AbstractDrawing on the work of Webb Keane and Joel Robbins in the anthropology of Christianity, furnished with the influential work of Charles Hirschkind in the anthropology of Islam, and the ethnographic studies of Tom Wagner and Mark Jennings on Pentecostal worship music, this article critically examines ideas of sincerity in the musical practices of Pentecostal megachurches. Making use of ethnographic data from research on congregational music in South Africa, including interviews with a variety of Pentecostal musicians, this article argues that the question of Protestant sincerity, understood following Keane as emphasizing individual moral autonomy and suspicion of external material religious forms for expressing one’s inner state, is particularly acute in the case of the Hillsong megachurch. Employing the full array of spectacular possibilities made available by the contemporary culture industry, Hillsong churches centralize cultural production and standardize musical performance whilst simultaneously emphasizing individual religious experience. It is argued that Pentecostal megachurches seek to realize a form of sincere mimicry grounded in learned and embodied practices.
Adogame, Afeosemime U. “A Walk for Africa: Combating the Demon of HIV/AIDS in an African Pentecostal Church: The Case of Redeemed Christian Church of God.” Scriptura: International Journal of Bible, Religion and Theology in Southern Africa 89, no. 1 (2005): 396–405.
Ajoku, Silent A. F. “The Effects of Worship Practices in Pentecostal Church on Work Ethics in Africa.” Ogbomoso Journal of Theology 13, no. 2 (2008): 200–212.
Amanor, Kwabena J. D. “Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches in Ghana and the African Culture: Confrontation or Compromise?” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 18, no. 1 (May 2009): 123–40.
AbstractThe paper establishes the reality of conflict between Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches in Ghana and the African culture. It examines the history of this conflict since the early days of Christianity in Ghana as well as the causes of the conflict. It also looks at the effects of the conflict on the dialogue expected between Christianity and the African culture, mediation efforts by third party governance and civil society organizations, and the theological implications of the antagonism for the Christian engagement with other non-Christian religions, especially, Islam, which shares Africa with Christianity.
Andersen, Nicole, and Scott London. “South Africa’s Newest ‘Jews’: The Moemedi Pentecostal Church and the Construction of Jewish Identity.” Nova Religio 13, no. 1 (August 2009): 92–105.
Anderson, Allan H. “African Independent Churches and Global Pentecostalism: Historical Connections and Common Identities.” In African Identities and World Christianity in the Twentieth Century, edited by Klaus Koschorke, 63–76. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2005.
Anderson, Allan H. “African Pentecostalism and ‘Spirit’ Churches.” In An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity, by Allan H. Anderson, 103–22. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
AbstractPentecostalism is the fastest expanding religious movement in the world today. Allan Anderson makes more visible its "non-Western" nature, without overlooking the importance of the movement emanating from North America. Concentrating on its history and theology, Anderson reflects on the movement's development and significance throughout the world. He explores those theological issues that helped form a distinctive spirituality and relates them to different peoples and cultures.
Anderson, Allan H. “African Pentecostalism in a South African Urban Environment: A Missiological Evaluation.” ThD, University of South Africa, 1992.
Anderson, Allan H. “Christian Missionaries and ‘Heathen Natives’: The Cultural Ethics of Early Pentecostal Missionaries.” In Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association, 22:4–29, 2002.
Abstractpresented at the 10 th EPCRA conference in Leuven, Belgium. Allan Anderson ICentre for Missiology and World Christianity, University of Birmingham
Anderson, Allan H. “Intercultural Theology, Walter J. Hollenweger and African Pentecostalism.” In Intercultural Theology: Approaches and Themes, edited by Mark J. Cartledge and David Cheetham. London: SCM Press, 2011.
Anderson, Allan H. “Stretching the Definitions? Pneumatology and ‘Syncretism’ in African Pentecostalism.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 10, no. 1 (2000): 98–119.
Anderson, Allan H. “The ‘Fury and Wonder’? Pentecostal-Charismatic Spirituality in Theological Education.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 23, no. 2 (2001): 287–302.
Anderson, Allan H. “The Gospel and African Religion: A Space for Belonging in African Pentecostalism.” Internation Review of Mission 89 (2000): 373–83.
Anderson, Allan H. “The Mission Initiatives of African Pentecostals in Continental Perspective.” In African Christian Outreach, Vol 1: The African Initiated Churches, edited by M. L. Daneel. Pretoria: Southern African Missiological Society, 2001.
Anderson, Allan H. “The Newer Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches: The Shape of Future Christianity in Africa?” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 24, no. 2 (Fall 2002): 167–84.
AbstractDiscusses the development of newer Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches (NPC) in Africa, an adaptation of the book "African Reformation: African Initiated Christianity in the Twentieth Century." Similarities of NPC with Holy Spirit movements under the African Initiated Churches; List of evangelical methods used by Pentecostals; Information on the Deeper Life Bible Church.
Anderson, Allan H. African Reformation: African Initiated Christianity in the Twentieth Century. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2001.
AbstractSpirit power in African theology: a mere extension of African magic or spirit powers? Or a genuine understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit as an active personal force?
Anderson, Allan H. Spirit-Filled World: Religious Dis/Continuity in African Pentecostalism. Christianity and Renewal - Interdisciplinary Studies. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.
AbstractThis book is about African Pentecostalism and its relationship to religious beliefs about a pervading spirit world. It argues that Pentecostalism keeps both a continuous and a discontinuous relationship in tension. Based on field research in a South African township, including qualitative interviews and focus group discussions, the study explores the context of African Pentecostalism as a whole and how it interacts with the concepts of ancestors, divination, and various types of spirit. Themes discussed include the reasons for the popularity of healing, exorcism, the "prosperity gospel, " the experience of the Holy Spirit, Spirit manifestations and practices resembling both traditional and biblical precedents, as well as scholarly discussions on African Pentecostalism from theological and social scientific disciplines. The book suggests that the focus on a spirit-filled world affects all kinds of events and explains the rapid growth of Pentecostalism outside the western world.
Anderson, Allan H. Zion and Pentecost: The Spirituality and Experience of Pentecostal and Zionist/ Apostolic Churches in South Africa. Pretoria: University of South Africa Press, 2000.
Anderson, Allan H., and Gerald J. Pillay. “The Segregated Spirit: The Pentecostals.” In Christianity in South Africa: A Political, Social and Cultural History, edited by Richard Elphick and Rodney Davenport, 227–41. Martlesham: James Currey, 1998.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “‘Get up...Take the Child...and Escape to Egypt’: Transforming Christianity into a Non-Western Religion in Africa.” International Review of Mission 100, no. 2 (November 2011): 337–54.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “‘Unction to Function’: Reinventing the Oil of Influence in African Pentecostalism.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 13, no. 2 (April 2005): 231–56.
AbstractThis paper explores the practices, teachings, positive benefits, problematic aspects and perils associated with anointing with oil in recent African Pentecostal/charismatic ministries and churches. With particular focus upon the author's first-hand encounters with these phenomena in Ghana and Nigeria, various anointing practices and teachings are commended and critiqued in terms of biblical precedents and sacramental theological insights.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “African Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity: An Overview | Lausanne World Pulse Archives - Https://Lausanneworldpulse.Com/Themedarticles-Php/464/08-2006.” Accessed July 8, 2021.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “An African Pentecostal on Mission in Eastern Europe: The Church of the ‘Embassy of God’ in the Ukraine.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 27, no. 2 (Fall 2005): 297–321.
AbstractProvides information on a preliminary study on the Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations, an African-led charismatic church founded by Pastor Sunday Adelaja in Ukraine. Significance of the ministry; Distinctions between Pentecostals and charismatics; Background on the pastor.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Anointing through the Screen: Neo‐Pentecostalism and Televised Christianity in Ghana.” Studies in World Christianity 11, no. 1 (2005): 1–28.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Born of Water and the Spirit: Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity in Africa.” In African Christianity: An African Story, edited by Ogbu U. Kalu, 389–409. Pretoria: University of Pretoria Press, 2005.
