Another OUCHY! Jamaal Benison, Omisefun Fagbenro Amusan, Alafia Medina, In Europe, the church had long held a monopoly over schooling from feudal times right into the capitalist era. By the late 19th century, that situation was changing in Europe; but, as far as the European colonisers were concerned, the church was free to handle the colonial educational system in Africa. The strengths and weaknesses of that schooling were very much to beattributed to the church.Both inside and outside church and school, the personnel of the church were instrumental insetting values during the colonial epoch. They taught an ethic of human relations that in itself could appeal to the finer instincts of Africans, just as it had previously stirred other Europeans.Of course, there was a huge gap between European conduct and the Christian principles with which they were associated; and, on the part of the Africans, it was also true that motives for accepting Christianity often had nothing to do with the content of the religion. Indeed, the churchas a source of education was probably more attractive to many converts than the church as adispenser of religion.Whatever the church taught in any capacity may be considered as a contribution to formal andinformal education in colonial Africa, and its teachings must be placed within a social context. The church‘s role was primarily to preserve the social relations of colonialism, as an extension of the role it played in preserving the social relations of capitalism in Europe. Therefore, the Christian church stressed humility, docility and acceptance. Ever since the days of slavery in theWest Indies, the church had been brought in on condition that it should not excite the Africanslaves with doctrines of equality before God. In those days, they taught slaves to sing that allthings were bright and beautiful, and that the slave master in his castle was to be accepted as Page 185 How Europe Underdeveloped Africa Walter Rodney God‘s work just like the slave living in a miserable hovel and working 20 hours per day under the whip. Similarly, in colonial Africa churches could be relied upon to preach turning the other cheek in the face of exploitation, and they drove home the message that everything would be right in the next world.-How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 21:11:16 +0000
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