He spent a great deal of his research and of his life beside Baba Simon, beloved minister to the Kirdis of the North Cameroon in Tokombéré.

As a theologian, he proved unorthodox not only in embracing social sciences but also in his penchant for studying topics that tested the boundaries of Catholic orthodoxy.

A vocal critic of both ecclesiastical and political institutions, Ela entered voluntary exile in Quebec after the assassination of fellow Cameroonian priest Englebert Mveng in 1995.

[3] For Jean-Marc Ela and his generation of postcolonial Christian intellectuals in Cameroon, achieving redemption and meaningful spirituality depended fundamentally on acknowledging the value of the everyday practices of pagan village life.

Through an analysis of selected sacraments, missionary structures, and biblical hermeneutics, Ela identified ways in which the Catholic tradition subordinates Africans to a position of dependence vis-a-vis White Europeans.

Similarly, in several books published between 1998 and 2007, he showed the place of Africa in the world of rational science, and the necessity of high quality scientific work.