Pentecostalism And Politics In Africa

As the epicenter of Christianity has shifted towards Africa in recent decades, Pentecostalism has emerged as a particularly vibrant presence on the continent. This collection of essays offers a groundbreaking study of the complex links between politics and African Pentecostalism. Situated at the intersection between the political, the postcolonial, and global neoliberal capitalism, contributors examine the roots of the Pentecostal movement’s extraordinary growth; how Pentecostalism intervenes in key social and political issues, such as citizenship, party politics, development challenges, and identity; and conversely, how politics in Africa modulate the Pentecostal movement. Pentecostalism and Politics in Africa offers a wide-ranging picture of a central dimension of postcolonial African life, opening up new directions for future research.

Section 1: The Bible and broad political discourses in Africa. "Rewriting" the Bible or de-biblifying the public sphere? Proposals and propositions on the usage of the Bible by public figures in Zimbabwe/ by Masiiwa Ragies Gunda. The Bible and the quest for democracy and democratization in Africa: the Zimbabwe experience / by Eliot Tofa. The Bible and the quest for developmental justice: the case of orphans in Namibia / by Jannie Hunter. The Bible in the service of pan-africanism: the case of Dr Tafataona Mahoso's pan-african biblical exegesis / by Obvious Vengeyi. The ANC's deployment of religion in nation building: from Thabo Mbeki, to "the RDP of the soul", to Jacob Zuma / by Gerald West. The Bible and democracy in Africa: how biblical science can contribute towards the establishment of plurality and democracy, the Bible as a relevant tool in the quest for engendering plurality / by Jephthah Kiara Gathaka. Section 2: Some readings of the Bible in/for political discourses in Africa. Contextual theological reading of the Bible with indigenous communities: the case of the Basarwa/San in Botswana / by Moji Ruele. A theological reflection on Romans 13:1-7 in the 21st century Zimbabwean politics / by Phillemon M. Chamburuka. The Judas Iscariot episode In the zimbabwean religio-political debate of "selling out" / by Francis Machingura. Inspiring for liberation - legitimizing for occupation : interpretations of the Exodus from southern Africa / by Stephanie Feder. Politics of feeding: reading John 6 (and 1 Cor 11) as documents of socio-political conflicts / by Joachim Kügler. "If my people ..." a critical analysis of the deployment of 2 Chronicles 7:14 during the Zimbabwean crisis / by Ezra Chitando. Towards a new reading of the bible in africa - spy exegesis / by Canisius Mwandayi. Empowering the poor: the Bible and the poor in informal settlements in Africa with reference to Mangaung, South Africa / Pieter Verster. Section 3: The bible, gender and politics in Africa. The politics of "biblical manhood": a critical study of masculinity politics and biblical hermeneutics in a Zambian pentecostal church / Adriaan S. Van Klinken. The bible as a source of strength among Zimbabwean women during socio-economic and political crises / by Elizabeth Vengeyi. An analysis of the application of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:11-14: the politics of pentecostalism and women's ministries in Zimbabwe / by Tapiwa Praise Mapuranga.

Bringing together prominent Africanist scholars from a variety of disciplines, this book offers a comprehensive treatment of the social, cultural and political impact of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity in postcolonial sub Saharan Africa.

Throughout its history, Nigeria has been plagued by religious divisions. Tensions have only intensified since the restoration of democracy in 1999, with the divide between Christian south and Muslim north playing a central role in the country’s electoral politics, as well as manifesting itself in the religious warfare waged by Boko Haram. Through the lens of Christian–Muslim struggles for supremacy, Ebenezer Obadare charts the turbulent course of democracy in the Nigerian Fourth Republic, exploring the key role religion has played in ordering society. He argues the rise of Pentecostalism is a force focused on appropriating state power, transforming the dynamics of the country and acting to demobilize civil society, further providing a trigger for Muslim revivalism. Covering events of recent decades to the election of Buhari, Pentecostal Republic shows that religio-political contestations have become integral to Nigeria’s democratic process, and are fundamental to understanding its future.

The last decade has witnessed fundamental shifts in the relationship between religion and politics. In this light, religious symbols, motifs, justifications, and practices are increasingly noticeable in political discourses, as well as agendas, particularly in the Global South, with Pentecostal Christians standing out as salient actors. Performative practices enacted in political contexts such as the anointing of state authorities, prophecies, warfare prayers, etc. have drawn the attention of numerous scholars worldwide. The four surveys contained in this volume account for these developments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and synoptically engage with the following question: Can any meaningful nexus connecting multiple and apparently isolated nodes of Pentecostal engagement in the political sphere around the globe be identified? In addition, they do the groundwork for drawing parallels on a global level, on the basis of which new light can be shed on fundamental changes in Pentecostal actorhood and self-understanding. Thus, local developments and ethnographic studies are for the first time reflected upon from a global perspective.

Uses extensive archival material, interviews and fieldwork to explore how Nigerian Pentecostals mark their self-distinction as a people of power.

In the last fifty years, the history of World Christianity has been disproportionally shaped, if not defined, by African Pentecostalism. The objective of this volume is to investigate and interrogate the critical junctures at which World Christianity invigorates and is invigorated by African Pentecostalism. The essays of the thinkers gathered here examine the general relationships between World Christianity and Africa and the specific interplays between World Christianity and African Pentecostalism. Scholars from multiple disciplines, continents, and countries evaluate how the theological scholarship and missional works of eminent African intellectual Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu have contributed to the scholarly understanding of how Global Christianity has been mediated by its reception in Africa. They also investigate how African Pentecostalism has been shaped by its contact with the diverse forms of Christianity in Africa and the rest of the world. With contributions from: Opoku Onyinah Harvey C. Kwiyani Kirsteen Kim Craig S. Keener Charles Prempeh Kenneth R. Ross Trevor H. G. Smith Vivian Dzokoto Chammah J. Kaunda Felix Kang Esoh Patrick Kofi Amissah Caleb Nyanni Marleen de Witte Oluwaseun Abimbola Philomena Njeru Nwaura Faith Lugazia Dietrich Werner Allan H. Anderson

This book shows how the UCKG utilizes rituals that are locally meaningful and are informed by local ideas about human bodies, agency and ontological balance.