BUILDING AN AFRICAN UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM THEOLOGY IN THE SPIRIT OF UBUNTU”

For more than two decades, African Unitarian leaders have been tirelessly working toward building strong networks within local congregations across the continent, seeking ways to design a model of an authentic UU tradition that reflects African realities. 

In fact, the Unitarian tradition was first established on the African continent by a pioneer in faith, Rev. David Faure, in 1867. He defected from the Dutch Reformed Church in Cape Town and began conducting a series of lectures on what he called “Modern Theology.” 

His thoughts were inspired by the American Transcendentalist theologian, Rev. Theodore Parker. Faure founded the church in Cape Town on the basis of “love of God and love of neighbor.” This movement became known as the Free Protestant Church and was well-attended by prominent members of the Dutch Reformed Church congregation. 

Although Christian in character, this new faith tradition differed from the Dutch Reformed tradition by rejecting teachings such as the Atonement, the deity of Jesus, and the Trinitarian nature of God. 

In the early 1900s, a Unitarian Church was established in Nigeria and later revived in 1917 by Dr. Bishop Adeniran Adedeji Isola, who founded the Unitarian Brotherhood Church in Lagos. 

In 2001, Rev. Fulgence (now Mwibutsa) Ndagijimana founded a Unitarian Church in Bujumbura, Burundi. Subsequently, various Unitarian groups were also established in Rwanda, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, and Kenya. 

In August 2013, the International Council of Unitarian Universalism (ICUU) hosted a strategic planning meeting in Bujumbura, Burundi, for African Unitarian leaders. The overarching goal was to develop a concept for engaging emerging Unitarian Universalist congregations and facilitating the creation of new groups in Africa. Three practical ways were identified to facilitate this process: 

• To establish a Secretariat with the task of coordinating communication between African Unitarian groups and publishing an online bulletin to disseminate news both within Africa and internationally, making the Unitarian Movement in Africa better known to Unitarians in other countries.
• To organize a conference in Kenya to discuss theological training for Unitarian ministers in Africa, develop a training model and syllabus, and set standards that could eventually lead to certification as a Unitarian minister in Africa.
• To conduct theological training as part of the conference, enhancing the competency of Unitarian ministers and lay leaders in areas previously agreed upon by the African leaders.

As an outcome, it was decided that the first Sunday in August of every year should be commemorated as Pan-African Unitarian Universalist Day by all congregations in Africa. 

This day should also be made known to the global Unitarian community to raise awareness of Unitarian Universalism in Africa. The choice of the first Sunday in August was motivated by the idea of honoring the pioneer of the Unitarian tradition in Africa, Rev. David Faure, who founded the first African Unitarian community on 4 August 1867, and because the gathering in Burundi coincidentally ended on 4 August 2013. 

However, the majority of these intentions have not been fully realized, mostly due to difficulties in communication and coordination over long distances, as well as a lack of resources. Recent developments have seen leaders from Unitarian Universalist groups in Africa—including South Africa, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, and Congo-Brazzaville—gather in Nairobi, Kenya, from 26 to 29 July 2018, to discuss a model of the Unitarian Universalist movement that reflects African realities. 

This three-day gathering laid the foundation for the draft of the Manifesto for the African Unitarian Universalist movement, with the support of the ICUU, led by Rev. Sara Asher, then director. Moreover, a similar initiative took place in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, from 4 to 5 August 2018, where leaders from African Francophone Unitarian Universalist groups, including Congo-Brazzaville and Burundi, gathered to strengthen their relationships and work together in building a proper Unitarian movement on the African continent. 

Since then, an online worship service in French has been initiated every Sunday, run from Canada by Rev. Fulgence, who currently resides in Canada. This service connects French-speaking African Unitarian Universalist groups alongside other French-speaking Unitarian Universalists around the world. 

It is also important to mention that Meadville Lombard Theological School in the United States, a Unitarian Universalist seminary, has been a huge support in promoting African Unitarian Universalist leadership through its Global Initiatives Program, which includes the UU Global Conference and the Pointing the Way Scholarship. For instance, Gur Milandou Mouanga, originally from Congo-Brazzaville, residing in South Africa, and serving as Lay Leader at Cape Town Unitarians, and Blaise Ntakarutimana, Lay Leader at the Unitarian Church in Burundi, were both fully sponsored by Meadville Lombard to participate in the UU Global Conference in 2016. 

Similarly, the Pointing the Way Scholarship was granted to Justine Magara from Kenya and Gur Milandou Mouanga from South Africa for their studies in the field of Leadership. 

A recent gathering in Bujumbura from 1 to 5 November 2024, between Burundian, South African, and Kenyan leaders, resulted in the formation of a leadership team to facilitate the transitional period and engage with different stakeholders of the Unitarian movement in Africa. 

The enthusiasm of those present at the meeting was palpable, laying the foundation for strong collaboration between participants with the potential to expand to their respective communities and congregations. Today, despite some remaining challenges, the African Unitarian Universalist sphere has been enriched with several networking platforms within the continent. 

Countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Burundi, and Botswana have been very active in spreading the UU message across the continent. In the meantime, signs of new interest and initiatives have emerged in Congo-Brazzaville, Benin, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Togo, Ivory Coast, and Congo-DRC, showing interest in joining the Unitarian Universalist faith.

 These networking platforms have sparked a new passion for spreading the message of Unitarianism across the African continent, indicating that the Unitarian Universalist tradition is gradually finding a place within the faith environment in Africa.