Explorations, slave raids and colonization in the 18th and 19th century have exposed the people in the Congo to beliefs other than the indigenous belief systems, which are inherent to their own traditions and culture. Missionary efforts have laid the basis for Christian faith in the large majority of the present-day population, although individuals often combine this faith with traditional practices.

Indigenous Religious Systems

At one point in time there seem to have been at least as many indigenous religious systems in Congo as there were ethnic groups. Certain patterns of belief were and still are widespread. All ethnic groups believe in a high god, who is rarely worshiped directly. The active spiritual entities are ancestral and nature spirits. Ancestral spirits have to be honored by appropriate rituals and proper belief if they are to look with favor on their descendants. Nature spirits, who are thought to be present in rocks, trees, and in natural forces, such as wind and lightning, are not generally considered to have led a human existence. In some societies it is thought that malevolent persons such as witches or sorcerers can cause illness or other afflictions to other human beings.

These indigenous belief systems are associated with a view that the world is full of danger and that leaves no room for the accidental. Whether events are favorable or adverse, some source is responsible. To find out the causal agent of a problem, the afflicted person consults a diviner, a specialist who is thought capable of diagnosing malevolent powers or protecting individuals against them. If the diviner finds that the suffering is caused by a disgruntled ancestor or a nature spirit, the inflicted person is held accountable for improper behavior or failure to perform rituals. If, on the other hand, the infliction is traced back to a sorcerer, the suffering person is innocent of culpable behavior and another is found to be responsible. Much energy therefore goes into preventing suffering or diagnosing and dealing with the causal agents when they are found. In addition to communal cults for nature and earth spirits, there are personal cults concerned with healing or resolving abnormal events caused by the spiritual world.

The outlines of the traditional Congolese world view, which sociologists refer to as pervasively apprehensive, anxious, suspicious, distrustful and vigilant, remain intact. Individuals or groups may be a member of a specific Christian denomination and also share perceptions of the natural and supernatural order. Therefore they may participate in rituals that are parts of indigenous religious systems. Diviners are still widely employed in urban areas.

Christianity

Christianity came to the Congo in 1482 with the arrival of Portuguese explorers, who made early connections with the Congo king and took Congolese to Portugal for study. The first missionary group arrived in 1491 and consisted of Franciscan and Dominican priests. The Congo king was baptized and a large church was built at the royal capital, which was renamed San Salvador. From 1506 until 1543 the Congo kingdom was ruled by Afonso I, one of the most remarkable Christians of African history. The Portuguese slave trade, however, increasingly inhibited the vitality of the Christian movement. Despite a revival of Catholic activity in the 17th century, little was left of this once flourishing church upon the arrival of Holy Ghost priests at Boma in 1865, and of Baptist missionaries at San Salvador in 1878.

Catholic Church

The Catholic Church enjoyed a privileged status during the colonial period. From the creation of the Congo Free State in 1885, the Belgian King Leopold controlled the placement of missionaries and granted them property, subsidies, the right to fulfill certain state functions, and a virtual monopoly over education and medical services. Priests and nuns established a fairly dense network of churches, schools, clinics and hospitals, and other institutions. These Belgian missionaries shared the view of the colonial authorities-that they had a civilizing task-and came more prepared to teach than to learn themselves.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century a great discrepancy grew between the privileges of the Catholic and the Protestant missions. Close cooperation between colonial administration, Catholic missions, and businesses (the so-called "trinity of power") reinforced a serious disadvantage for the Protestant missions. Consistent Protestant criticism resulted eventually in the concession of land to national missions. Subsidies were extended to Protestant schools in 1946, and state schools were opened in 1954. In 1956 the Catholic Church opposed the colonial system by its disapproval of the injustices by the colonial regime and its advocacy on behalf of the Congolese. This political reorientation helped the church to retain its significant role after independence in 1960, when it had almost 700 mission stations and some 6,000 missionaries in educational, medical, philanthropic and social services. Another significant development in the 1970s was the Africanization of the Archdiocese, giving more responsibility to laymen through systematic training.