AbstractThis book is designed as a textbook for use in seminaries, Bible colleges and universities that have sprouted with vigor in Africa. It is ideologically driven to build a group of church historians who will tell the story of African Christianity, not Christianity in Africa, as an African story, by intentionally privileging the patterns of African agency without neglecting the noble roles played by missionaries. The effort has been to identify the major themes or story lines in African encounters and in the appropriation of the gospel. The project has enabled these historians to work together, in an ecumenical spirit, from across many boundaries: faith, region, gender, and ancestral race. They have bequeathed to future generations to tell more of the story of where the rain of the gospel met Africans before the deluge that appears on the horizon. Contributors: Afe Adogame David A. Kpobi Akintunde E. Akinade Tinyiko Sam Maluleke William B. Anderson P.J. Maritz J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu J.N.K. Mugambi Graham Duncan Philomena Njeri Mwaura Paul H. Gundani Chukwudi A.. Njoku Jehu Hanciles Nyambura J. Njoroge J.W. Hofmeyr Kenneth Sawyer Lizo Jafta Youhana Youssef Ogbu U. Kalu "Kalu and an accomplished team of collaborators bring off in this book what has never been accomplished before a thorough, carefully researched, interpretatively rich history of Christianity in Africa written by Africans. The depth of insights is as pervasive as the coverage is complete. This is a picture of a Christianity that shares much with other Christianities around the world but also is distinctly African." -Christian Century, October 17, 2006
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Did Jesus Wear Designer Robes?: The Gospel Preached in Africa’s New Pentecostal Churches Ends up Leaving the Poor More Impoverished than Ever.” Christianity Today 53, no. 11 (November 2009): 38–41.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “God Is Big in Africa: Pentecostal Mega Churches and a Changing Religious Landscape.” Material Religion 15, no. 3 (2019): 390–92.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Learning to Prosper by Wrestling and by Negotiation: Jacob and Esau in Contemporary African Pentecostal Hermeneutics.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 21, no. 1 (January 2012): 64–86.
AbstractPentecostalism in Africa has evolved as different streams characterized by particular modes of articulating the Christian message. The older independent churches were known for their emphasis on healing and prophecy and the classical Pentecostals talked much about speaking in tongues and holiness. Although these themes are present in contemporary Pentecostal discourse the new churches are best known for their messages of empowerment and prosperity that are meant to address the aspirations of Africa's upwardly mobile youth. Using the writings of two of the movements most influential leaders from Ghana, this article discusses the ways in which the story of the Patriarchs, especially Jacob, has been reinterpreted to fit into the message of upward mobility and the principles that are meant to lead up to it. It is argued here that although the authors did not intend to misapply Scripture, by reinterpreting the schemes of Jacob in terms of the principles of success, they fail to take account of the element of 'grace' which is able to turn the worst of sinners into saints. Jacob did not succeed because he applied the principles of success but because God touched him with his grace during the time of wrestling with the angel.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Mission to Set the Captives Free: Healing, Deliverance, and Generational Curses in Ghanaian Pentecostalism.” International Review of Mission 93, no. 370–371 (October 2004): 389–406.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Missionaries without Robes: Lay Charismatic Fellowships and the Evangelization of Ghana.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 19, no. 2 (1997): 167–88.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Of Faith and Visual Alertness: The Message of Mediatized Religion in an African Pentecostal Context.” Material Religion 1, no. 3 (2005): 336–57.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Of Sour Grapes and Children’s Teeth: Inherited Guilt, Human Rights, and Processes of Restoration in Ghanaian Pentecostalism.” Exchange: Journal of Ecumenical and Missiological Research 33, no. 4 (2004): 334–53.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Pentecostal Media Images and Religious Globalization in Sub‐Saharan Africa.” In Belief in Media: Cultural Perspectives on Media and Christianity, edited by Mary E. Hess, Peter Horsfield, and Adan Medrano, 65–79. Burlington, VT: Routledge, 2004.
AbstractMost works on media developments and Christianity approach the subject from the perspective of the implications of new media technologies for traditional Christian practices or how churches can use new media to further their goals. The common framework of analysis is a 'given reality' of traditional institutional Christianity and how it interacts with, affects and is affected by media. Media are treated as a separate cultural reality. This book presents, in an accessible form, the new directions that approach the interaction of media and religion from a cultural perspective, and illustrates these new directions by a number of international and intercultural case studies and explorations. Looking at how global media are constructing cultural forms, structures and processes, the authors show how these have become the life out of which individual and social meaning is created and practised. Examining how individuals create religious meaning by interacting with media of various kinds, crossing boundaries of traditional religious cultures and contemporary media cultures, this book reveals how Christian institutions are also defined in the process of living culturally within their broader media context.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Pentecostalism and the Missiological Significance of Religious Experience: The Case of Ghana’s Church of Pentecost.” Trinity Journal of Church and Theology 12, no. 1–2 (2002): 30–57.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Pentecostalism in Africa and the Changing Face of Christian Mission: Pentecostal/Charismatic Renewal Movements in Ghana.” Mission Studies 19, no. 2 (2002): 14–39.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Pentecostalism in Africa.” In African Theology on the Way: Current Conversations, edited by Diane B. Stinton. London: SPCK, 2011.
AbstractStinton has edited the work of prominent African theologians, making their writings accessible at an introductory level. Some African scholars have written new pieces for the book, others have given permission for articles to be condensed and simplified in style. Kwame Bediako, Benezet Bujo, Philomena Mwara and Isabel Phiri are just four of the theologians featured.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “Spirit, Mission, and Transnational Influence: Nigerian-Led Pentecostalism in Eastern Europe.” PentecoStudies 9, no. 1 (April 2010): 74–96.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. “The Church in the African State: The Pentecostal/Charismatic Experience in Ghana.” Journal of African Christian Thought 6, no. 1 (1998): 51–57.
AbstractThis volume examines Pentecostal/charismatic renewal in an African context. Ghanaian Pentecostalism in its modern charismatic form has become the most visible expression of renewal within indigenous Christianity. The book first articulates the contribution of the older African initiated churches (AICs) to local Christianity arguing that, in spite of a present decline, the AICs have left an enduring theological imprint on indigenous Christian expression. Furthermore, it accounts for the rise of the new independent churches, the charismatic ministries. These have been proliferating across the West Africa sub-region since the late 1970s. In addition to this, the book explores how the emphases of the new Ghanaian charismatics—internationalism, transformation, prosperity, healing and deliverance—provide useful insights into the nature of modern African Pentecostal spirituality.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. Contemporary Pentecostal Christianity: Interpretations from an African Context. Oxford: Regnum, 2013.
AbstractPentecostalism is the fastest growing stream of Christianity in the world. The real evidence for the significance of Pentecostalism lies in the actual churches they have built and the numbers they attract. In Africa, Pentecostalism has virtually become the representative face of Christianity with even historic mission denominations 'pentecostalising' their otherwise formal liturgical structures to survive. This work interprets key theological and missiological themes in African Pentecostalism by using material from the live experiences of the movement itself. An important source of primary material for instance is the popular books written by the leadership of contemporary Pentecostal churches and their media programs. An example of this is that on account of its motivational hermeneutics the Eagle, rather than the Dove, has become the preferred symbol of the Holy Spirit in this nascent dynamic movement. The interpretation of themes from contemporary African Pentecostalism in this book reveals much about how as a contemporary movement, it is reshaping African Christian spirituality in the 21st century.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. Sighs and Signs of the Spirit: Ghanaian Perspectives on Pentecostalism and Renewal in Africa. Oxford: Regnum, 2015.
Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. Taking Territories and Raising Champions: Contemporary Pentecostalism and the Changing Face of Christianity in Africa, 1980– 2010. Accra: Asempa Publishers, 2010.
Attanasi, Katy. “Biblical Ethics, HIV/AIDS, and South African Pentecostal Women: Constructing an A-B-C-D Prevention Strategy.” Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 33, no. 1 (2013): 105–17.
Attanasi, Katy. “Getting in Step with the Spirit: Applying Pentecostal Commitments to HIV/AIDS in South Africa.” Political Theology 9, no. 2 (April 2008): 193–208.
Attanasi, Katy. “Pentecostal Theologies of Healing, HIV/AIDS, and Women’s Agency in South Africa.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 37, no. 1 (March 2015): 7–20.
AbstractThis article examines the gendered implications of healing theologies in black South African pentecostal churches dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis. Lived theologies of healing enhance women's flourishing by providing or encouraging medical, social, and psychological support. However, pentecostal theologies of healing can impede women's flourishing by creating a burdensome sense of responsibility in which women blame themselves for not being healed. More disturbingly, many women consider prayer as the most faithful or most feasible strategy for HIV prevention. This article identihes women's constrained choices as a theological imperative for Pentecostalism to address gender inequality.
Ayegboyin, Deji, and Emiola Nihinlola. “Pentecostalism and the Nigerian Baptist Convention Churches: The Way Forward.” Ogbomoso Journal of Theology 13, no. 2 (2008): 213–29.
AbstractThis article, which is based on a research study in Nigeria, evaluates prosperity theology, which has gained much currency all over Africa. The article takes issue with the doctrine because it raises some crucial and somewhat awkward questions for all concerned. The teaching lacks a consensus definition; it is weakly theorized, could be unscriptural and seems oblivious to some significant features in the early church as illustrated in the Acts of the Apostles. The final goal of the article is to suggest a reconstruction of prosperity theology, which will evolve one that is unquestionably scriptural and contextual.
Balcomb, Anthony. “Well Healed and Well-Heeled: Pentecostals in the New South Africa -- Their Message, Structures and Modes of Socio-Political Intervention.” Missionalia 35, no. 3 (November 2007): 30–42.
