Includes bibliographical references (p. [307]-324) and index.

Preliminary Materials -- Chapter One. Introduction -- Chapter Two. Danxomε A Narrative of Pride and Suspicion -- Chapter Three. Danxomε Kasudu: Vodún and the Foundation of Danxomε -- Chapter Four. A History Unassumed -- Chapter Five. Civilisation, Pacification, Demise: The Churches and the Kingdom of Danxomε -- Chapter Six. Catholicism, The Elites And The Creation Of Béninois Nationalism -- Chapter Seven. My Rock, My Shield, My Stronghold And My Refuge -- Chapter Eight. Afterword -- Appendix 1: The Kings Of Danxomε -- Appendix 2. The Vodún Pantheon -- Appendix 3a. An Interpretation Of The Active Relationship Between The Visible And Invisible Worlds -- Appendix 3b. Notes On The Masked Cults -- Appendix 4. Adahoonzou’s Speech, Upon Hearing What Has Passed In England Upon The Subject Of The Slave-Trade -- Appendix 5. Forbes’ Account Of The Customs -- Appendix 6. Extracts From Paul Hazoume’s Novel Dogucimi -- Appendix 7. Some Of The Most Important Nineteenth-Century Catholic Orders Or Institutes Dedicated To Mission In Africa -- Appendix 8. Demographic Statistics And Some Socio-Economic Indicators -- Appendix 9a. Definitions Of The Key Elements From The Catholic Social Teaching -- Appendix 9b. Extracts From The Socio-Political Chapters Of Ecclesia In Africa -- Appendix 10a. Outline Plan Of The CCC Compound, Akpakpa -- Appendix 10b. Outline Of The Compound Of Paroisse St. Michel, Cotonou -- Selected Bibliography -- Index.

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This book, divided into two broad sections, examines the state in the Republic of Benin and the socio-political role of the Christian churches. The first looks at the remarkable pre-colonial kingdom of Danxomέ and its place in the imagining of the modern contrat social béninois . The second section looks at both the historical role of the mainline churches and the more recent development of a Christianisme béninois . The study concludes that the churches are above all a commentary upon the society in which they find themselves. Rather than an overt challenge to the state, they articulate social distress and the desire for a different future. In times of stress they may prove to be the only viable institutional buttress as well as the arbiter. This study seeks to make a contribution to the understanding of the public role of Christian churches in Africa.