RELIGIOUS SITUATION
As already mentioned above, in a population estimated at, a little over, 1.482.453, the number of Catholics is estimated at 620,513 of the total number of inhabitants in the Archdiocese. This is about 41.857 per cent of the population.
There are two Protestant ecclesial communities: The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) and the Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC), also existing with a large following within the territory of the Archdiocese of Bamenda.
The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon is an ecclesial community of the Reformed tradition, and although, according to its constitution, it dates from 13th November 1957, it is actually the continuation of the Basel Mission which started missionary activity in Cameroon as far back as 1886. The first Basel Mission Station with resident German-Swiss Missionaries in the territory of the present Archdiocese of Bamenda was set up at Bali in March 1903.
The Cameroon Baptist Convention is the continuation of the German Baptist Mission and the American Baptist Mission which had been active in Cameroon since 1843. Baptist Missionary activity in the Bamenda Grasslands began only after the First World War. The First Baptist Mission with resident foreign Missionaries in the Bamenda Grasslands was established at Belo, in the present Boyo Division, in 1929.
We have had a good number of conversions from adherents of African traditional religion to Catholicism probably because of the Church’s work in fields as Education and Health Care, and also due to the radical evangelization by the priests and the other pastoral agents. The Local Ordinary continues to open new schools and ameliorate the situation of teachers and health personnel, and upgrade the health facilities in especially the areas of primary evangelization In these areas, many are adherents of African Traditional Religion, and they are open to hear the Word of God and to be converted. A good number of parishes are being opened in the remote areas in order to bring the Gospel message to the remotest parts of the Archdiocese which are considered areas of Primary Evangelization. The role of catechists here is still very important since they are the ones who, in the absence of the priests, lead the Christian Community. Most of the Catechists are now being formed in the Maryvale Institute and they are being equipped with the basic knowledge that will help them and those that they teach. But unfortunately there are still a good number of them in the remote areas who can barely lead the common prayers.
Also noticeable are adherents of Islam found here and there in Ngoketunjia, Momo, Mezam, Boyo and Menchum Divisions.
What is more, the sects are also proliferating in their numbers, and they preach the prosperity gospel which seems to catch the attention of the young people. Because of the money and other material goods given to them, most of them keep changing from one sect to the other, depending on their viability. The presence and influence of the sects has caused division and instability in many families, and has also led to the practice of occultism in some cases. It is mainly the young people who are caught in this trap because of their search for an easy life-style. The language of the cross means nothing to them. This attitude has also made most of them to die prematurely.
English