- Home
- God's Canvass & Culture
- Christianity in Congo-Kinshasa
Christianity in Congo-Kinshasa: The Democratic Republic of Congo, otherwise known as Congo-Kinshasa is located in Central Africa. The country is bordered by the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) to the Northwest, Central African Republic to the North, South Sudan to the Northeast, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi to the East, Tanzania (across Lake Tanganyika) to the South, Zambia to the Southeast, Angola to the Southwest, the South Atlantic Ocean and the Cabinda Province of Angola to the West.
It is the second largest country in Africa by land mass and the eleventh in the world. Congo-Kinshasa has a human population of 111,050,097 spread across about 250 ethnic communities, including Kongo, Luba, Yaka, Mongo, Azande and Teke. The dominant faith is Christianity, mostly Roman Catholicim,a embraced by 95.4% of the population. Traditional religion accounts for 2.6%, Islam, 1.5% and other faiths, 0.5%.
Brief History Congo
The Bantus from present day Nigeria populated the area known as DRC in the 7th and 8th centuries. Some Portuguese people led by Diego Cao arrived there in 1482. The area was officially colonized in 1885 as a personal possession of the Belgian King Leopold II as the Congo Free State. In 1907, administration shifted to the Belgian Government, which renamed the country Belgian Congo. Following a series of riots and unrest, Belgium granted Belgian Congo its independence on June 30, 1960.
Parliamentary elections in 1960 produced Patrice Lumumba as Prime Minister and Joseph Kasavubu as President of the renamed Democratic Republic of Congo. Within the first year of independence, several events destabilized the country: the army mutinied; the Governor of Katanga Province attempted secession; a United Nations peace-keeping force was called in to restore order; Prime Minister Lumumba died under mysterious circumstances; and Colonel Joseph Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko) took over the government and later ceded it again to President Kasavubu.
Unrest and rebellion plagued the government until 1965, when Mobutu, by then Commander in chief of the national army, again seized control of the country and declared himself president for 5 years. Embarking on a campaign of cultural awareness, Mobutu renamed the country the Republic of Zaire and required citizens to adopt African names.
Relative peace and stability prevailed until 1977 when Katangan rebels, based in Angola, launched series of invasion into the Katagan region. The rebels were driven out with the aid of Belgian paratroopers. Zaire was renamed DRC by Mobutu’s successor, Laurent Kabila in 1997. Unrests and rebellion have become the feature of the country’s political development, as it is yet to know peace even today. The current government led by Felix Tshisekedi is battling M23 rebels allegedly supported by Rwanda.
God’s Canvass in Congo-Kinshasa
DCR is located in the Equator; hence, it experiences high precipitation and has the highest frequency of thunderstorms in the world. It also has the second largest rainforest, next to the Amazon rainforest in Southern America. The fauna and flora of the country is presented below.
Fauna
The rainforests of the country contain great diversity of animals, including many rare species such as chimpanzee, bonobo, elephant, mountain gorilla, okapi, rhinoceros, leopard, and lions. Some of them are shown below.
Flora
The country is home to a variety of plants. Among these are mahogany, ebony, limba, wenge, agba, iroko and sapele. There are also plants used in traditional medicine, including cinchona (the source of quinine) and rauwolfia (an emetic and antihypertensive), as well as copal, rubber, palm trees, raffia and sisal. Some of them are presented below.
Beaches
Culture
The culture of DCR is extremely varied, reflecting its great diversity and customs and traditions, as well as years of colonial rule. Due to their distinctive styles and the global interest in African culture, Congolese art and artists are known on an international level. For instance, Congolese musicians like Le Grand Kalle were extremely influential in pioneering the musical style of “African Rumba,” a blend of South American and modern African musical styles, more often known as Soukous in the years leading up the independence of the Belgian Congo.
Clothing of Congo People
The traditional clothing of Congolese for men and women is made from raffia from the raffia palm. However, this style of clothing is now mainly used during traditional ceremonies. The clothing style of the country is known as Liputa, which means colourful materials. The materials are designed and worn for different events and occasions. The women wear long skirts and tops, while men adorn long shirt, a traditional dashiki-style shirt or button down shirts accompanied with long pants/trousers. Some of the traditional attires are presented below.
Cuisine
The cuisine of DRC is based on Central and Western African cooking, with influences from that of France and Belgium. Staple food include fufu, cassava, rice, plantain and potatoes. Some notable cuisines are shown below.
Status of Christianity in Congo-Kinshasa
The majority of the Congolese population profess Christianity, comprising 46-48% Roman Catholics. However, traditional religion holds sway, especially in rural communities. Congolese traditional rites and beliefs are based on one supreme god with lesser and subordinate gods, or spirits and ancestors. According to the traditionalists, the lesser spiritual beings serve as link between the living and the dead. Whichever form satan manifests himself, we know that he is behind the proliferation of false religions globally. Therefore, let us intercede for the salvation of the deluded souls in Congo-Kinshasa that have been captured by him and his demons.
Prayer Points
- Pray that God would judge and dethrone all demonic principalities and powers operating in the country.
- Ask Him to take away the heart of stone from the Congolese and give them a heart of flesh that the Holy Spirit can convict and transform.
- Pray that God would send labourers into His harvest in DRC.
- Ask the Father to destroy faulty spiritual foundations in the lives of Christian believers and lay new ones that align with His Word.
- Pray that God would reveal Himself to Congolese who doubt His existence.
- Ask the LORD to sanctify Christian believers with His word and purge them of pollutions resulting from their interactions with traditionalists and adherents of other false religions.
- Use the President, Felix Tshisekedi as a point of contact to intercede for all unsaved souls in the country.
Intercession Checklist
Use the political map of Congo-Kinshasa provided in the text to select a town, city or region for focused prayer. Present the chosen geographical space to God and tell Him that you are claiming its people for Christ as His ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20). Remind the Father that He had instructed His Son to ask for all nations as His inheritance as recorded in Psalm 2:8.
**** Some materials sourced from Congo (Kinshasa), US Department of State, https://2009-2017.state.gov, Culture of the Democratic Republic of Congo, https://en.m.wikipedia.org, Democratic Republic of Congo, https://en.m.wikipedia.org, Congolese Culture, https://friendsofthecongo.org,