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Christianity in Madagascar is practiced by 85.3% of Madagascar's population according to the Pew Research Center in 2020. [1] However, other surveys put the figure at 58%. [2] Malagasy Christianity is generally practised in syncretic form with traditional religious practices. [3]
Protestantism was introduced by the first envoys of the London Missionary Society in 1818, who proselytized and taught literacy through a Malagasy language Bible at the public schools they established in the highlands at the request of King Radama I. The number of converts remained low but gradually grew under repression during the reign of his successor, Queen Ranavalona I, and the more permissive religious policies of her son, Radama II, and his widow, Queen Rasoherina.
The spread of Protestantism among the Merina upper classes by the mid-19th century, including Queen Ranavalona II, coupled with the growing political influence of the British missionaries, led Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony to legislate the conversion of the royal court. This prompted widespread popular conversion to Protestantism throughout the highlands in the late 19th century.
Catholicism was introduced principally through French diplomats and missionaries beginning in the mid-19th century but only gained significant converts under French colonization of Madagascar beginning in 1896. The early spread of Protestantism among the Merina elite resulted in a degree of class and ethnic differentiation among practitioners of Christianity, with the association of Protestantism with the upper classes and Merina ethnic group, and Catholicism attracting more adherents among the popular classes and coastal regions. Practitioners of Protestantism slightly outnumber adherents to Catholicism.
Portuguese and French began the first Christianization of Madagascar during the 17th century. They preached in the southeastern parts of the country. The Antanosy prince Andriandramaka is the first known Malagasy receiving baptism. [4] The first formal European-style school was established in 1818 on the east coast of Madagascar at Toamasina by members of the London Missionary Society (LMS). King Radama I, the first sovereign to bring about half the island of Madagascar under his rule, was interested in strengthening ties with European powers; to this end, he invited LMS missionaries to open a school in his capital at Antananarivo within the Rova palace compound to instruct the royal family in literacy, numeracy and basic education. This first school, known as the Palace School, was established by LMS missionary David Jones on 8 December 1820 within Besakana, a Rova building of great historic and cultural significance. Within months, classes were transferred to a larger, purpose-built structure on the Rova grounds. [5]
Beginning in December 1820, [6] LMS missionaries established workshops in Antananarivo to teach trades and technical skills, and developed a network of public schools. [7] By 1822, LMS missionaries had successfully transcribed the Merina dialect of the Malagasy language using the Latin alphabet. This dialect, spoken in the central highlands around Antananarivo, was declared the official version of the Malagasy language that year – a status that the highlands dialect has retained ever since. [8] The Bible, which was incrementally translated into this dialect and printed on a press, [9] was the first book printed in the Malagasy language and became the standard text used to teach literacy. [10]
Convinced that Western schooling was vital to developing Madagascar's political and economic strength, in 1825 Radama declared primary schooling to be compulsory for the andriana (nobles) throughout Imerina. Schools were constructed in larger towns throughout the central highlands and staffed with teachers from the LMS and other missionary organizations. By the end of Radama's reign in 1829, 38 schools were providing basic education to over 4,000 students in addition to the 300 students studying at the Palace School, [8] teaching dual messages of loyalty and obedience to Radama's rule and the fundamentals of Christian theology. [10] These schools also provided Radama with a ready pool of educated conscripts for his military activities; consequently, some andriana families sent slave children to spare their own offspring from the perils of military life, exposing an educated minority among the lower classes of Merina society to the tenets of Christianity. [11] An additional 600 students received vocational training under Scottish missionary James Cameron. [8] Despite high attendance at the schools, the LMS were initially unsuccessful in converting pupils to Christianity. Near the end of Radama's reign, the king perceived the few Malagasy who had been converted as irreverent toward royal authority. He forbade Malagasy people from being baptized or attending Christian services. [12]
![Ambatonakanga Church, Madagascar (London LMS], 1869, p. 48) Ambatonakanga Church, Madagascar (LMS, 1869, p.48).jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Ambatonakanga_Church%2C_Madagascar_%28LMS%2C_1869%2C_p.48%29.jpg/220px-Ambatonakanga_Church%2C_Madagascar_%28LMS%2C_1869%2C_p.48%29.jpg)
