Poisonwood Bible

Religion in the Congo During the 1950s

Catholic and Christianity

Made up 70% of all religion after the missionaries came

50% was Roman Catholic

was the most frequent in Church

used effectively for the opposition of Mobutu

BASIC BELIEFS:

Photo of Mobutu
Leader of Congo 1965-1997
Formed an authoritarian
government
Roman Catholic

One Eternal God

Believes god exists as three beings/ persons: God the Father ,God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit ---> The Holy Trinity
Believes that Jesus Christ is the second person of the trinity; God the Son
Belief of 10 Commandments and 6 Chief Commandments

Baptist
What is it?

One of the largest Christian denominations (branch of the Christian church)

They believe

Jesus is lord
The bible is the final authority in matters of faith and practise
Baptism by Immersion

Baptism

Religious rite of sprinkling water onto a person's forehead or of immersion in

water, symbolizing purification and admission to the Christian Church.
Baptism is mainly performed on young children and is accompanied by namegiving.

Baptist
Where did it originate from?

Modern Baptist denomination is tracked to as early as the beginning of the

seventeenth century

It originated from England and Holland

Two groups of baptists emerged from England during this time: General and
Particular Baptist.

Indigenous religions of the Congo

Vodou

Believe in one god, he is eternal and the creator

of all.

Belief of spirits. They are not gods, but their

power comes from god.

Each spirit is associated with different parts of

human life, human condition, and different parts
of nature.

They worship god, and serve the spirits.

By serving spirits, they believe it will improve

their lives in the way the spirit controls.

Religious leaders can be

either male or female, and
they are the spiritual link
between humans and spirits.

Indigenous religions of the Congo

Yoruba

Believe in one supreme being.

Many names for this one god, Olodumare and Olorun are
common.

Believe in primordial divinities and spirits.

Belief in the existence of deceased ancestors as spirits.

They provide sacrifices and offerings to the spirits of

their ancestors. (Yams are a very important offering
brought to Malokum spirit of sea each year)

There are many different types of the Yoruba religion.

Thank You

Work Cited
Indiana:
Exploring africa through the humanties. http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m14/activity2.php N.p.
n.d. Web. April 27, 2015
What is Vodou? http://www.kiwimojo.com/whatisvodou.htm N.p. 2010. Web. April 27, 2015
Division of Religion and Philosophy Overview of world religions. http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/sub/yoruba.html N.
p. n.d. Web. April 27, 2015
Sydney:
"Development in the Belgian Congo During the 1950s." Houses in the Rain Forest. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://publishing.cdlib.
org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft6q2nb3zj&chunk.id=d0e1165&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e614&brand=ucpress>.
"Catholic Facts and General Knowledge - Prayers - Catholic Online." Catholic Online. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://www.catholic.
org/prayers/beliefs.php>.
"Mobutu Sese Seko." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobutu_Sese_Seko>.
Katie:
Traffanstedt, Chris. "A Primer on Baptist History." A Primer on Baptist History. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/trail.
htm>.
"Baptists." Baptists. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://www.religionfacts.com/baptists>.