The Contribution of Protestant Missions and Tokoismin the Liberation of Angola

Abstract

The Protestant missionary implantation in Angola takes place in the late 19th century. Most of them, Congregationalists,  follow  the  doctrinal  autonomy  of  the  Reform  and  settle  under  international agreements  in  the  territory.  Unlike  the  Catholic  Church,  which  has  accompanied  the  Portuguese expansionist presence since the 16th century, the Protestant churches motivate distrust of the Portuguese authorities.  The  criticisms made in relation  to  colonial  policies led  to many  of its  installations  being closed, especially during the course of political events in Angola, in 1961. The same fate has the Tokoist prophetic-salvific  movement  that,  arising  from  Christianity  (Catholic  and  Protestant),  intended  to replace the values of the colonizer, using them to improve the social context of local populations. That is, it intended to Africanize the values arising from colonization, whether religious or sociocultural, thus mobilizing Angolan populations for resistance and the belief in liberation. This study, in the context of Portuguese  colonization  in  Angola,  highlights  the  role  of  protestant  missions  and  the  Simão  Toko movement in the political awakening of local elites achieved with the proclamation of Angola's national independence  in  1975  It  is  therefore  underlined that  the  performance  of  these  missions,  and  also  of Tokoism,  in  the  fields  of  education,  instruction,  health  within  local communities’clashes  with  the policies of government authorities.