Radama died in 1828 and was succeeded by his widow, Ranavalona I. Her succession initially resulted in a relaxation of state control over Christianity. The island's first printing press, which was imported by LMS missionaries at the end of Radama's reign, was only effectively put into operation in 1828. The press was in heaviest use during the first several years of Ranavalona's reign, when thousands of hymnals and other materials were transcribed and printed. [6] Translation of the New Testament was completed in the second year of her reign, and 3,000 copies were printed and distributed between 1829 and 1830. [14] From the beginning of her reign, Ranavalona forbade the distribution of books within the military to prevent subversion and preserve discipline. She allowed missionaries free rein in operating the printing press, however, and exempted from military service all Malagasy personnel trained to operate the press. In 1835, translation of the Old Testament was completed and the first copies were printed. [6] The freedom allowed to LMS and Malagasy Christians to print religious materials and teach religion in the state schools during the first six years of Ranavalona's reign allowed Christianity to become firmly established among a small but growing group of converts in and around the capital. [6] In 1831, Ranavalona authorized Malagasy attendance at church services, administration of the sacrament, and baptism of her subjects. [15] Within a year, the first 100 Malagasy were baptized [16] out of an estimated 200 practicing Christians total; these converts were drawn from all social classes, including slaves, commoners, respected elders, court officials and even sampy guardians, who were considered the bulwarks of traditional culture. [17]
The conversion of major religious, political and social leaders sparked a backlash [17] that led Ranavalona to become increasingly wary of the political and cultural effects of Christianity, which she saw as leading the Malagasy to forsake the ancestors and their traditions. [18] In October and November 1831, the queen enacted a ban on Christian marriages, church services, and baptisms for soldiers and members of government studying in the schools. [19] In December 1831, she extended the ban on church service attendance to all Malagasy. [20] From 1832 to 1834, baptisms and church services continued, increasingly in secret. [21] During this time, several Christians each year were charged with witchcraft and exiled or made to undergo the tangena ordeal, [21] and Ranavalona requested the departure of three missionaries, retaining only those whose particular technical skills she viewed as valuable to the state. [22] In 1835, the queen attempted to shut down the press without directly targeting the LMS by banning Malagasy personnel from working at the printing house. The LMS missionaries, capitalizing on the absence of legal decrees against their own work at the press, managed to continue independently printing and distributing materials. [6]
Christianity involved a repudiation of the ancestral customs of the country, established by previous monarchs who were her ancestors. The queen's legitimacy depended entirely on her relation to her predecessors, who had given the kingdom to her. Furthermore ... she was queen because she was the descendant of the royal ancestors, who were in a mystical sense the ancestors of all the Merina. To deny her mystical power was to repudiate not only her but also the ancestors, the quintessence of good and blessings ... She was the custodian of a holy trust ... Christianity was therefore treason ... in Ranavalona's words it was "the substitution of the respect of her ancestors, Andrianampoinimerina and Radama, for the respect of the ancestor of the whites: Jesus Christ." She saw the introduction of a new religion as a political act, and there is no doubt that she was right.
Maurice Bloch, From Blessing to Violence (1986) [23]
In a kabary speech on 26 February 1835, Queen Ranavalona formally forbade the practice of Christianity among her subjects. In her discourse, she was careful to differentiate between her own people, for whom the new religion was forbidden and its practice a capital offense, and foreigners, to whom she permitted freedom of religion and conscience. She furthermore acknowledged the valuable intellectual and technological contributions that European missionaries had made to the advancement of her country and invited them to continue working to that end on the condition that their proselytizing would cease: [24]
"To the English or French strangers: I thank you for the good that you have done in my land and my kingdom, where you have made known European wisdom and knowledge. Do not worry yourselves—I will not change the customs and rites of our ancestors. Nevertheless, whoever breaks the laws of my kingdom will be put to death—whoever he may be. I welcome all wisdom and all knowledge which are good for this country. It would be a waste of time and effort to grab the customs and rites of my ancestors. Concerning religious practice—baptism or assemblies—it is forbidden for my people who inhabit this land to take part whether on Sunday or during the week. Concerning you, foreigners, you can practice according to your own manners and customs. Nevertheless, if skilled handiwork and other practical skills exist, which can profit our people, exercise these skills that good will come. These are my instructions which I make known to you."