Banda, Collium. “Complementing Christ?: A Soteriological Evaluation of the Anointed Objects of the African Pentecostal Prophets.” Conspectus : The Journal of the South African Theological Seminary, December 2018, 55–69.
Bangura, Joseph B. “Theological Education for a Religiously Radicalized World: An African Pentecostal Assist.” International Review of Mission 106, no. 1 (June 2017): 151–66.
Bekele, Girma. “The Ecumenical Movement and the Role of Ethiopian Pentecostal Movement.” In The In-Between People: A Reading of David Bosch through the Lens of Mission History and Contemporary Challenges In Ethiopia, by Girma Bekele, 221–27. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Pub, 2011.
AbstractIn the midst of partial, competing, and often hostile forms of human solidarity, David Bosch challenged the church to be the Alternative Community called to live in the in-between of various opposing socio-political, economic, and ecclesiastical polarities. Girma Bekele explores and renews that call in the context of Ethiopia. Acute poverty and the lingering question of the balance between ethnic distinctiveness and national unity, together constitute a two-edged challenge to Christian identity. Constructive dialogue that fosters unity is intrinsic to effective response to the plight of the poor. This means a turning away from institutional self-preservation towards a contextually relevant mission that crosses all human-made frontiers. Taking Ethiopia as the immediate context, Dr. Bekele offers important insight to the church in the majority world and beyond.
Blumhofer, Edith L. “Pentecostal Missions and Africa.” In Christianity in Africa in the 1990s, edited by Christopher Fyfe and Andrew F. Walls. Edinburgh: Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh, 1996.
AbstractAlthough US Pentecostalism has traditionally been characterized by unease towards science, due to socio-economic positioning and theological stances, Pentecostals like James Smith and others have recently launched a ‘fresh engagement with the sciences’. The feasibility of his proposal is discussed in this article. Based on the contributions of four Pentecostal participants in the research project “Science and Religion in French-speaking Africa,” the author argues that their perspectives are not coloured by naturalism, which according to Smith is one of the main limiting factors to traditional US Pentecostal engagement with science. Consequently certain expressions of African Pentecostalism would be open to Smith’s proposal. Nevertheless, the author argues that both the African and the US cultural contexts need to be taken into account more seriously. Such an approach reveals that in both contexts the possibilities for a fresh Pentecostal engagement with the sciences are more limited than Smith suggests.
Buijs, Gina. “A Sociological View of the Change from Sect to Denomination among Pentecostal Church Members in South Africa.” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 21, no. 2 (1995): 87–100.
Burgess, Richard. “Crisis and Renewal: Civil War Revival and the New Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria’s Igboland.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 24, no. 2 (Autumn 2002): 205–24.
AbstractDiscusses the origins and progress of the Pentecostal movement among the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria. Factors that contributed to the conversion of the Igbo to Christianity; Significance of the Civil War to the development of the religious revival; Details of revival message and strategies used for preaching.
Burgess, Richard. “Pentecostals and Development in Nigeria and Zambia: Community Organizing as a Response to Poverty and Violence.” PentecoStudies: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Research on the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements 14 (May 5, 2015): 176–204.
Burgess, Richard. “The Civil War Revival and Its Pentecostal Progeny: A Religious Movement among the Igbo People of Eastern Nigeria 1967–2002.” PhD, University of Birmingham, 2004.
AbstractThis book examines the contributions, both intentional and unintentional, of Nigerian Pentecostal churches and NGOs to development, studying their development practices broadly in relation to the intersecting spheres of politics, economics, health, education, human rights, and peacebuilding. In sub-Saharan Africa, Pentecostalism is fast becoming the dominant expression of Christianity, but while the growth and civic engagement of these churches has been well documented, their role in development has received less attention. The Nigerian Pentecostal landscape is one of the most vibrant in Africa. Churches are increasingly assuming more prominent roles as they seek to address the social and moral ills of contemporary society, often in fierce competition with Islam for dominance in Nigerian public space. Some scholars suggest that the combination of an enchanted worldview, an emphasis on miracles and prosperity teaching, and a preoccupation with evangelism discourages effective political engagement and militates against development. However, Nigerian Pentecostalism and Development argues that there is an emerging movement within contemporary Nigerian Pentecostalism which is becoming increasingly active in development practices. This book goes on to explore the increasingly transnational approach that churches take, often seeking to build multicultural congregations around the globe, for instance in Britain and the United States. Nigerian Pentecostalism and Development: Spirit, Power, and Transformation will be of considerable interest to scholars and students concerned with the intersection between religion and development, and to development practitioners and policy-makers working in the region.
Burgess, Richard. Times of Refreshing: Revival and the History of Christianity in Africa. Bukuru: Africa Christian Textbooks, 2008.
Chitando, Ezra, and Kudzai Biri. “‘Faithful Men of a Faithful God’?: Masculinities in the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa.” Exchange 42, no. 1 (2013): 34–50.
Clark, Mathew S. “Contemporary Pentecostal Leadership: The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa as Case Study.” Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies 10, no. 1 (January 2007): 42–61.
Clarke, Clifton R. “Ogbu Kalu and Africa’s Christianity: A Tribute.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 32, no. 1 (March 2010): 107–20.
AbstractIn this review article some of the key ideas presented in the scholarship of Ogbu Kalu on African Christianity generally, and African Pentecostalism specifically, are discussed. The review commends Professor Kalu for broadening the historiography of Pentecostalism beyond North America and Europe to global phenomena with multiple access points. It further praises Kalu for pioneering the role of cultural moorings upon the shape of African Christianity. The review however highlights the limitations of a purely contextual and historiographical approach, and invites the discourse to participate in the broader global historical and theological Pentecostal conversation.
Clarke, Clifton R. “Pan-Africanism and Pentecostalism in Africa: Strange Bedfellows or Perfect Partners? A Pentecostal Assist towards a Pan-African Political Theology.” Black Theology 11, no. 2 (2013): 152–84.
Cooper, Barbara M. “Epilogue: SIM’s Successors and the Pentecostal Explosion.” In Evangelical Christians in the Muslim Sahel, by Barbara M. Cooper, 400–411. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2010.
AbstractBarbara M. Cooper looks closely at the Sudan Interior Mission, an evangelical Christian mission that has taken a tenuous hold in a predominantly Hausa Muslim area on the southern fringe of Niger. Based on sustained fieldwork, personal interviews, and archival research, this vibrant, sensitive, compelling, and candid book gives a unique glimpse into an important dimension of religious life in Africa. Cooper’s involvement in a violent religious riot provides a useful backdrop for introducing other themes and concerns such as Bible translation, medical outreach, public preaching, tensions between English-speaking and French-speaking missionaries, and the Christian mission’s changing views of Islam.
Corten, André, and Ruth Marshall-Fratani, eds. Between Babel and Pentecost: Transnational Pentecostalism in Africa and Latin America. London: Hurst, 2001.
AbstractOver the past two decades, Latin American and African countries have experienced a phenomenal growth of Pentecostal movements. This form of Christianity, only marginally present in these areas in the middle of the 20th century, is now embraced by more than a hundred million faithful across two continents and continues to grow at an astonishing rate. Despite the enormous differences which separate these lands and the individual societies within them, one is struck by the similarity of Pentecostal manifestations in these diverse cultures. Contemporary Pentecostalism provides a striking example of the paradox of difference and uniformity, of flow and closure, that seems to be at the heart of processes of transnationalism and globalization. The rapid growth of Pentecostal movements in the urban centers of the developing world has captured the attention of many scholars in the fields of Latin American and African studies. However, much of the literature focuses on individual areas and countries, and there has been relatively little comparative or cross-cultural study of these movements. This book considers the important transnational character of such movements and their tendency to foster identities that transcend national and cultural contexts. Researchers from various disciplines describe Pentecostal movements in Latin America and Africa from different perspectives.
De Visser, Arjan J. Kyrios and Morena: The Lordship of Christ and African Township Christianity. Pretoria: A.J. de Visser, 2001.
Degbe, Simon K. “‘Generational Curses’ and the ‘Four Horns’: Illustrating the Shape of the Primal Worldview in Contemporary African Pentecostal-Charismatic Spirituality.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 23, no. 2 (2014): 246–65.
Dickow, Helga. Religion and Attitudes towards Life in South Africa: Pentecostals, Charismatics and Reborns. Https://Www.Barnesandnoble.Com/s/%22Studien+zu+Ethnizitat%2C+Religion+und+Demokratie%22;Jsessionid=D226710AED25B521A91B27AE886B325C.Prodny_store01-Atgap14?Ntk=P_Series_Title&Ns=P_Series_Number&Ntx=mode+matchall 13. Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2012.
