Religion: Christianity & the Congo

Few countries in Africa proved more receptive to the work of Christian missions than the Belgian Congo. Since 1878, when the first Protestant missionaries (Baptists) arrived, their numbers grew impressively to 2,000 (some 1,200 of them Americans), plus 5,500 Roman Catholics.

In recent years, the missions concentrated on training more and more native clergy to take over the churches' work. Last week this gradual process was violently interrupted by the savage explosion of riot and terror (see FOREIGN NEWS) that forced most U.S. missionaries, on the urging of the State Department, to leave their posts. At least two missionaries—Southern Presbyterians John Davis,...

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