Religious activism, subaltern groups and ethic of distinction. The case of Congolese immigrants in Belgium.

This paper proposes to shed a new light on Belgian categorisation process of subaltern groups from the discourses on “integration” developed within Congolese religious circles during the last three decades.
In spite of important diasporic dispute regarding the legitimacy of their evangelical moral code, revival churches indoubtedly constitue major institutions for the Congolese community. The fight of integration, the virtuous citizenship and more generally the right to think oneself beyond the logics of reduction to otherness are part of this religious affirmation in Europe.
In Belgium, the former colonial metropole of Congolese, we will see how the ethic of morality, excellence and distinction developed by churches intend to break with racial and postcolonial stigma that enclosed postcolonial imigrants. Religious, associative and political spheres will be considered.