AbstractWorldwide the Pentecostal Movement is attracting more and more followers. This study examines attitudes of members of the new Pentecostal Churches, of Charismatics and born-again Christians towards society, economics and politics in post-Apartheid South Africa as well as their religiosity, their religious self-perception and their social engagement. It involved conducting interviews with church leaders as well as a country-wide representative survey to enable comparison with members of other churches. An additional survey with the same questionnaire was carried out among members of a prototype, new charismatic church in Soweto. As a result of their experiences in the Apartheid era members of the new Pentecostal Churches tend to be more democratic and more critical of their political leaders than in other countries. Pentecostal Churches often take an active interest in public affairs, assuming social responsibility, and forming a social and economic network for their ambitious members. They could well play an important role in the continuing reconciliation process in South Africa.
Dijk, Rijk van. “From Camp to Encompassment: Discourses of Transubjectivity in Ghanaian Pentecostal Diaspora.” Journal of Religion in Africa 27, no. 2 (May 1997): 135–59.
Dijk, Rijk van. “Pentecostalism and the Politics of Prophetic Power: Religious Modernity in Ghana.” In Scriptural Politics: The Bible and the Koran as Political Models in the Middle East and Africa, edited by Niels Kastfelt, 155–84. London: Hurst, 2004.
AbstractThis work offers a comparison of Islamic and Christian radicalism in the 1990s. The authors explain how the different political traditions of Africa and the Middle East shape reactions to the Koran and the Bible.
Dijk, Rijk van. “Pentecostalism, Cultural Memory and the State: Contested Representations of Time in Postcolonial Malawi.” In Memory and Postcolony, edited by Richard Webner, 155–81. London: Zed, 1998.
Dijk, Rijk van. “Witchcraft and Scepticism by Proxy: Pentecostalism and Laughter in Urban Malawi.” In Magical Interpretations, Material Realities: Modernity, Witchcraft and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa, edited by Henrietta L. Moore and Todd Sanders, 97–117. London: Routledge, 2001.
Droll, Anna M. “‘Piercing the Veil’ and African Dreams and Visions: In Quest of the Pneumatological Imagination.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 40, no. 3 (September 2018): 345–65.
AbstractPentecostal scholarship is conscientiously examining gaps in Western theology in regard to pneumatology. This article describes the phenomena of pentecostal dreams and visions (D/V s) in the African context as significant to that dialogue, pointing to their spiritual value in many African churches. I suggest that they can be seen as existential samples of the pneumatological imagination as put forth by Amos Yong and also as described by Nimi Wariboko. I use Yong's theology to argue that the pneumatological imagination in African contexts readdresses the experience of D/V s, which are normative phenomena in indigenous religions, through the hermeneutical interplay of Spirit-Word-community. I also suggest that the experience of D/V s satisfies Wariboko's definition of grace, that they are subject to his politics of spiritual warfare, and that their interpretation and application exemplify the transformation of "ontological and epistemological coordinates of existence" by "piercing the veil" of phenomenality for the experience of the noumenal.
Emeka, Paul. “Benson Idahosa Factor in Nigerian Pentecostalism.” PhD, University of Nigeria, 2001.
Englund, Harri. “Christian Independency and Global Membership: Pentecostal Extraversions in Malawi.” Journal of Religion in Africa 33, no. 1 (2003): 83–111.
AbstractIn this sweeping history, Tibebe Eshete presents a new view of Ethiopian Christianity. Synthesizing existing scholarship with original interviews and archival research, he demonstrates that the vernacular nature of the Ethiopian church played a critical role in the development of a state church. He also traces the effects of the political on the religious: the growth of other "counter-cultural" movements in 1960s Ethiopia, such as renewal movements, youth discontentment, and the Marxist regime (under which the church still flourished). This strikingly authentic work refutes the thesis that evangelicalism was imported. Instead, Eshete shows, it was a genuine indigenous response to cultural pressures.
Fatokun, Samson. “The ’ Great Move of God’ in an African Community: A Retrospect of the 1930s Indigenous Pentecostal Revival in Nigeria and Its Impact on Nigerian Pentecostalism.” Exchange 38, no. 1 (2009): 34–57.
Flikke, Rune. “‘Walking in the Spirit’: The Complexity of Belonging in Two Pentecostal Churches in Durban, South Africa Kristina Helgesson.” Journal of Anthropological Research 64 (July 1, 2008): 305–6.
Garrard, David J. “Witchcraft and Deliverance: An Exaggerated Theme in Pentecostal Churches in Central Africa.” Journal of the European Pentecostal Theological Association 37, no. 1 (2017): 52–67.
Gerloff, Roswith, Klaus Hock, and Afe Adogame, eds. Christianity in Africa and the African Diaspora: The Appropriation of a Scattered Heritage. London: Continuum, 2008.
Golo, Ben-Willie K. “Africa’s Poverty and Its Neo-Pentecostal ‘Liberators’: An Ecotheological Assessment of Africa’s Prosperity Gospellers.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 35, no. 3 (December 2013): 366–84.
AbstractThe preponderance of various forms of liberation-oriented gospels among Africa's neo-Pentecostals, particularly prosperity gospelling," should not be surprising when one considers the contexts within which they emerge. However, their narrow focus on the accumulation of wealth and material things as that which liberates from poverty is rather bewildering. Drawing on data collected from neo-Pentecostals, this article examines the definition of prosperity and the theological basis for such teachings, probes the environmental sustainability of the narrow wealth-seeking attitudes of these prosperity gospellers, and examines the ecological adequacy of the theology of salvation upon which prosperity gospelling is founded. The article concludes that the option available to the prosperity gospellers is a quest for liberation from poverty that correlates with the Christian vision for both human welfare and the health of the natural world.
Gorder, Christian A. van. “Beyond the Rivers of Africa: The Afrocentric Pentecostalism of Mensa Otabil.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 30, no. 1 (March 2008): 33–54.
AbstractMensa Otabil is an African Pentecostal who has developed an Afrocentric focus as a way of responding to the initiatives and interest that face today's growing African Pentecostal church. Otabil warns African Americans that questions of their relationship with Africa must be addressed. Perhaps Otabil's legacy will be his most immediate role of a motivational speaker and encourager for progress in a part of the world that has been drowned with both internal and external projections of pessimism. What is certain is that Mensa Otabil believes in a Pentecostal faith which is able to speak to Africa's social needs. His conviction is rooted in his conviction that the inherent strength of the great people of Africa is yet to be fully released.
Gräbe, P. J. “The Pentecostal Discovery of the New Testament Theme of God’s Power and Its Relevance to the African Context.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 24, no. 2 (Fall 2002): 225–42.
AbstractInvestigates a biblical basis for the Pentecostal focus on the power of God. Dimension of the power in the Gospel of Luke; Significance of the power to the message about the life of Jesus Christ in the Acts of the Apostles; Details of Paul's concept of power in the New Testament context.
Hackett, R. I. J. “Charismatic/Pentecostal Appropriation of Media Technologies in Nigeria and Ghana.” Journal of Religion in Africa 28, no. 3 (1998): 258–77.
AbstractThe growth and spread of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity is one of the more salient features of Ethiopia’s recent religious history. However, this process has hardly been addressed by academic studies in the past. Based on original field work and archival research, Jörg Haustein presents the fi rst detailed history of Ethiopian Pentecostalism, from the first Pentecostal mission efforts and the beginnings of an indigenous movement in Imperial Ethiopia to the political constraints of the Derg time and the spread of the movement into the mainline Protestant churches. Moreover, the study seeks to explore how the fictional, political and ideological aspects of its historical sources may be positively employed in order to analyze the genesis and proliferation of religious identities. In dialog with post-structuralist theories of historiography, Haustein thereby develops a basic approach to religious history which centrally accomodates the discursive nature of historical knowledge. Writing Religious History was awarded with the Ruprecht- Karls-Preis of the University of Heidelberg (2011) and the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise (2011).
Haynes, Naomi. “Egalitarianism and Hierarchy in Copperbelt Religious Practice: On the Social Work of Pentecostal Ritual.” Religion 45, no. 2 (April 2015): 273–92.
Helgeson, Kristina. “Pentecostalism as a Moral Order: Action for Israel among Pentecostals in Durban, South Africa.” Swedish Missiological Themes 92, no. 2 (2004): 261–80.
Hittenberger, Jeffrey S. “Globalization, ‘Marketization,’ and the Mission of Pentecostal Higher Education in Africa.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 26, no. 2 (Fall 2004): 182–215.
AbstractExplores the development of institutions of higher education by Pentecostal Christians in Africa. Details of the curriculum of the institutions; Links of the institutions with institutions in the West; Opportunities and challenges facing African Pentecostal higher education; Impact of globalization on the mission of Pentecostal higher education in the continent.
Horn, J. N. “The Experience of the Spirit of Apartheid: Recovery of the Black Roots of Pentecostalism for South African Theology.” In Experiences of the Spirit, edited by J. A. B. Jongeneel, 117–40. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1989.
Horn, Nico. “Power and Empowerment in the Political Context of Some Afrikaans-Speaking Pentecostals in South Africa.” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 32, no. 3 (December 2006): 225–53.
