa, this book provides useful reading for scholars of European imperial history and ecclesiastical history.

Winner of the John Gilmary Shea Prize A groundbreaking history of how Africans in the French Empire embraced both African independence and their Catholic faith during the upheaval of decolonization, leading to a fundamental reorientation of the Catholic Church. African Catholic examines how French imperialists and the Africans they ruled imagined the religious future of French sub-Saharan Africa in the years just before and after decolonization. The story encompasses the political transition to independence, Catholic contributions to black intellectual currents, and efforts to alter the church hierarchy to create an authentically “African” church. Elizabeth Foster recreates a Franco-African world forged by conquest, colonization, missions, and conversions—one that still exists today. We meet missionaries in Africa and their superiors in France, African Catholic students abroad destined to become leaders in their home countries, African Catholic intellectuals and young clergymen, along with French and African lay activists. All of these men and women were preoccupied with the future of France’s colonies, the place of Catholicism in a postcolonial Africa, and the struggle over their personal loyalties to the Vatican, France, and the new African states. Having served as the nuncio to France and the Vatican’s liaison to UNESCO in the 1950s, Pope John XXIII understood as few others did the central questions that arose in the postwar Franco-African Catholic world. Was the church truly universal? Was Catholicism a conservative pillar of order or a force to liberate subjugated and exploited peoples? Could the church change with the times? He was thinking of Africa on the eve of Vatican II, declaring in a radio address shortly before the council opened, “Vis-à-vis the underdeveloped countries, the church presents itself as it is and as it wants to be: the church of all.”

This book re-presents the poetry of Rudyard Kipling in the form of bold slogans, the better for us to reappraise the meaning and import of his words and his art. Each line or phrase is thrust at the reader in a manner that may be inspirational or controversial... it is for the modern consumer of this recontextualization to decide. They are words to provoke: to action. To inspire. To recite. To revile. To reconcile or reconsider the legacy and benefits of colonialism. Compiled and presented by sloganist Dick Robinson, three poems are included, complete and uncut: 'White Man's Burden', 'Fuzzy-Wuzzy' and 'If'.

This book tells the story of one of the largest and most influential African churches in South Africa.

This edited collection examines church-state relations in the European colonies in Africa during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The chapters focus on the period stretching from the most agitated stages of the 'scramble for Africa' during the 1870s and 1880s, to the great wave of independence of African colonies in the 1950s and 60s, and culminates in a discussion of colonial legacies during its aftermath. The Church and the State, although often having conflicting goals and agendas, walked hand-in-hand throughout the entire colonial period, with 'imperialism of the spirit' being inconceivable without the groundwork of Catholic missionaries. Exploring the major domains that determined the course of church-state relations in the colonies, the authors analyse relations between the Holy See and the colonial powers, and between national Catholic authorities and secular authorities, as well as the international order and socio-political developments in the metropoles. They argue that interactions between state and church in Africa's European colonies were contingent upon the complex dynamics of interests that both secular and ecclesiastical entities endeavoured to preserve or promote. With a particular focus on the Belgian and Portuguese colonies in Africa, this book provides useful reading for scholars of European imperial history and ecclesiastical history. Jairzinho Lopes Pereira is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre of Mission and Global Studies at VID Specialized University, Stavanger, Norway. In July 2021, Jairzinho became a Member of the Portuguese History Academy. Previously, he has studied at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, at the University of Helsinki in Finland and at the University of Leuven in Belgium. .

Though the history of slavery is a central topic for African, Atlantic world and world history, most of the sources presenting research in this area are European in origin. To cast light on African perspectives, and on the point of view of enslaved men and women, this group of top Africanist scholars has examined both conventional historical sources (such as European travel accounts, colonial documents, court cases, and missionary records) and less-explored sources of information (such as folklore, oral traditions, songs and proverbs, life histories collected by missionaries and colonial officials, correspondence in Arabic, and consular and admiralty interviews with runaway slaves). Each source has a short introduction highlighting its significance and orienting the reader. This first of two volumes provides students and scholars with a trove of African sources for studying African slavery and the slave trade.

Presenting case studies from sixteen countries on five continents, The Catholic Church and the Nation-State paints a rich portrait of a complex and paradoxical institution whose political role has varied historically and geographically. In this integrated and synthetic collection of essays, outstanding scholars from the United States and abroad examine religious, diplomatic, and political actions—both admirable and regrettable—that shape our world. Kenneth R. Himes sets the context of the book by brilliantly describing the political influence of the church in the post-Vatican II era. There are many recent instances, the contributors assert, where the Church has acted as both a moral authority and a self-interested institution: in the United States it maintained unpopular moral positions on issues such as contraception and sexuality, yet at the same time it sought to cover up its own abuses; it was complicit in genocide in Rwanda but played an important role in ending the horrific civil war in Angola; and it has alternately embraced and suppressed nationalism by acting as the voice of resistance against communism in Poland, whereas in Chile it once supported opposition to Pinochet but now aligns with rightist parties. With an in-depth exploration of the five primary challenges facing the Church—theology and politics, secularization, the transition from serving as a nationalist voice of opposition, questions of justice, and accommodation to sometimes hostile civil authorities—this book will be of interest to scholars and students in religion and politics as well as Catholic Church clergy and laity. By demonstrating how national churches vary considerably in the emphasis of their teachings and in the scope and nature of their political involvement, the analyses presented in this volume engender a deeper understanding of the role of the Roman Catholic Church in the world.