"Drawing upon painstaking research and a deep knowledge of the scholarship, Loffman revises one of the central historiographical narratives of Belgian colonial history, namely the supposed strong reliance between the Catholic Church and State. His rich mix of archival study and committed fieldwork produces a nuanced model of the imbrication of religion and politics, mediated by chiefs, nobles and Christian catechists alongside the more familiar figures of missionaries and administrators. And in the place of stale institutional histories of missionary societies, his study of religious encounter from below shows how Christianity was never imposed from the outside but was the product of complex cultural negotiation. A vindication of the microstudy, Loffman's book offers fresh insight into important processes such as state formation, Christian conversion and identity formation. It comes as an important addition to the exciting new scholarship on the history of Congo." (David Maxwell, Dixie Chair of Ecclesiastical History, University of Cambridge, UK) "In this important, thoroughly researched contribution Reuben Loffman offers a wealth of new insights into the history of the Katanga. Especially valuable is his re-examination of the relationship of the Church to the colonial state, and the quality of the evidence collected at the local level. No one interested in the history of the Katanga, or for that matter of the Congo, can afford to ignore this path-breaking addition to the extant literature.

" (Rene Lemarchand, Emeritus Professor, University of Florida, USA) "Reuben Loffman's exemplary analysis of church-state relations in colonial and post-colonial DR Congo provides considerable insight into both the autonomy of missionaries and the significant influence upon them of African converts and religious movements alike. Drawing on his painstaking local research, Loffman sheds new light on how one Congolese community experienced a tumultuous period of social, political and religious change in a study that will be of lasting value to scholars of Central Africa." (Miles Larmer, Professor of African History, University of Oxford, UK) "Scholars of central Africa have every reason to be grateful to Reuben Loffman for his well-researched study of Roman Catholic missionaries in northern Katanga. By prompting us to rethink patterns of state hegemony and Church-state relations in the Belgian Congo, Loffman demonstrates that even in an age of global history, there is still much to be gained from painstaking monographs informed by a deep understanding of local dynamics and ethno-historical contexts. This is an impressive debut." (Giacomo Macola, University of Kent, UK).