Igboin, Benson O., and Babatunde Adedibu. “‘Power Must Change Hands’: Militarisation of Prayer and the Quest for Better Life among Nigerian Pentecostals.” Cyberjournal for Pentecostal-Charismatic Research 26 (February 2019).
Ireland, Jerry M. “African Traditional Religion and Pentecostal Churches in Lusaka, Zambia: An Assessment.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 21, no. 2 (October 2012): 260–77.
AbstractThis study seeks to discover how African Traditional Religion (ATR) is viewed by Pentecostal church leaders in Lusaka, Zambia. The convenience sample focused on fourteen Pentecostal churches of various denominational affiliations within the city of Lusaka, Zambia. A thirty-one-item survey tool, the Assessment of Traditional Religious Practices (ATRP), was developed and administered to 128 leaders regarding the prevalence of traditional religious practices among their congregants. The ATRP also assessed how these leaders typically respond to concerns related to ATR within their ministerial context. Findings indicated that traditional beliefs and practices continue to persist, though at nominal levels, within these churches. More importantly, a majority of these leaders feel adequately equipped to handle issues related to ATR because they understand their ministerial calling in terms of spiritual empowerment. The study concludes that the challenges presented by ATR regarding Christian discipleship continue to persist in local Pentecostal churches. However, leaders have employed a practical theological understanding of Pentecostalism, allowing them to overcome many of these same challenges.
Jones, Ben. “The Church in the Village, the Village in the Church: Pentecostalism in Teso, Uganda.” Cahiers d’Etudes Africaines 45, no. 2 (2005): 497–517.
Kakwata, Frederick. “The Progressive Pentecostal Conception of Development within an African Context of Poverty.” Stellenbosch Theological Journal 3, no. 1 (2017): 159–83.
Kalu, Ogbu U. “‘Globecalisation’ and Religion: The Pentecostal Model in Contemporary Africa.” In Uniquely African?: African Christian Identity from Cultural and Historical Perspectives, edited by James L. Cox and Gerrie ter Haar, 215–40. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2003.
AbstractConcerning themselves with the problematic nature of African Christian identity, the contributors to this book adopt various cultural, historical, national and educational perspectives in order to reflect on the problem of African identities in a world dominated by Western ideological and religious systems.
Kalu, Ogbu U. “Holy Praiseco: Negotiating Sacred and Popular Music and Dance in African Pentecostalism.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 32, no. 1 (March 2010): 16–40.
AbstractIn post-colonial Africa, Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity has slowly emerged as an influential shaper of culture and identity through its use of music, media, and dance. This article gives an overview of the transitions that have occurred in African politics, identity awareness, and culture, especially as it relates to the indigenous village public and it's interface with the external Western public, and how the emergent cultural public has become the most influential player in shaping the African moral universe. Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity has navigated the shift from a missionary-driven avoidance of indigenous music and dance to the incorporation of indigenous elements, leading in turn to the popularization of Pentecostal music and dance that blends indigenous forms and concepts, Christian symbolism, and popular cultural expressions. The resulting forms have not only shaped Christianity, but also the surrounding culture and its political environment.
Kalu, Ogbu U. “Preserving a Worldview: Pentecostalism in the African Maps of the Universe.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 24, no. 2 (2002): 110–37.
Kalu, Ogbu U. “Sankofa: Pentecostalism and African Cultural Heritage.” In The Spirit in the World: Emerging Pentecostal Theologies in Global Context, edited by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, 135–52. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009.
Kalu, Ogbu U. “Sharia and Islam in Nigerian Pentecostal Rhetoric, 1970–2003.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 26, no. 2 (2004): 242–61.
Kalu, Ogbu U. “The Practice of Victorious Life: Pentecostal Political Theology and Practice in Nigeria, 1970–1996.” Mission: Journal of Mission Studies, University of Ottawa 5, no. 2 (1998): 229–55.
AbstractAcross Africa, Christianity is thriving in all shapes and sizes. But one particular strain of Christianity prospers more than most — Pentecostalism. Pentecostals believe that everyone can personally receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as prophecy or the ability to speak in tongues. In Africa, this kind of faith, in which the supernatural is a daily presence, is sweeping the continent. Today, about 107 million Africans are Pentecostals — and the numbers continue to rise. This book reviews Pentecostalism in Africa. It shows the amazing diversity of the faith, which flourishes in many different forms in diverse local contexts. While most people believe that Pentecostalism was brought to Africa and imposed on its people by missionaries, the book argues emphatically that this is not the case. Throughout, the book demonstrates that African Pentecostalism is distinctly African in character, not imported from the West. With an even-handed approach, the book presents the religion's many functions in African life. Rather than shying away from controversial issues like the role of money and prosperity in the movement, it describes malpractice when it is observed. The book touches upon the movement's identity, the role of missionaries, media and popular culture, women, ethics, Islam, and immigration.
Kalu, Ogbu U. Power, Poverty, and Prayer: The Challenges of Poverty and Pluralism in African Christianity, 1960-1996. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2006.
Kgatle, Mookgo S. “A Practical Theological Approach to the Challenge of Poverty in Post-1994 South Africa: Apostolic Faith Mission as a Case Study.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 73, no. 3 (2017): 1–9.
Kgatle, Mookgo S. “Social Media and Religion: Missiological Perspective on the Link between Facebook and the Emergence of Prophetic Churches in Southern Africa.” Verbum et Ecclesia 39, no. 1 (2018): 1–6.
Knibbe, Kim E. “Geographies of Conversion: Focusing on the Spatial Practices of Nigerian Pentecostalism.” PentecoStudies 9, no. 2 (October 2010): 175–94.
Kock, Wynand de. “Pentecostal Power for a Pentecostal Task: Empowerment Through Engagement in South African Context.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 8, no. 16 (April 2000): 102–16.
AbstractAbstract To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, 'Which,' He said, 'you heard from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.' And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, 'Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?' He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.'And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them; and they also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.' Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.Acts 1.3-12, NASBAnd when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rush ing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.Acts 2.1-4, NASB
Kwofie, John. “The Bible in Contemporary Pentecostal-Charismatic Evangelism in West Africa.” Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology 26 (2014): 82–108.
Larbi, Kingsley E. “African Pentecostalism in the Context of Global Pentecostal Ecumenical Fraternity: Challenges and Opportunities.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 24, no. 2 (Fall 2002): 138–66.
AbstractExamines the characteristics of the Pentecostal movement in Africa in the twentieth century. Factors contributing to the growth of the Christian faith in the region; Origins and development of Pentecostalism; Purpose of the establishment of an ecumenical council; Significance of the Charismatic Renewal to the proliferation of several nondenominational evangelistic associations; Economic implications of the emergence of Christianity as the dominant religion in the continent.
Larbi, Kingsley E. “The Nature of Continuity and Discontinuity of Ghanaian Pentecostal Concept of Salvation in African Cosmology.” Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies 5, no. 1 (2002): 99–119.
AbstractThe book, which is a reprint of an earlier publication, explores the origins and development of Pentecostal-charismatic Christianity in Ghana, with particular interest in the concept of salvation of this strand of African Christianity. Using the worldview of the Akan peoples of Ghana (West Africa) as the starting point, the author indicates that the primal concept of salvation deals with the total wellbeing of an individual, a family, a community, or a people. This understanding, he indicates, encompasses concrete realities like good health, material prosperity, safety, physical and spiritual security from all danger; it also includes peace and tranquility.
He suggests that for the Akan, and other African people, this is the general context within which salvation is perceived and appropriated. The author points out that it was this world view that western mission Christianity encountered. He argues that unless this is taken into consideration in the proclamation of the Christian kerygma, the churches will end up producing “two-world” ‘Christians ‘as the history of Christian missions in Ghana has amply demonstrated. He thinks because of the appeal of Pentecostalism to the primal aspirations the phenomenon, will continue to permeate the strongholds of the established older churches, contrary to their long-held established traditions, influencing both the weak and the powerful. He argues that unless a proper theological and practical response is made by the leadership of the mainline denominations (historical or Pentecostal), those in the opposing rank will be swept aside as the whirlwind of Pentecostal-charismatic Christianity, blows across the land, gathering all those who are “weak and heavy laden” into its bosom.
“Never before has such a detailed study been done on the Pentecostal movement in Ghana. This is indeed our own story, objective and illuminating.”
Apostle Michael Ntumy, Former Chairman of the Church of Pentecost and President of Ghana Pentecostal Council).
The Revd. Prof Emmanuel K. Larbi, holds a doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He is currently the Founder and Chancellor of the Regent University College of Science and Technology, Ghana. His distinguished and exceptional pioneering work led to the establishment of the Central University College, Ghana, where he served as its founding president till 2003. He has once served as the Chairman of the Sub-committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee, (IPAC), which drew up a Code of Conduct for the political parties in Ghana, which led to the 2000 parliamentary and presidential elections.
