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Zaire Jamaa
The Jamaa movement (jamaa means family in
Kiswahili),
like other Christian sects in Africa, has taken root under
the
umbrella of an existing church, in this case the Roman
Catholic
one. Jamaa is actually a European-African hybrid in that
it was
initially founded by a Flemish Franciscan priest, Placide
Tempels,
in 1953. Tempels helped to form small groups of African
Catholics
who met regularly with one another and with Tempels and
his
associates. Drawing from both African roots and Franciscan
tradition, the movement emphasizes the importance of an
emotional
encounter with God and fellow believers and strives to
draw out in
group meetings the "vital force" Tempels believed to be
characteristic of Bantu belief and practice.
Although accepted by the Roman Catholic Church (members
continue to participate in parish activities and do not
withdraw
from the institutional church), the church hierarchy has
periodically questioned the degree to which Jamaa deviates
from
Catholic belief and practice. The church has never
denounced the
Jamaa movement, but the hierarchy has grown steadily more
wary of
it.
Data as of December 1993
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