— Ranavalomanjaka, Kabary, February 26, 1835 [24]
The majority of the London Missionary Society missionaries, whose primary activity was teaching Christian theology and literacy at their newly established schools using the Bible as the principal Malagasy-language text, departed the island. [25] James Cameron and other key missionaries preferred to leave rather than remain on the island without authorization to proselytize. The last two remaining missionaries chose to continue teaching practical skills in the hope that the restrictions might loosen, but one year later, after receiving indirect information that the government desired their departure, they shuttered the LMS mission and left Madagascar. [26]
Pursuant to the 26 February decree, those who possessed a Bible, worshiped in congregation, or continued to profess adherence to Christianity were fined, jailed, manacled, subjected to tangena or another trial by ordeal, or executed. [27] [28] Lurid accounts of the execution and torture of Christians were reported by missionaries with informants on the island who placed emphasis on what they perceived as the savagery of the queen's actions. [29] For instance, they reported the public execution of fifteen Christian leaders near the queen's palace who were dangled on ropes 150 feet above a rock-filled ravine before the ropes were cut upon their refusal to renounce Christianity. [28] The Andohalo cathedral was constructed on this outcropping to commemorate early Malagasy Christians martyred at the site. [30] The number of Malagasy citizens put to death for religious reasons during Ranavalona's reign is unknown. British missionary to Madagascar W.E. Cummins places the number executed at between 60 and 80. Far more were required to undergo the tangena ordeal, condemned to hard labor, or stripped of their land and property, and many of these died. Persecution of Christians intensified; in 1849, 1,900 people were fined, jailed, or otherwise punished for their Christian faith, of whom 18 were executed. [28]
Upon Ranavalona's death in 1861, she was succeeded by her reformist son, Radama II, who rapidly repealed many of his mother's policies. Freedom of religion was declared, persecution of Christians ceased, missionaries returned to the island, and their schools were authorized to be reopened. [31] However, Radama's disregard for the counsel of his advisers' warning against too abrupt a process of modernization produced a coup d'état, in which Radama was presumably killed and power effectively transferred to Prime Minister Rainivoninahitriniony. He was succeeded by Rainilaiarivony, who wed Radama's widow Rasoherina and governed from 1864 until his exile in 1895 following French capture of the capital in September 1894. Rainilaiarivony's second royal wife, Ranavalona II (crowned on 3 September 1868 following Rasoherina's death), [32] was a pupil of Protestant missionaries and had converted to Christianity. Rainilaiarivony recognized the growing power of Christianity on the island and identified the need to bring it under his influence in order to avert destabilizing cultural and political power struggles. The prime minister encouraged the new queen to Christianize the court through a public baptism ceremony at Andohalo on 21 February 1869, the day of their marriage. [33] In this ceremony the supernatural royal talismans were ordered to be destroyed and replaced by the Bible. The Christianization of the court and the establishment of the independent royal Protestant chapel on the palace grounds prompted the wide-scale conversion of hundreds of thousands of Malagasy. [34]
These conversions were commonly motivated by a desire to express political allegiance to the Crown, and as such were largely nominal, with the majority of converts practicing a syncretic blend of Christian and traditional religions. [34] Rainilaiarivony's biographers conclude that his conversion was also largely a political gesture and most likely did not denote a genuine spiritual shift until late in his life, if ever. [35] Some local officials attempted to force conversions to Protestantism by mandating church attendance and persecuting Catholics, but Rainilaiarivony quickly responded to quell these overzealous practices. The prime minister's criminalization of polygamy and alcohol consumption, as well as the declaration of Sunday as a day of rest, were likewise inspired by the growing Protestant influence in the country. [33]
Approximately 4.5% of the population practiced traditional beliefs according to the Pew Research Center in 2010. [3] A survey in 2020 put this figure at 39.22%. [36] This traditional religion attributes all of creation to a single god, called Zanahary or Andriamanitra. [37] In addition, it tends to emphasize links between the living and the razana (ancestors). The veneration of ancestors has led to the widespread tradition of tomb building, as well as the highlands practice of the famadihana , whereby a deceased family member's remains may be exhumed to be periodically re-wrapped in fresh silk shrouds before being replaced in the tomb. [38] In the 2010, many Christians integrated their religious beliefs with traditional ones related to honoring the ancestors; for instance, the Malagasy may bless their dead at church before proceeding with traditional burial rites or invite a Christian minister to consecrate a famadihana reburial. [38]
In 2022, the World Religion Database stated that 58% of the country was Christian; 30.88% of the population were Protestant, 25.28% were Catholic and there were a few followers of other Christian groups. [39] Other surveys suggested that approximately 34% were Catholic and 36.5% were Protestant. [40]
The Malagasy Council of Churches comprises the four oldest and most prominent Christian denominations (Catholic, Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, Lutheran, and Anglican) and has been an influential force in Malagasy politics. [41] In the disputed 2001 presidential elections, the council rallied behind Protestant candidate Ravalomanana, whose electoral slogan was "Don't be afraid, only believe." [42]
The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, a Reformed Protestant church, had 2.5 million adherents in 2004; [43] former President Marc Ravalomanana served as its vice-president. [44]
There were 21 Catholic dioceses in Madagascar in 2013, including five archdioceses. [45]
The history of Madagascar is distinguished clearly by the early isolation of the landmass from the ancient supercontinent of Pangaea, containing amongst others the African continent and the Indian subcontinent, and by the island's late colonization by human settlers from the Sunda islands and from East Africa. These two factors facilitated the evolution and survival of thousands of endemic plant and animal species, some of which have gone extinct or are currently threatened with extinction. Trade in the Indian Ocean at the time of first colonization of Madagascar was dominated by Indonesian ships, probably of Borobudur ship and K'un-lun po types.
