Christian Churches and the Boko Haram Insurgency in Cameroon: Dilemmas and Responses
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2017, Vol 8, Issue 8
Abstract
The spillover of the terrorist activities of Boko Haram, a Nigerian jihadi group, into Cameroon’s north has resulted in security challenges and humanitarian activity opportunities for Christian churches. The insurgents have attacked and destroyed churches, abducted Christians, worsened Muslim-Christian relations, and caused a humanitarian crisis. These ensuing phenomena have adversely affected Christian churches in this region, triggering an aura of responses: coping strategies, humanitarian work among refugees, and inter-faith dialogue. These responses are predicated on Christianity’s potential as a resource for peace, compassion, and love. In this study we emphasize the role of Christian churches in dealing with the Boko Haram insurgency. It opens with a presentation of the religious configuration of Cameroon, followed by a contextualization of Boko Haram insurgency in Cameroon’s north. The paper further examines the brutality meted out on Christians and church property. The final section is an examination of the spiritual, humanitarian, and relief services provided by churches. The paper argues that although Christian churches have suffered at the hands of Boko Haram insurgents, they have engaged in various beneficial responses underpinned by the Christian values of peace and love.
Authors and Affiliations
Lang Michael Kpughe
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP25736
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8080143
- Views 348
- Downloads 10
Transcultural Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of Portuguese Version of the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ) Among HIV Positive Patients in Brazil
The Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ), originally written in the German language, was translated and validated into 11 languages, but not Latin languages, such as Brazilian Portuguese. This study aimed to determine...
New Labour and the Re-making of British Islam: The Case of the Radical Middle Way and the “Reclamation” of the Classical Islamic Tradition
This article examines the emergence of new forms of Islam in Britain between the 1990s and the present, and in particular the role played by the New Labour government (1997–2010) in encouraging new expressions of Islam...
Legal Protection for China’s Traditional Religious Knowledge
Traditional religious knowledge widely incorporates traditional religious expressions and other forms of traditional knowledge, such as ecological knowledge, medicinal knowledge, elements of languages, and so on. Tradi...
Religion and Marriage Timing: A Replication and Extension
Previous studies have revealed denominational subculture variations in marriage timing in the U.S. with conservative Protestants marrying at a much younger age than Catholics and the unaffiliated. However, the effects...
Syncopated Beats and the History of Sadness: The Affective Fusion of Audience and Film through Music
Recent developments in the disciplines of cinema studies, theology, and religion and film have generated renewed interest in the experiential dimensions of filmgoing. More specifically, those contributing to theologica...