Protestant Churches

The first Protestants to arrive in the Congo were British Baptist missionaries in 1878. They proceeded to build a series of stations along the course of the River Congo, which are now administered by the Baptist Community of the River Congo (CBFC). The Baptist Community of West Congo (CBCO) in the Lower Congo province and east of Kinshasa was initiated by American Baptists, while the Baptist Communities of Bandundu and the Lower Uele originate from Scandinavian Baptists. Baptist Mid-Missions (BMM) have been working east and north of Kikwit and Conservative Baptists in Goma. American Southern Presbyterians came to Luebo in 1891 and focused their ministries in the Kasai region, with headquarters of the American Presbyterian Congo Mission (APCM) at Kananga. The Disciples of Christ also arrived before the turn of the century and took over American Baptist work at Bolenge near Mbandaka in 1899. The African Inland Mission (AIM) established its first station at Kasengu in 1912 and built up an important work in northeastern Congo. Methodists of both Northern and Southern churches in the United States began work in 1913 in Shaba. Pentecostals and Assemblies of God came in 1915 from the United Kingdom (northern Shaba, Kalemie), the United States (Isiro, and spread to other parts, including Kinshasa), and Norway and Sweden (Bukavu). Important communities emerged also from the Christian & Missionary Alliance (C&MA), Christian Brethren, Mennonite groups, the Salvation Army, and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. At the time of independence there were 46 Protestant missionary groups at work in 345 scattered mission stations, staffed by 2,511 missionaries of 11 different nationalities.

Since 1960 the most significant development has been the Africanization of church leadership and control. Protestant missions created autonomous Congolese churches that have taken over tasks and properties formerly controlled by the missionary organizations.

Already at an early stage Protestant missionaries representing various groups formed a committee to maintain contact and national cooperation and to minimize internal competition. The Congo Protestant Council was founded in 1924 and evolved into a union of Congolese Protestant Churches, which was officially established in 1970 as the Church of Christ in the Congo (ECC). Member communities of the ECC have made a substantial contribution in educational and social ministries. There are no joint Catholic-Protestant organizations, but there is cooperative work. At Boende an ecumenical hospital has been opened under joint sponsorship. The Bible Society of Congo (SBC), with Catholic participation, works on translations of the Bible into some of the local languages.

Indigenous Churches-Kimbanguism

The largest independent church in Congo is the Church of Jesus Christ on Earth through the Prophet Simon Kimbangu (EJCSK). In 1921 a Congolese Christian named Simon Kimbangu received a call for a ministry of preaching the gospel and healing the sick. Having performed some miraculous cures, he gained a large following in Bas-Congo. Kimbangu did not baptize people, but would refer them instead to missionaries. However, the missions saw in this Christian movement associations with indigenous belief systems and showed their disapproval. Kimbangu's followers then established their own church. Its original doctrine included the strict observance of the law of Moses, the destruction of fetishes, an end to sorcery, magic, charms and witches, and the prohibition of polygamy. The movement, perceived as a center of resistance against European rule and missions, was banned and went underground in 1921. Kimbangu was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. In 1951 he died in prison, after his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. The Kimbanguists were bitterly persecuted, but the legends concerning Kimbangu grew and the sect flourished. A Kimbanguist church council was organized in 1956. Three years later the colonial government lifted the ban and granted the church legal recognition. In 1969 the Kimbanguist Church became the first independent African church to be admitted to the World Council of Churches. It currently has 6 million members in the Congo.

Islam

Islam has had relatively little impact in the Congo. It exists primarily in Maniema and in northern Shaba. Congolese Muslims are descendants of those converted in the 19th century, influenced by Afro-Arab traders and raiders. Other Muslim groups are composed of Arabs from Oman and Zanzibar (Sunnis), Pakistanis and Indians (Ismailis), and some West Africans.

Baha'is

In a 1963 mass movement 20,000 Africans joined this syncretic sect. A very rapid growth followed.

Church and State after Independence

The constitution of 1967 expressed freedom of thought, conscience and religion and the right to manifest one's religion or convictions. The teaching of religion or non-confessional ethics was obligatory in all primary and secondary schools of the national system, the choice of courses being left to the parents.

The new "Return to authenticity" doctrine in 1971 undermined the autonomy of all religious groups as it assumed the unified support for the president and his party, the Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR). Efforts by churches to continue their prophetic and critical role in society resulted in serious conflicts with the state. Other measures of the new doctrine required that infants be baptized with only Zairian names. All confessional youth organizations were suppressed, and the MPR's branch for the youth, the YMPR, became the only authorized youth organization in the country. Church meetings other than worship services were prohibited, and within the MPR itself there was a tendency toward a form of state messianism in which Mobutu had come as prophet in the name of the ancestors. In 1976 the state nationalized all school properties, 80 percent of which were confessional schools. Religion courses in primary and secondary schools were eliminated and replaced by a course in civic and political training and Zairian traditional ethics. Only two years later the government reversed its policy and returned the administration of public primary and secondary schools to the churches. The religious freedoms stated in the constitution of 1967 were once again acknowledged. Under the leadership of Laurent Desire Kabila since 1997, there has generally been no change in the relationships between church and state.