He currently serves as an Associate Minister at the Pentecost International Worship Centre (Atomic), a ministry of the Church of Pentecost, Ghana.
Lewis, Donald M., ed. Christianity Reborn: The Global Expansion of Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004.
AbstractChristianity Reborn provides the first transnational in-depth analysis of the global expansion of evangelical Protestantism during the past century. While the growth of evangelical Christianity in the non-Western world has already been documented, the significance of this book lies in its scholarly treatment of that phenomenon.
Written by prominent historians of religion, these chapters explore the expansion of evangelical (including charismatic) Christianity in non-English-speaking lands, with special reference to dynamic indigenous responses. The range of locations covered includes western and southern Africa, eastern and southern Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. The concluding essay provides a sociological account of evangelicalism's success, highlighting its ability to create a multiplicity of faith communities suited to very different ethnic, racial, and geographical regions.
At a time of great interest in the growth of Christianity in the non-Western world, this volume makes an important contribution to our understanding of what may be another turning point in the historical development of evangelical faith.
Contributors: Marthinus L. Daneel
Allan K. Davidson
Paul Freston
Robert Eric Frykenberg
Jehu J. Hanciles
Philip Yuen-sang Leung
Donald M. Lewis
David Martin
Mark A. Noll
Brian Stanley
W. R. Ward
Lindhardt, Martin, ed. Pentecostalism in Africa: Presence and Impact of Pneumatic Christianity in Postcolonial Societies. Leiden: Brill, 2015.
AbstractWithin recent decades Pentecostal/charismatic Christianity has moved from an initially peripheral position to become a force to be reckoned with within Africa’s religious landscape. Bringing together prominent Africanist scholars from a wide range of disciplines, this book offers a comprehensive and multifaceted treatment of the ways in which Pentecostal-Charismatic movements have shaped the orientations of African Christianity and extended their influence into other spheres of post-colonial societies such as politics, developmental work and popular entertainment. Among other things, the chapters of the book show how Pentecostal/charismatic Christianity responds to social and cultural concerns of Africans, and how its growth and increasingly assertive presence in public life have facilitated new kinds of social positioning and claims to political power.
Lugazia, Faith K. “‘Theology of Presence’ in African Christianity: A Transforming Missiological Factor for Women in Contemporary Pentecostal Churches in Africa.” International Review of Mission 106, no. 2 (December 2017): 307–21.
Müller, Retief. “African Indigenous Christianity of Pentecostal Type in South Africa in the Twentieth Century and Beyond: Another Reformation?” Theology Today 75, no. 3 (October 2018): 318–29.
Macchia, Frank D. “African Enacting Theology: A Rediscovery of an Ancient Tradition?” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 24, no. 2 (Fall 2002): 105–9.
AbstractPresents an article on enacting theology tradition practiced in African churches. Information on the theological method in relation with the quest to find a place for theology in the university curriculum; Balance of emphasis between Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit; Details of enacting pneumatology of the Spirit's relationship with the Son.
Marshall, Ruth. “The Sovereignty of Miracles: Pentecostal Political Theology in Nigeria.” Constellations 17, no. 2 (2010): 197–223.
AbstractAfter an explosion of conversions to Pentecostalism over the past three decades, tens of millions of Nigerians now claim that “Jesus is the answer.” But if Jesus is the answer, what is the question? What led to the movement’s dramatic rise and how can we make sense of its social and political significance? In this ambitiously interdisciplinary study, Ruth Marshall draws on years of fieldwork and grapples with a host of important thinkers—including Foucault, Agamben, Arendt, and Benjamin—to answer these questions.
To account for the movement’s success, Marshall explores how Pentecostalism presents the experience of being born again as a chance for Nigerians to realize the promises of political and religious salvation made during the colonial and postcolonial eras. Her astute analysis of this religious trend sheds light on Nigeria’s contemporary politics, postcolonial statecraft, and the everyday struggles of ordinary citizens coping with poverty, corruption, and inequality.
Pentecostalism’s rise is truly global, and Political Spiritualities persuasively argues that Nigeria is a key case in this phenomenon while calling for new ways of thinking about the place of religion in contemporary politics.
Marshall-Fratani, Ruth. “Mediating the Global and the Local in Nigerian Pentecostalism.” Journal of Religion in Africa 28, no. 3 (1998): 278–315.
Marshall-Fratani, Ruth. “Power in the Name of Jesus: Social Transformation and Pentecostalism in Western Nigeria Revisited.” In Legitimacy and State in Twentieth Century Africa, edited by O. T. Ranger and Olufemi Vaughan, 213–46. London: Macmillan, 1993.
Maxwell, David. “Christianity without Frontiers: Shona Missionaries and Transnational Pentecostalism in Africa.” In Christianity and the African Imagination: Essays in Honor of Adrian Hastings, edited by David Maxwell and Ingrid Lawrie, 295–332. Leiden: Brill, 2002.
Maxwell, David. “Delivered from the Spirit of Poverty: Pentecostalism, Prosperity and Modernity in Zimbabwe.” Journal of Religion in Africa 28, no. 3 (1998): 350–73.
Maxwell, David. “Historicizing Christian Independency: The Southern African Pentecostal Movement, 1908–1950.” Journal of African History 40 (1999): 243–64.
Maxwell, David. “Social Mobility and Politics in African Pentecostal Modernity.” In Global Pentecostalism in the 21st Century, edited by Robert W. Hefner and Peter L. Berger, 91–114. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2013.
Maxwell, David. African Gifts of the Spirit: Pentecostalism and the Rise of a Zimbabwean Transnational Religious Movement. Martlesham: James Currey, 2006.
AbstractThis book considers the rise of born-again Christianity in Africa through a study of one of the most dynamic Pentecostal movements. David Maxwell traces the transformation of the prophet Ezekiel Guti and his prayer band from small beginnings in the townships of the 1950s into the present-day transnational business enterprise, which is now the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God. Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa claims one and a half million members in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa and has branches in other African countries, Europe, and the United States. African Gifts of the Spirit illuminates Africa’s relations with American Christianities, black and white.
Mbe Akoko, Robert. “‘Ask and You Shall Be given’: Pentecostalism and the Economic Crisis in Cameroon.” Dissertation, Universiteit Leiden, 2020.
AbstractSince the mid-eighties, Cameron has been going through a serious economic crisis. In the same years it has witnessed the proliferation and flourishing of Pentecostal groups-most of them coming in from Nigeria and with a gospel of prosperity as opposed to the gospel of asceticism of classical Pentecostalism. Earlier Pentecostal groups, which had adopted asceticism, are shifting to this new gospel. The rise and spread of Pentecostalism during this period of the crisis, coupled with the mass defection from the established churches could be interpreted as a public sign of dissatisfaction by Christians with the way the established churches have gone about addressing the spiritual and material needs of their followers. As a strategy of not loosing members to Pentecostal groups, mainline churches are gradually adopting the attractive doctrines and practices of Pentecostal groups. Within this period, Cameroon has also been going through a difficult democratization process, which most observers and the public attribute to government’s reluctance to introduce genuine democratic institutions. Mainline churches have been at the forefront of efforts to see a truly democratic society take root in Cameroon. While these churches are making this contribution, Pentecostal churches maintain a more or less neutral position on political issues.
Mbe Akoko, Robert. “‘You Must Be Born-Again’: The Pentecostalisation of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon.” Journal of Contemporary African Studies 25, no. 2 (May 1, 2007): 299–315.
AbstractPentecostalism is now fast growing in the African continent. The growth can be partially attributed to the economic crisis affecting most African countries. The link between economy and the spread of the religion can be best seen in Cameroon, which have opened up economic opportunities by pentecostal groups during the structural adjustment. Meanwhile, the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon (PCC), headquartered in Buea, shows that a gradual pentecostalization process is taking place though the degree varies with congregations. Headed by the youth movement, the new style in the church takes in the form of dancing and singing of pentecostal choruses, house-to-house evangelism, giving of testimonies and spiritual healing. The development is being allowed by Church authorities in order to preserve Church unity. Nevertheless, the new spiritual resurrection in the PCC has enabled people to deeply embrace biblical understanding. In addition, PCC authorities have shown a greater openness to decision-making and grassroots participation which may be tied to democratization processes.
Mbe Akoko, Robert. “New Pentecostalism in the Wake of the Economic Crisis in Cameroon.” Nordic Journal of African Studies 11, no. 3 (2002): 359–76.
AbstractIn recent decades there has been an upsurge of Pentecostal groups in Cameroon. This new wave of Pentecostal groups is coming in with the 'prosperity doctrine' as an economic message at a time when Cameroon is experiencing a serious economic crisis. This is contrary to the ascetic position taken by the mainline Pentecostal churches before the economic crisis started. This article reveals that the mainline Pentecostal churches have, with the crisis, shifted their attention to the 'prosperity doctrine'. It argues that the economic crisis has contributed to the flourishing of these churches and that the shift in the economic message of the mainline groups is a survival strategy.
