Series on Church and State: Eating and Sharing: Church and State in Uganda

The article explores the complexities of church-state relations in Uganda, with particular reference to the two dominant churches: the Anglican Church of Uganda (the Protestants) and the Roman Catholic Church. Together the two churches include some 80 per cent of Ugandans. Since the beginnings of Christianity in the late nineteenth century, the rivalry between the two communions has had political implications, with the Anglican Church perceived as constituting a quasi-establishment and the Catholics as lacking political clout. In local discourse, ‘eating’ refers to the enjoyment of political power; ‘sharing’ to the expectation of inclusion. The article looks at the attempt to overcome sectarian politics, and the Christian witness of both churches in the face of state oppression and violence.