The Place of African Traditional Religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the Advent of Christianity

Abstract

This article seeks to investigate the social status attributed to African Traditional Religion (ATR) in inter-religious encounters with Christianity, since its advent, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The findings show that ATR in the DRC is marginalised because of, inter alia: the prejudices that followers inherited from their forebears; ATR lacks the hallmarks of a true religion; it is viewed as primitive as well as politically and economically weak without future; and the fear that the accommodation of ATR will result in syncretism and nominalism. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n14p539