Antananarivo, also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra, is the capital of Analamanga region. The city sits at 1,280 m (4,199 ft) above sea level in the center of the island, the highest national capital by elevation among the island countries. It has been the country's largest population center since at least the 18th century. The presidency, National Assembly, Senate, and Supreme Court are located there, as are 21 diplomatic missions and the headquarters of many national and international businesses and NGOs. It has more universities, nightclubs, art venues, and medical services than any city on the island. Several national and local sports teams, including the championship-winning national rugby team, the Makis, are based here.
Radama I "the Great" was the first Malagasy sovereign to be recognized as King of Madagascar (1810–1828) by a European state, Great Britain. He came to power at the age of 17 following the death of his father, King Andrianampoinimerina.
Ranavalona I, also known as Ranavalo-Manjaka I and the "Mad Monarch of Madagascar" was sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861. After positioning herself as queen following the death of her young husband, Radama I, Ranavalona pursued a policy of isolationism and self-sufficiency, reducing economic and political ties with European powers, repelling a French attack on the coastal town of Foulpointe, and taking vigorous measures to eradicate the small but growing Malagasy Christian movement initiated under Radama I by members of the London Missionary Society.
Radama II was the son and heir of Queen Ranavalona I and ruled from 1861 to 1863 over the Kingdom of Madagascar, which controlled virtually the entire island. Radama's rule, although brief, was a pivotal period in the history of the Kingdom of Madagascar. Under the unyielding and often harsh 33-year rule of his mother, Queen Ranavalona I, Madagascar had successfully preserved its cultural and political independence from European colonial designs. Rejecting the queen's policy of isolationism and persecution of Christians, Radama II permitted religious freedom and re-opened Madagascar to European influence. Under the terms of the Lambert Charter, which Radama secretly contracted in 1855 with French entrepreneur Joseph-François Lambert while Ranavalona still ruled, the French were awarded exclusive rights to the exploitation of large tracts of valuable land and other lucrative resources and projects. This agreement, which was later revoked by Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony, was key to establishing France's claim over Madagascar as a protectorate and, in 1896, as a colony.
Rasoherina was Queen of Madagascar from 1863 to 1868, succeeding her husband Radama II following his presumed assassination.
Ranavalona II was Queen of Madagascar from 1868 to 1883, succeeding Queen Rasoherina, her first cousin. She is best remembered for Christianizing the royal court during her reign.
Ranavalona III was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. She ruled from 30 July 1883 to 28 February 1897 in a reign marked by ultimately futile efforts to resist the colonial designs of the government of France. As a young woman, she was selected from among several Andriana qualified to succeed Queen Ranavalona II upon her death. Like both preceding queens, Ranavalona entered a political marriage with a member of the Hova elite named Rainilaiarivony, who largely oversaw the day-to-day governance of the kingdom and managed its foreign affairs in his role as prime minister. Ranavalona tried to stave off colonization by strengthening trade and diplomatic relations with foreign powers throughout her reign, but French attacks on coastal port towns and an assault on the capital city of Antananarivo led to the capture of the royal palace in 1895, ending the sovereignty and political autonomy of the centuries-old kingdom.
The Merina people are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar. They are the "highlander" Malagasy ethnic group of the African island and one of the country's eighteen official ethnic groups. Their origins are mixed, predominantly with Austronesians arriving before the 5th century AD, then many centuries later with mostly Bantu Africans, but also some other ethnic groups. They speak the Merina dialect of the official Malagasy language of Madagascar.
The Malagasy Protectorate was a French protectorate in what is now Madagascar. Through the protectorate, France attempted to control the foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Imerina through its representative at Antananarivo. France declared the island a protectorate in 1882 after reaching an agreement with Britain, which had been the first European power to establish a lasting influence and presence on the island that dated back to the arrival of London Missionary Society missionaries around 1820; Britain agreed to sanction French claims to Madagascar in exchange for French recognition of its claims to Zanzibar. The French justified the establishment of a protectorate on the basis of land claims over outlying islands like Nosy Be and Nosy Boraha and a treaty signed with a local leader of the western coastal Sakalava people. It was further justified through documents signed by King Radama II, including a letter he was possibly tricked into signing that entreated Napoleon III to support a coup d'état against Ranavalona I, and land ownership agreements with French industrialist Joseph-François Lambert that were revoked upon Radama's assassination in 1863. It ended in 1897 as Madagascar became a French colony.
