In my posts thus far I have attempted to present the results of research I’ve been engaged in regarding some of the various ways that certain pastors in northeastern Congo (DRC) approach ministry in contexts where many live with a fear of witches. As explained earlier, in conducting this research I’ve interviewed a number of…

I’ve noted that despite an almost universal conviction that witches exist and are able to do terrible things, there are significant numbers of believers who are not personally afraid of witchcraft. This is what I’ve been writing on thus far and what my research conducted among evangelical mission church leaders in northeastern Congo (DRC) has found. These…

One of the critical features of the way that people talk about “witchcraft” in African contexts is the idea that witches do not usually identify themselves publicly. After all, they are engaged in antisocial behavior, and so it is to be expected that they would want to remain hidden from view.[1] The challenge for ordinary…

Although Christian lay people and their leaders in Congo almost universally affirm the existence of witches, a significant number manage to navigate life without giving into fear or to the pressures of family members who want them to consult a shaman (or a Christian prophet) in order to identify the alleged witch behind this or…

Let me start with a story. One Sunday morning Neema (I’ll be using pseudonyms for all people mentioned), a very faithful and normally cheerful believer and Sunday School teacher in our local congregation in northeastern DR Congo, came to church looking absolutely terrible. When asked what was wrong, she said that she had been troubled…