MISSIONARY WORK AND COLONIAL EXPLOITATION

EUROPEAN colonial powers - Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, and others - not only invaded African lands but did so while accompanied by missionaries who claimed to bring salvation to the “heathen”. The fusion of mission and empire turned Christianity into both a spiritual doctrine and a political tool of control.

- HALIM GENÇOĞLU

While Christian doctrine preaches love, equality, and justice, history reveals that Christianity was often manipulated to justify and help the domination, exploitation, and dehumanisation of African peoples. This contradiction, encapsulated in the phrase “Deceiving in the Name of God”, reflects how sacred belief systems were turned into instruments of political and economic oppression. The Christian message, at its core, is one of compassion, equality, and moral righteousness. Yet the colonial experience of Africa paints a far more complex and troubling picture.

Theological contradiction

The New Testament emphasises universal dignity: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free... for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)