Religions in the DRC
Spatial Distribution of Religions
The Democratic Republic of Congo is heavily influenced by the Christian religion, which makes up for 80 percent of the people in the country. These major branches in the Christian religion that affect such a large population in the DRC are the Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Kimbanguism branches. The Roman Catholic branch is found all over the country due to the religion being brought when colonization was occurring, and a majority of the nation's schools and help comes from the Catholic Church. The Protestant branch has had a hard time spreading in the past due to the DRC's government being against the religion. Catholicism was always more important due to the amount of schooling and money they bring to the country, but recently the DRC's government have made things a bit more equal for Protestant missionaries. The branch of Christianity is growing in the country and is spread all throughout. Kimbanguism is a branch of the Christian religion that was formed in the DRC in the 1900's. It is not as big of a religious group so it is centered around the headquarter city Nkamba. Ten percent of the country is Islam, and six percent of the Islamic group is from the Sunni branch. This group is located mainly in the eastern half of the country with a large majority coming from the area around the city Kasongo. The other ten percent is tribal indigenous religions and Christian religions that are not recognized in this major three group. These indigenous religions are found in more of the remote areas of the country, and in the eastern part as well.
(3)Christianity
The most popular religion in the DRC is Christianity, the largest religion in the world. Christianity is the religion of 80% of the population, with 50% coming in from the Roman Catholic branch, 20% from Presbyrterian, and 10% from Kimbanguisism, which is a small Christian religion based in the DRC. Christianity is a universalizing religion, and you can see this currently happening in the DRC. Roman Catholicism has had many missionaries come from places around the world to offer support for people in the country, and teach kids in schools. The Protestant branch also has missionaries that have spread into this country but has had less success due to the government taking the support of Catholic missionaries. Christianity is a monotheistic religion that believes in one God and that their savior, Jesus Christ, has already been on Earth and died for their sins.
(4)Christianity
Christianity, the most popular religion in the DRC, believe in a few major things that represent their religion. They believe that there is one God, Jesus Christ was the son of God who came to Earth to die for all humans sins, and that the New and Old Testament from the Bible are holy scriptures. The DRC has three major branches that are represented, Roman Catholicism, Protestant, and Kimbanguisim. 50% of religious followers out of all religions are Roman Catholic. This group follows under the leadership of the Pope, who is at the top of the church. They believe in saints being able to intervene on a human's behalf to help the human out. They have many dioceses, which churches in the area report to, and a archdiocese, which is the head of all the Catholic Churches in the country. Protestant is also another popular branch in the country, with 20% of all people believing in this sect of the Christian faith. They also believe in one God, and in the Old and New Testaments, except they do not have a hierarchal church. The church was formed by Martin Luther in 1517, and spread to the DRC from missionaries that spread the religion. Unlike the Catholic Church, Protestant churches usually are on their own as a church and fund themselves. The final popular branch of Christianity in the DRC is Kimbanguism, which is a religion that was created in the DRC in 1921. It was created by Simon Kimbangu, who split from the Baptist branch of Christianity. They believe that Simon Kimbangu was brought down from Mount Zion as a baby, and eventually split as a different branch from Baptist. They worship three certain days, Christmas (on May 25), the day Kimbangu began preaching (April 6), and the day Kimbangu died (October 12). They believe that you should not drink, smoke, dance, or participate in witchcraft. The head church of Kimbanguism is in Nkamba, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Religious Problems
In the past there has been historical violence in between religions and problems, especially in Christianity. The Catholic Church has always been a very powerful force in the government since it was brought from Belgium during early colonial days. They school most children and provide a lot of money to the country. Due to the Catholic Church being so large the original Protestant missionaries did not receive funding they should have, making them a self-sufficient group. Things finally changed recently after Dictator Mobutu was thrown out of power, as the government finally began giving Protestant churches some of the money they deserved. When Mobutu was in power he forced the government to turn on the Catholic Church in 1971 because it was wanting more power than Mobutu wanted to give it. This led to schools and churches being shut down, and even forcing the Cardinal to move out of the country. Everything changed in 1975 when prices of exports began to fall, and Mobutu was forced to go back to the Catholic Church for money. Catholic schools and churches reopened, but the government was still in strong opposition to the church. The government and the Church continued to disagree throughout the late 1970's and 1980's. When Dictator Mobutu's regime finally fell in 1995, the Catholic Church could finally operate to full extent.