Insights into Francophone Cameroonians’ Experiences in Active Participation in Protestant Churches and Mission in Bamenda, Cameroon (Published)
This article is an investigation into the processes behind Cameroon Francophone’s involvement in historical churches in Bamenda to ultimately analyse how these churches aid migrants’ integration into the host society. Attributing the presence of Francophone Christian communities in Bamenda to internal immigration forces, the paper shows how Francophone Cameroonians depend on religion to cope with the difficulties of living in a Bamenda society that is foreign to them. Based largely on archival and oral sources, the paper examines the issues related to migrants’ integration in churches in Bamenda as well as the development of immigrant congregations of some historical Francophone churches in the host society. The paper submits that the insensitivity of host historical churches in Bamenda to migrants’ participation difficulties occasioned the development of migrant-led churches which serve as loci for identity and as avenues for adapting into the socio-religious context of the host society.
Keywords: Bamenda, Churches, Francophone Cameroonians, Integration, Migrant-Led Churches, Migration, National Unity.