“In European countries, we have a lot to say about freedom and democracy. Ideally, religion should be all about freedom, but for enslaved and colonised people, that was certainly not the case," says VU academic Amisah Bakuri. During her research, she has delved into the life stories of people with Afro-Caribbean and West African backgrounds living in the Netherlands. She has talked to people and has visited churches to find out how they deal with the colonial background of Christianity. The imposition of religion in colonial times was meant to bring what the Dutch called 'Western civilisation'. Tangible remnants of this history are still visible today, for instance in Ghana, where Bakuri is from: "Ghana, was colonised. If you go there, you will see all kinds of Dutch forts and castles. That history is very personal to me.”
Colonial missionaries
In her dissertation research, Amisah Bakuri has already noted how complex religion can be for people from formerly colonised areas. "I focused on – often deeply religious – Ghanaian and Somali people in the Netherlands who were Christian or Muslim. They felt they did not fit in well with Dutch society because of the way they professed their faith, and because of the colour of their skin. They asked themselves questions like: do we really belong here? The colonisers came and imposed Christianity on us. We profess that faith now too, but are we really doing it in a way that suits us? Bakuri talks about how missionaries brought religion to Ghana: "The enslaved people would be at the lower levels of forts and castles, and the colonisers would be above them, praying. They came down to talk about God, forcing them to listen. The enslaved people were not given the opportunity to read the Bible and make sense of it from their own perspective and background. Even the songs that were sung could not be understood." Whereas Christianity was forcibly passed on to enslaved people, the original indigenous religions were branded evil and dangerous, the academic continues, "If you are forced to learn all that, at some point you start believing it.”
Connecting to your roots and cultural identity
The anthropologist has noticed that people are now asking prominent critical questions about religion in colonial context more frequently: "People have been asking critical questions for a long time, but I think that people now feel it's time to delve deeper into it. They want to search for answers and move to action." She wants to explore the phenomenon further. "The conversations piqued my interest. Why are people asking these questions? How do they feel when they go to church and find themselves in an environment dominated by white people? Does the discomfort they feel come from this shared colonial past, or from their skin colour? I am curious to see whether I find any new answers besides what is known about it so far. And because of my own background and previous research, I have become increasingly curious about it.”
Amisah Bakuri explains how people would also like to get closer to their original cultural identity in terms of their religion. She uses the Christian baptism ritual as an example, which, for many Ghanaian people, means getting a European baptismal name: "During my research, I spoke to people who, instead of Biblical names, would like to give their children names that really have meaning for them and their culture. At the same time, there are also people who would rather leave the choice of a European name to their children. Personal experiences with racism play a role in this regard.”
The colonial legacy affects language anyway, Amisah Bakuri continues: "Besides teaching English, French, Dutch or Spanish, people are now trying to teach their children their local language as much as possible. They want their children to know the basics because it is a part of their cultural identity." In addition, there is a greater interest in indigenous religions and traditions, the researcher continues, "People are thinking carefully about how all those traditions have been passed down verbally, as opposed to the Bible and other holy books. That verbal transmission helps us connect with our ancestors and other spiritual elements of our culture." There are people looking for ways to combine different religions, the anthropologist says. "Some people question their own beliefs and combine indigenous traditions with Christianity or Islam, for example. They ask themselves; is there a way I can combine these religious traditions so that they have meaning for me? They want to feel like they can make these choices for themselves.”
