Uganda: Religion
Stef Roti
On March 17th, 2000, several hundreds of followers of the Ugandan cult, The Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (RTCG), died in what is alternatively called a mass suicide or a homicide performed by its leaders. On the seventeenth, group members arrived at their church in Kanangu, Uganda to pray and sing, minutes later nearby villagers heard an explosion, and the building was devoured in an intense fire that killed all 530 in attendance, including dozens of children (See picture above). The windows and doors of the building had been boarded up. This cult was established in the 1980’s in Uganda. It is one of the many religious cults that breed in Uganda. Other cults include the Holy Spirit Movement, the Lord’s Resistance Army, and the World Message Last Warning cult. Although there is not a lot of written history of Uganda before British colonization, what has been documented since reveals an increase of cults because of it.
The cults sweeping Uganda continue to entice vulnerable Ugandans with empty promises of a better life. Uganda is still reeling from years of armed conflict, political killings, and AIDS. Until the lives of the average Ugandan improve, they will continue to be attracted to churches. The editor and monitor of the only independent daily Ugandan newspaper, Charles Onyango-Obbo, believes the expansion of cults is symptomatic of the country’s larger problems. Ugandans faced frustrations with established churches and the government because both had been unable to meet the needs of people coping with multiple traumas dogging the country (Obbo). In such a hopeless state, it seems logical that most people have turned to the church for comfort. In desperation, when people have no answers, they start looking for answers in the supernatural.
Ugandan cults draw heavily from the Catholic Church, which was brought to East Africa through colonization. Colonization led to widespread conversion to Christianity. British and German military commanders organized Protestant and Catholic converts to defend imperial interests against each other and against Muslim armies (Christianity). If European colonization had not occurred, then the spread of Catholic ideas would not have affected Uganda. Without the Ugandan conversion to Christianity, cults would not have been formed the way that they did because the cults in Uganda are based on catholic principals.
On May 6th, 2009, Uganda banned the cult, Luweero, whose members believe in the biblical satanic number, ‘666’. Similarly local Ugandan authorities banned some churches suspected of being cults and also some nighttime religious meetings. Several members of religious groups suspected of being cults were arrested and detained for illegal assembly. Uganda and the other East African countries fear that religious sects and cults will ultimately challenge their authority, especially since some have already taken on revolutionary overtones. Uganda has taken action to take control and destroy their cults. They are working towards a resolution that will hopefully shift its people away from resorting to cults for security reasons. Uganda is positively developing and gaining back it’s grip in East Africa. The government is beginning to take strong action in the eliminating cults. It is only time until Uganda gets back on is feet again.
LAST UPDATED BY: Stef Roti on May 22st, 2009
The cults sweeping Uganda continue to entice vulnerable Ugandans with empty promises of a better life. Uganda is still reeling from years of armed conflict, political killings, and AIDS. Until the lives of the average Ugandan improve, they will continue to be attracted to churches. The editor and monitor of the only independent daily Ugandan newspaper, Charles Onyango-Obbo, believes the expansion of cults is symptomatic of the country’s larger problems. Ugandans faced frustrations with established churches and the government because both had been unable to meet the needs of people coping with multiple traumas dogging the country (Obbo). In such a hopeless state, it seems logical that most people have turned to the church for comfort. In desperation, when people have no answers, they start looking for answers in the supernatural.
Ugandan cults draw heavily from the Catholic Church, which was brought to East Africa through colonization. Colonization led to widespread conversion to Christianity. British and German military commanders organized Protestant and Catholic converts to defend imperial interests against each other and against Muslim armies (Christianity). If European colonization had not occurred, then the spread of Catholic ideas would not have affected Uganda. Without the Ugandan conversion to Christianity, cults would not have been formed the way that they did because the cults in Uganda are based on catholic principals.
On May 6th, 2009, Uganda banned the cult, Luweero, whose members believe in the biblical satanic number, ‘666’. Similarly local Ugandan authorities banned some churches suspected of being cults and also some nighttime religious meetings. Several members of religious groups suspected of being cults were arrested and detained for illegal assembly. Uganda and the other East African countries fear that religious sects and cults will ultimately challenge their authority, especially since some have already taken on revolutionary overtones. Uganda has taken action to take control and destroy their cults. They are working towards a resolution that will hopefully shift its people away from resorting to cults for security reasons. Uganda is positively developing and gaining back it’s grip in East Africa. The government is beginning to take strong action in the eliminating cults. It is only time until Uganda gets back on is feet again.
LAST UPDATED BY: Stef Roti on May 22st, 2009
Works Cited
Haney, Elissa. "Cults--Uganda, Jonestown, and Others." Infoplease. 18 May
2009. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/cults1.html>.
This link gave me information on the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments cult in Uganda. I used this information to write my introduction, hoping it would grab the reader’s attention.
Kiwanuka, Frederick. "Uganda: Luweero Cult Banned." WorldWide Religious
News. 18 May 2009. <http://wwrn.org/article.php?idd=30899&sec=39&con=58>.
This piece of news gave me the information that I needed to write my conclusion.
Onyango-Obbo, Charles. "Religion That Kills." Interview with Logan Nakyanzi.
ABC News. 14 Feb. 2009. 18 May 2009. <http://abcnews.go.com/International/Story?id=81484&page=1>.
What Obbo said in his interview with Nakyanzi was very important to me in the explanation of how so many cults have popped up in Uganda.
"Uganda - Christianity." Country Studies. US Library of Congress. 18 May 2009
<http://countrystudies.us/uganda/29.htm>.
This information helped me link the creation of cults based on Christianity with the colonization of Uganda.
Class Webpage:
http://org.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/hjelmgren/africa09proj3lev.html
Haney, Elissa. "Cults--Uganda, Jonestown, and Others." Infoplease. 18 May
2009. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/cults1.html>.
This link gave me information on the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments cult in Uganda. I used this information to write my introduction, hoping it would grab the reader’s attention.
Kiwanuka, Frederick. "Uganda: Luweero Cult Banned." WorldWide Religious
News. 18 May 2009. <http://wwrn.org/article.php?idd=30899&sec=39&con=58>.
This piece of news gave me the information that I needed to write my conclusion.
Onyango-Obbo, Charles. "Religion That Kills." Interview with Logan Nakyanzi.
ABC News. 14 Feb. 2009. 18 May 2009. <http://abcnews.go.com/International/Story?id=81484&page=1>.
What Obbo said in his interview with Nakyanzi was very important to me in the explanation of how so many cults have popped up in Uganda.
"Uganda - Christianity." Country Studies. US Library of Congress. 18 May 2009
<http://countrystudies.us/uganda/29.htm>.
This information helped me link the creation of cults based on Christianity with the colonization of Uganda.
Class Webpage:
http://org.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/hjelmgren/africa09proj3lev.html
