Conversion to Catholicism in Zambia: 1891-1924

Following Robin Horton's theory of religious change in Africa, the author argues that major social change facilitated initial Catholic conversion in Zambia. Prior to Catholic evangelization, local cosmologies began to center on the High God and a more universal worldview. However, the emergence...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Carmody, Brendan 1947- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Sage 1999
In: Missiology
Year: 1999, Volume: 27, Issue: 2, Pages: 195-209
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
Description
Summary:Following Robin Horton's theory of religious change in Africa, the author argues that major social change facilitated initial Catholic conversion in Zambia. Prior to Catholic evangelization, local cosmologies began to center on the High God and a more universal worldview. However, the emergence ofa deep conversion demanded by Catholic missionaries depended on a catechetical and school system that often entailed impersonal memorization of catechism answers and strict observance of Catholic rubrics. Missionaries devoted little attention to indigenization ofthe Catholic message, even though they frequently became fluent in the local languages and familiar with indigenous traditions. Converts thus received a new and essentially foreign religious message. Such conversion formed a separate layer of consciousness that rarely touched the deeper levels of the Zambian psyche.
ISSN:2051-3623
Contains:Enthalten in: Missiology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/009182969902700205