Le rôle de l’Église catholique dans la colonisation française en Afrique subsaharienne : Éducation et hypocrisie dans Une vie de boy de Fernand Oyono

Sammanfattning: Africa is regularly seen as a continent attached to its ways and customs and reluctant to change. To the sudden and violent entry of colonization and Christianity, Africans have responded in various ways, from warm hospitality to disobedience through insubordination and religious originality which manifest a certain level of inventiveness. This study analyses the role played by the Catholic Church during French colonization in Sub Saharan Africa in general and in particular the role played by the Catholic Church in colonization as described in the novel Une vie de  boy by Ferdinand Oyono. This study is drawn upon the theory developed by Tunisian theorist and writer Albert Memmi. Since racism is one of the themes of our work, in this section we focused on the characteristics of colonization. According to Memmi “Racism sums up and symbolizes the fundamental relationship that units colonialist and colonized”. The findings show that The Catholic Church in the novel Une vie de boy did not play its role of defender of the oppressed. It was hypocritical and remained silent in the face of torture, atrocities and all kinds of discrimination suffered by the natives. Furthermore, it had a negative role and was illustrated by acts of racism and separation during masses.