Rainilaiarivony was a Malagasy politician who served as the prime minister of Madagascar from 1864 to 1895, succeeding his older brother Rainivoninahitriniony, who had held the post for thirteen years. His career mirrored that of his father Rainiharo, a renowned military man who became prime minister during the reign of Queen Ranavalona I.
The Franco-Hova Wars, also known as the Franco-Malagasy Wars, were two French military interventions in Madagascar between 1883 and 1896 that overthrew the ruling monarchy of the Merina Kingdom, and resulted in Madagascar becoming a French colony. The term "Hova" referred to a social class within the Merina class structure.
The Rova of Antananarivo is a royal palace complex (rova) in Madagascar that served as the home of the sovereigns of the Kingdom of Imerina in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as of the rulers of the Kingdom of Madagascar in the 19th century. Its counterpart is the nearby fortified village of Ambohimanga, which served as the spiritual seat of the kingdom in contrast to the political significance of the Rova in the capital. Located in the central highland city of Antananarivo, the Rova occupies the highest point on Analamanga, formerly the highest of Antananarivo's many hills. Merina king Andrianjaka, who ruled Imerina from around 1610 until 1630, is believed to have captured Analamanga from a Vazimba king around 1610 or 1625 and erected the site's first fortified royal structure. Successive Merina kings continued to rule from the site until the fall of the monarchy in 1896, frequently restoring, modifying or adding royal structures within the compound to suit their needs.
Education in Madagascar has a long and distinguished history. Formal schooling began with medieval Arab seafarers, who established a handful of Islamic primary schools (kuttabs) and developed a transcription of the Malagasy language using Arabic script, known as sorabe. These schools were short-lived, and formal education was only to return under the 19th-century Kingdom of Madagascar when the support of successive kings and queens produced the most developed public school system in precolonial Sub-Saharan Africa. However, formal schools were largely limited to the central highlands around the capital of Antananarivo and were frequented by children of the noble class andriana. Among other segments of the island's population, traditional education predominated through the early 20th century. This informal transmission of communal knowledge, skills and norms was oriented toward preparing children to take their place in a social hierarchy dominated by community elders and particularly the ancestors (razana), who were believed to oversee and influence events on earth.
The KingdomofMerina, or Kingdom of Madagascar, officially the Kingdom of Imerina, was a pre-colonial state off the coast of Southeast Africa that, by the 18th century, dominated most of what is now Madagascar. It spread outward from Imerina, the Central Highlands region primarily inhabited by the Merina ethnic group with a spiritual capital at Ambohimanga and a political capital 24 km (15 mi) west at Antananarivo, currently the seat of government for the modern state of Madagascar. The Merina kings and queens who ruled over greater Madagascar in the 19th century were the descendants of a long line of hereditary Merina royalty originating with Andriamanelo, who is traditionally credited with founding Imerina in 1540.
The First Madagascar expedition was the beginning of the Franco-Hova War and consisted of a French military expedition against the Merina Kingdom on the island of Madagascar in 1883. It was followed by the Second Madagascar expedition in 1895.
James Cameron (1799–1875) was a 19th-century British artisan missionary with a background in carpentry who, over the course of twenty-three years of service in Madagascar with the London Missionary Society, played a major role in the Christianisation and industrialisation of that island state, then under the rule of the Merina monarchy.
The Menalamba rebellion was an uprising in Madagascar by the Sakalava people that emerged in central Madagascar in response to the French capture of the royal palace in the capital city of Antananarivo in September 1895. it spread rapidly in 1896, threatening the capital, but French forces were successful in securing the surrender of many rebel groups in 1897. Elements of the rebellion continued sporadically until 1903.
David Jones was a pioneering Christian missionary to Madagascar. A gifted linguist, he was noted for establishing the orthography of the Malagasy language and for his translation of the Bible into Malagasy, a work that he undertook with fellow missionary David Griffiths.
St. Lawrence Anglican Cathedral Ambohimanoro is an Anglican cathedral in Madagascar's capital of Antananarivo. Located in the upper part of the city, the cathedral was built on the hill of Ambohimanoro, near the Andohalo square, and has now been designated as a national heritage by the Malagasy government. It is one of the first permanent Anglican churches built on the island.
