Although Rwanda is among the most Christian countries in Africa, in the 1994 genocide, church buildings became the primary killing grounds. To explain why so many Christians participated in the violence, this book looks at the history of Christian engagement in Rwanda and then turns to a rich body of original national and local-level research to argue that Rwanda's churches have consistently allied themselves with the state and played ethnic politics. Comparing two local Presbyterian parishes in Kibuye prior to the genocide demonstrates that progressive forces were seeking to democratize the churches. Just as Hutu politicians used the genocide of Tutsi to assert political power and crush democratic reform, church leaders supported the genocide to secure their own power. The fact that Christianity inspired some Rwandans to oppose the genocide demonstrates that opposition by the churches was possible and might have hindered the violence.
Author(s): Timothy Longman
Edition: 1
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 372
Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 5
Title
......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
Dedication......Page 9
Contents......Page 11
Acknowledgments......Page 13
IntroductIon......Page 19
1 “People Came to Mass Each Day to Pray, Then They Went Out to Kill”: Christian Churches, Civil Society, and Genocide......Page 21
Genocide and Religion......Page 28
Churches and Civil Society......Page 36
Overview of the Argument......Page 45
Part I “River of Blood”: Rwanda’s National Churches and the 1994 Genocide......Page 49
2 “Render Unto Caesar and Musinga…”: Christianity and the Colonial State......Page 51
Religion, Social Identities, and the State in Precolonial Rwanda......Page 52
The Missionaries and Political Authority......Page 56
The Missionaries and the Construction of Ethnicity......Page 60
Dissension within the Church......Page 64
Christian Missions during Belgian Colonial Rule......Page 66
Summary......Page 74
3 The Churches and the Politics of Ethnicity......Page 76
Christianity and the Construction of Ethnicity......Page 77
From Tutsi to Hutu......Page 84
Church and State in the Aftermath of the Revolution......Page 91
Protestant Churches......Page 95
4 “Working Hand in Hand”: Christian Churches and the Postcolonial State (1962–1990)......Page 100
The Churches and the Rise of Habyarimana......Page 101
Church Support for Habyarimana......Page 106
Rwandan Churches and Ethnic Politics......Page 113
Contending Currents within the Churches......Page 114
Theologies of Liberation and Empowerment......Page 115
Structural Changes......Page 119
From Charity to Sustainable Development......Page 122
Lay Movements and Organizations......Page 129
Changing Churches in Rwanda......Page 133
Seeds of Discontent......Page 135
The Genesis of Opposition Politics......Page 144
The War of October and Its Political Impact......Page 151
The Churches and Political Reform......Page 158
Church Support for Reform......Page 159
The Mixed Reaction of the Church Hierarchies......Page 164
6 “It Is the End of the World”: Christian Churches and Genocide (1993–1994)......Page 179
Violence as Resistance to Reform......Page 181
Church Reactions to Violence......Page 188
The Descent into Hell......Page 194
The Genocide......Page 204
Introduction to Part II......Page 217
Historical Background......Page 221
The Church Presence in Kirinda......Page 223
The Parish and the Construction of Socioeconomic Class......Page 229
Politics and Class Conflict......Page 239
Construction of Hegemony......Page 250
The Church in Biguhu......Page 258
Structures of Power and Empowerment in Biguhu......Page 264
Local Churches and Empowering the Poor......Page 278
9 “Commanded by the Devil”: Christian Involvement in the Genocide in Kirinda and Biguhu......Page 286
Kirinda......Page 287
Biguhu......Page 295
Kirinda and Biguhu Move Toward Genocide......Page 296
The Genocide in Kirinda and Biguhu......Page 302
The Massacres in Kirinda......Page 305
The Massacres in Mwendo......Page 306
Survivors' Tales......Page 307
Regularizing Life Under War......Page 309
Analysis......Page 315
Conclusion......Page 319
10 Churches and Accounting for Genocide......Page 321
Expanding the Political......Page 331
Genocide and Civil Society......Page 335
Religion and Genocide......Page 338
Bibliography......Page 343
Index......Page 359