Mbewe, Conrad. “The Priesthood of All Believers in Africa.” Unio Cum Christo 3, no. 1 (April 2017): 171–81.
Meyer, Birgit. “‘Make a Complete Break with the Past’: Memory and Postcolonial Modernity in Ghanaian Pentecostalist Discourses.” Journal of Religion in Africa 28, no. 3 (1998): 316–49.
Meyer, Birgit. “Christianity in Africa: From African Independent to Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches.” Annual Review of Anthropology 33 (October 1, 2004): 447–74.
AbstractTaking as a point of departure Fernandez's survey (1978), this review seeks to show how research on African Independent Churches (AICs) has been recon-figured by new approaches to the anthropology of Christianity in Africa, in general, and the recent salient popularity of Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches (PCCs) in par-ticular. If the adjectives "African" and "Independent" were once employed as markers of authentic, indigenous interpretations of Christianity, these terms proved to be in-creasingly problematic to capture the rise, spread, and phenomenal appeal of PCCs in Africa. Identifying three discursive frames—Christianity and "traditional religion," Africa and "the wider world," religion and politics—which organize(d) research on AICs and PCCs in the course of the past 25 years, this chapter critically reviews dis-cussions about "Africanization," globalization and modernity, and the role of religion in the public sphere in postcolonial African societies.
Mills, Robert A. “Musical Prayers: Reflections on the African Roots of Pentecostal Music.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 6, no. 12 (April 1998): 109.
AbstractFocuses on Pentecostal music used in Pentecostal worship services. Origin of Pentecostal music; Impact of the music on Afro-Americans; Description of Black holiness churches.
Mohr, Adam. “Out of Zion Into Philadelphia and West Africa: Faith Tabernacle Congregation, 1897-1925.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 32, no. 1 (March 2010): 56–79.
AbstractIn May 1897 Faith Tabernacle Congregation was formally established in North Philadelphia, emerging from an independent mission that shortly thereafter became the Philadelphia branch of John Alexander Dowie's Christian Catholic Church. Faith Tabernacle probably abstained from merging with Dowie's organization because, unlike the Christian Catholic Church, it rigorously followed the faith principle for managing church finances. Like the Christian Catholic Church, Faith Tabernacle established many similar institutions, such as a church periodical (called Sword of the Spirit), a faith home, and a missions department. After Assistant Pastor Ambrose Clark became the second presiding elder in 1917, many of these institutions began flourishing in connection with a marked increase in membership, particularly in the American Mid-Atlantic as well as in Nigeria and Ghana. Unfortunately, a schism occurred in late 1925 that resulted in Clark's leaving Faith Tabernacle to found the First Century Gospel Church. This event halted much of Faith Tabernacle's growth both domestically and in West Africa. Subsequently, many of the former Faith Tabernacle followers in Nigeria and Ghana founded the oldest and largest Pentecostal churches in both countries.
Morton, Barry. “Elias Letwaba, the Apostolic Faith Mission, and the Spread of Black Pentecostalism in South Africa.” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 43, no. 3 (2017): 1–17.
AbstractSince the Charismatics have contributed to our idea of Charisma, it becomes necessary to study and interpret 1 Corinthians 12, where Paul instructs about Charisma. The author’s main purpose is to assess the Nigerian Charismatic Movement in the light of 1 Corinthians 12 and thus, to submit their experiences to the test of biblical text. Consequently, the basic task will be the interpretation and analysis of the term Charisma and the study of its usage in secular and religious literature. Hence, the methods employed are textual criticism and sentence structure analysis. In addition, various hermeneutical procedures and divergent presuppositions will lead to different remarks and conclusions.
Ndung’u, N. W. “African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa and Eschatology.” MA Thesis, University of Nairobi, 1979.
Nel, Marius. “Pentecostals and the Pulpit: A Case Study of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 74, no. 2 (2018): 1–9.
Ngong, David T. “Protesting the Cross: African Pentecostal Soteriology and Pastoral Care.” Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 150 (November 2014): 5–19.
Nkowa, A. O. “The Challenge of Nigerian Pentecostal Theology and the Perspicuity of Scripture.” In Study of Religion in Southern Africa: Essays in Honour of G.C. Oosthuizen, edited by Johannes A. Smit and P. P. Kumar, 115–28. Leiden: BRILL, 2006.
AbstractThis collection of essays in honour of Gerhardus Cornelis (Pippin) Oosthuizen, provides perspectives on current research in Religion and Southern Africa. It includes essays on Indigenous and Diaspora Religions and Religious Literature Hermeneutics.
Nkurunziza, Corneille. “Locally Composed Songs: An Expression of Genuine Contextual Theology? The Case of Songs on HIV and AIDS in Burundian Pentecostal Churches.” Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 142 (March 2012): 58–79.
Ojo, Matthews A. “Nigerian Pentecostalism and Transnational Religious Networks in the West African Coastal Region.” In Enterprises Religieuses Transnationales En Afrique de L’Ouest, edited by Laurent Fourchard, André Mary, and René Otayek, 395–438. Paris: Karthala, 2005.
AbstractThis volume is a study of Charismatic movements in modern Nigeria, a religious phenomenon that emerged in Western Nigeria in the 1970s. Since the beginning of sustained missionary enterprises in Nigeria in the 1840s, no other development has had such an intense effect on the contextualisation of Christianity in Africa. New Charismatic movements have attained much social prominence in Nigeria because of their adroit use of the media, by the attention given to them by the secular media, and because of their large membership mostly comprised of educated youth.
This book represents a pioneer study of Charismatic churches in Nigeria, but it sheds light also on similar movements across Africa. By adopting an historical approach, the author demonstrates how Charismatic movements differ from earlier charismatic trends in Africa, such as the African-initiated Aladura churches in Western Nigeria. The author argues that many of the African Initiated Churches represent a movement from the universal to the local, whereas Charismatic movements show a remarkable shift from the local to the universal.
Themes considered in the book include:
·The historical development of Nigerian Charismatic movements since 1970
·The doctrinal emphases and particular practices of Nigerian Charismatic movements
·The organizational structure of such movements
·The religious style that has enabled these movements to sustain their distinctiveness
·The social characteristics of the Charismatic organizations
Oladipupo, Jacob. “An Assessment of the Origin of Nigerian Pentecostalism and Garrick Sokari Braide’s Healing Ministry of the Niger Delta (1882-1918).” Southwestern Journal of Theology 61, no. 2 (2019): 167–83.
Olanisebe, Samson O. “Elimination by Substitution: The Travesty of Changing Cultural Names to Biblical Names by Pentecostals in Southwestern Nigeria.” Ilorin Journal of Religious Studies 7, no. 2 (2017): 107–24.
Omenyo, Cephas N. “From the Fringes to the Centre: Pentecostalization of the Mainline Churches in Ghana.” Exchange: Journal of Ecumenical and Missiological Research 34, no. 1 (2005): 39–60.
AbstractTheological education is vital for the future of World Christianity—this conviction lies at the heart of this publication. Theological education has the potential to be the seedbed for the renewal of churches, their ministries, mission, and commitment to Christian unity.
If theological education is neglected by church leaders or in funding, the consequences are far reaching; they might not be visible immediately, but they will certainly become manifest over time in the theological competence of church leadership, the holistic nature of mission, and the capacities for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue and the interaction between church and society.
Investment in theological education is investment of hope in the future and mission of World Christianity. The transmission of Christian memory, the education for God’s peace and justice, and the formation for church and community leadership therefore should be priorities in all churches; however, in many places theological education is far from secure or even in crisis at the present time.
Omenyo, Cephas. “Charismatic and Pentecostal Movements in Africa: Western Africa,” 189-190., 2010.
AbstractThe Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity is an authoritative reference guide that enables college and seminary students, their teachers, and Christian clergy to reflect critically upon all aspects of Christianity from its origins to the present day. Written by a team of 800 scholars and practitioners from around the world, the volume reflects the plurality of Christianity throughout its history. Key Features of The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity: *Offers a presentation of the Christian beliefs and practices of all major Christian traditions in each continents and each nation *Highlights the different understandings of Christian beliefs and practices in different historical, cultural, religious, denominational, and secular contexts *Includes entries on methodology and the plurality of approaches that are used in the study of Christianity *Combines several approaches -- – including anthropological, cultural studies, ecumenical, and interfaith -- – to each Christian tradition *Respects each Christian tradition, through the self-presentation of Christianity in each country or Christian tradition *Includes clusters of entries on beliefs and practices, each presenting the understanding of a given Christian belief or practice in different historical and contemporary contexts *Demonstrates the relationship and interaction of Christianity with other religious traditions in various parts of the world *Provides a full bibliography on all topics covered in the volume
Omenyo, Cephas. Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism: A Study of the Development of Charismatic Renewal in the Mainline Church in Ghana. Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum, 2002.
