Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda

This book studies the role of Christian churches in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Timothy Longman (Author)

9780521191395, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 September 2009

372 pages, 3 maps
23.4 x 15.5 x 2.9 cm, 0.64 kg

'… Longman's insightful and original contribution provides a fresh perspective on the role of the churches in Rwanda, analyzing them as inherently political organizations that had become too closely tied to state power and continuously stressed obedience to political authorities.' Daewon Moon, Africanus Journal

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 before 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.

Introduction: 1. 'People came to mass each day to pray, then they went out to kill': Christian churches, civil society, and genocide
Part I. 'River of Blood': 2. 'Render unto Caesar and Musinga …': Christianity and the colonial state
3. Churches and the politics of ethnicity
4. 'Working hand in hand': Christian churches and the postcolonial state (1962–90)
5. 'Giants with feet of clay': the churches and democratization (1990–2)
6. 'It is the end of the world': Christian churches and genocide (1993–4)
Part II. 'God Has Hidden His Face': 7. Kirinda: local churches and the construction of hegemony
8. Biguhu: local churches, empowerment of the poor and challenges to hegemony
9. 'Commanded by the devil': Christian involvement in the genocide in Kirinda and Biguhu
Conclusion: 10. Churches and accounting for genocide.

Subject Areas: Religion & beliefs [HR], African history [HBJH]