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The Kingdom of Congo. The Catholic Church arrived in the Kingdom of Kongo shortly after the first Portuguese explorers reached its shores in 1483. The Portuguese left several of their own number and kidnapped a group of Kongo including at least one nobleman, Kala ka Mfusu, taking them to Portugal where they stayed a year, learned Portuguese and were converted to Christianity.
Christianity is the largest religion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is professed by a majority of the population. According to the 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom, an estimated 48.1% of the population are Protestant (including evangelical Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ on Earth) and 47.3% are Catholic ...
For earlier history see Catholic Church in Kongo.. The church's penetration of the country at large is a product of the colonial era. [4] The Belgian colonial state authorized and subsidized the predominantly Belgian Catholic missions to establish schools and hospitals throughout the colony; the church's function from the perspective of the state was to accomplish Belgium's "civilizing mission ...
1491 saw the arrival of the first Portuguese to the Kingdom of the Kongo's capital at M'banza-Kongo. Mvemba took a fast interest to Christianity, taking the new name Afonso, and he was baptized after his father decided to convert to Christianity. He studied with Portuguese priests and advisers for ten years in the kingdom's capital.
Due to the highly centralized position of the Kingdom of Kongo, its leaders were able to influence much of the traditional religious practices across the Congo Basin. [1] As a result, many other ethnic groups and kingdoms in West-Central Africa, like the Chokwe and Mbundu, adopted elements of Bakongo spirituality. [2] [3]
During this time, the kings of Kongo converted to Christianity. The Portuguese heavily influenced the customs of the Kings of Kongo that would eventually become a permanent way of living. In the Afro-Latino Voices text on page three it states, “As a Christian kingdom, Kongo built schools and started literacy in Portuguese”.
Other Christian groups include Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Greek Orthodox Church. [6] 62 of the Protestant denominations in the country are federated under the umbrella of the Church of Christ in Congo or CCC (in French, Église du Christ au Congo or ECC).
The Kingdom of Kongo (Kongo: Kongo Dya Ntotila [6] [7] [8] or Wene wa Kongo; [9] Portuguese: Reino do Congo) was a kingdom in Central Africa. It was located in present-day northern Angola , the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , [ 10 ] southern Gabon and the Republic of the Congo . [ 11 ]