Answer to Question #166276 in History for medina

Question

How does King Leopold view the true purpose of spreading religion in the Congo?  How does the religious motive relate to the political motive for imperialism?

Answer 1

How does King Leopold view the true purpose of spreading religion in the Congo? How does the religious motive relate to the political motive for imperialism?

King Leopold views the true purpose of spreading religion in Congo to ensure control of the faithful people, including; dedicated catholic missionaries and zealous Catholic prelates who would keep defending the regime against reformers' attacks. The object of the reformers' attack was the Leopoldian system (Cline, 1963). Many Catholics found the religions neutrality offensive. Leopold demanded Congo to be evangelized by Belgium's to make all Catholics in Belgium subjects to the Sovereign King. Making Catholics subjects to the Sovereign King is similar to colonizing them. It is identical to imperialism's motives whereby Belgium wanted sovereignty in Congo and made as much money as possible by occupying Congo. Congo had precious resources like rubber, irony and minerals for trade.

References

Cline, C. A. (1963). The church and the movement for Congo reform. Church History, 32(1), 46-56. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3162540?seq=1