Systematic dissemination of hostile narratives and political reframing are driving an escalation in verbal and physical attacks against the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, according to new research by political scientist Dereje Melese Liyew.
Writing for The Conversation, the Debre Markos University researcher highlights that physical violence against clergy, monasteries, and places of worship is systematically preceded by political elites, activists, and media figures delegitimising the 1 600-year-old institution.
Critics increasingly frame the church, which represents approximately 43% of Ethiopia’s population, as an instrument of imperial expansion, downplaying its legacy as a foundational pillar of national identity.
Liyew warns that linking religious institutions to ethnic contestations, such as recent leadership and language disputes in the Oromia region, deepens social fragmentation and leaves adherents vulnerable to targeted violence.
“Denying the institution’s history and identity or its contribution to society has gone beyond rhetoric,” Liyew observes. “Political elites, activists, and influencers frame the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as an enemy of non-Amhara ethnic groups and an instrument of the old imperial state.”
He stresses that protecting the church from political weaponisation is essential for broader peacebuilding efforts in the Horn of Africa, concluding that “the state must protect all religious institutions and their followers from physical and verbal attacks” to prevent further destabilisation across the country.
–ChannelAfrica–