AbstractA study of how African/Ghanaian mainline churches are becoming increasingly pentecostalised.
Onsrud, Line M. “East Africa Pentecostal Churches: A Study of ‘Self-Historisation’ as Contextualisation.” Svensk Missionstidskrift 87, no. 3 (1999): 419–46.
Onyinah, Opoku. “Deliverance as a Way of Confronting Witchcraft in Modern Africa: Ghana as a Case History.” CYBERJOURNAL FOR PENTECOSTAL-CHARISMATIC RESEARCH. Accessed July 8, 2021.
Onyinah, Opoku. “Pentecostalism and the African Diaspora: An Examination of the Missions Activities of the Church of Penecost.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 26, no. 2 (Fall 2004): 216–41.
AbstractDiscovers the missiological principles underlying the Church of Pentecost ministry to the Ghanaian Diaspora. Origin of Pentecostal churches in Ghana; Role of Pastor James McKeown in the mission; Effectiveness of the principles in the ministry to the diasporic communities.
Onyinah, Opoku. Pentecostal Exorcism: Witchcraft and Demonology in Ghana. Blandford Forum: Deo Publishing, 2012.
Abstract"Witchcraft" and exorcism have long been dominant features of life in African cultures. This unique book provides a thorough, field research-based description and analysis of a specifically Pentecostal Christian response to these phenomena within the Akan culture of Ghana. Anthropological studies generally claim that the ultimate goal of exorcism is modernisation. Using interdisciplinary studies with a theological focus, the author takes a different view, arguing that it is divinatory consultation or an inquiry into the sacred and the search for meaning that underlies the current "deliverance" ministry, where the focus is to identify and break down the so-called demonic forces by the power of God and to "deliver" people from their torment. The deliverance ministry is one attempt to contextualise the gospel for African people. However, preoccupation with demonisation and exorcistic practices is found to bring Christianity into tension with the Akan culture, family ties and other religions. In order to develop a properly safeguarded ministry of exorcism in an African context, the author examines contextualisation and suggests the integration into African Christianity of divinatory consultation, which has strong resonances with the biblical concept of prayer.
Oshun, E. O. “The Word of God as Word: A Pentecostal Viewpoint.” African Journal of Biblical Studies 2, no. 1–2 (1987): 106–12.
Otabil, Mensa. Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia: A Biblical Revelation on God’s Purpose for the Black Race. Bakersfield, CA: Pneuma Life Publishing, 1993.
AbstractBeyond the Rivers of Ethiopia is a powerful and revealing look into God's purpose for the Black race. It gives scholastic yet simple answers to questions you have always had about the Black presence in the Bible. The roles and exploits of Blacks in the Bible that have been either omitted or treated lightly by European and Euro American scholars are now revealed. The author exposes long held myths about Africa, doctrinal errors about Blacks being inferior, and exhorts the body of Christ to unite with love and equality.
Premack, Laura. “Prophets, Evangelists, and Missionaries: Trans-Atlantic Interactions in the Emergence of Nigerian Pentecostalism.” Religion 45, no. 2 (April 2015): 221–38.
Pype, Katrien. “Blackberry Girls and Jesus’s Brides: Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity and the (Im-)Moralization of Urban Femininities in Contemporary Kinshasa.” Journal of Religion in Africa 46, no. 4 (2016): 390–416.
Pype, Katrien. “Dancing for God or the Devil: Pentecostal Discourse on Popular Dance in Kinshasha.” Journal of Religion in Africa 36, no. 3 (2006): 296–318.
AbstractThis essay is about implicit ideas of God in Ghanaian Pentecostal songs. It examines and discusses some selected songs or choruses sung by Ghanaian Pentecostal churches. Today these songs have ceased to be the prerogative of the Pentecostals; they are sung by all: Christian and non-Christian. The songs I examine in this paper reveal Ghanaian Pentecostal understanding and interpretation of the being and nature of God. The paper aims at dem-onstrating the naturalness of Ghanaian Pentecostal songs. It also reveals the synthesis of the Akan primal worldview and biblical understanding in the Ghanaian Pentecostal con-cept of God. Yet this paper demonstrates that Ghanaian Pentecostals show a clear disconti-nuity with the primal worldview when they subvert the mediatorial and salvific roles of the traditional deities and spirits with those of Christ and the Christian God.
Quayesi-Amakye, Joseph. “Prosperity and Prophecy in African Pentecostalism.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 20, no. 2 (October 2011): 291–305.
AbstractThis essay discusses how prosperity is understood and articulated in Ghanaian Pentecostal prophetic circles. It seeks to show that in the peripheral prophetism of Pentecostalism, prosperity is perceived as the good life Christ offers those who believe in him. The good life is a religious and social quest of Ghanaians. The bad life is a privation of goodness in this life. Coping with the bad life has necessitated the patronage of Ghanaian prophetic services where rituals of transformation are employed to negotiate evil and suffering in the life of the faithful. Critical in the discussion is the role of the 'Other' who creates conditions of impoverishment for people and who justifies the necessity of prophetic negotiation. The paper also analyses the content of the bad life and finally attempts to show that Christ's parables in Luke 16 propose a guiding paradigm for conceiving prosperity as a tool for harmonious interhuman relations.
Rasmussen, Ane M. B. Modern African Spirituality: The Independent Holy Spirit Churches in East Africa, 1902–1976. London: I. B. Taurus, 1995.
AbstractThe merging of Christianity with traditional African beliefs and practices is widespread throughout Africa and has resulted in churches with rich and elaborate forms and liturgies. Such churches have often been regarded with suspicion by both governments and established churches. Ane Marie Bak Rasmussen traces the history of the Independent Holy Spirit Churches, through divisions and persecution, to their ultimate emergence as the African Church of the Holy Spirit. Unravelling the complex theology and practice of the churches, she describes their loose organizational structure and charismatic forms of worship. In particular, Rasmussen shows how they grew out of the colonial experience, citing taxation under colonial government, forced labour, the undermining of traditional tribal and clan authorities and white settlement on African lands, as key factors in explaining the emergence of the churches. She shows how Africans saw their traditional societies breaking down and how the churches came to fulfil a need to provide a form of solidarity.
Resane, Kelebogile T. “Pentecostals and Apartheid: Has the Wheel Turned around since 1994?” In Die Skriflig 52, no. 1 (2018): 1–8.
Resane, Kelebogile T. “The Centenary of Assemblies of God in South Africa: Historical Reflections on Theological Education and Ministry Formation.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 74, no. 1 (2018): 1–11.
Roy, Kevin. “A ‘South African Pentecost.’” In Zion City RSA: The Story of the Church in South Africa, by Kevin Roy. Pretoria: South African Baptist Historical Society, assisted by the Department of Church History, University of Pretoria, 2000.
Scott, Robin. “Pentecostal Exorcism: Witchcraft and Demonology in Ghana, by Opoku Onyinah.” OKH Journal: Anthropological Ethnography and Analysis Through the Eyes of Christian Faith 4 (January 30, 2020).
Shaw, Mark. “New Jerusalems: Mensa Otabil, African Pentecostalism and Reverse Mission.” In Global Awakening: How 20th-Century Revivals Triggered a Christian Revolution, by Mark Shaw, 159–76. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010.
AbstractThe last century has seen the revolutionary remaking of Christianity into a truly world religion. How did it happen? What triggered the emergence of this new global faith no longer dominated by the West, full of new and vital forms of devotion? Mark Shaw's provocative thesis is that far-flung revivals are at the heart of the global resurgence of Christianity. These were not the quirky folk rituals associated with rural America and nineteenth-century camp meetings that belong more to an age of plows and prairies than of postmodernity and globalization. Rather they were like forces of nature, protean, constantly adjusting their features and ferocity to new times and to new places, speaking Spanish, Portuguese, Yoruba, Korean, Mandarin and Gujarati. They crossed the equator. As they traveled abroad they grabbed hold of missionaries, Bible translations, national evangelists, globalization and glossolalia and turned them into a religious revolution. In this engaging book we read the stories of Joseph Babalola and the Aladura Revival in Africa, of Kil Sun-Ju and the great Korean revival of 1907, of Paulo Borges Jr. and explosion of neo-Pentecostalism in Brazil, and of V. S. Azariah and the mass conversions of the Dalit people in India. As Shaw paints portraits of these and many more, his gallery fills, and we begin to see beyond isolated pictures to the sweeping landscape that we didn't realize was before our eyes all the time.
Shorter, Aylward, and Joseph N. Njiru. New Religious Movements in Africa. Nairobi: Paulines, 2001.
Smith, Daniel J. “‘The Arrow of God’: Pentecostalism, Inequality, and the Supernatural in South-Eastern Nigeria.” Africa 71, no. 4 (November 2001): 587–613.
AbstractIn September 1996 the city of Owerri in south-eastern Nigeria erupted in riots over popular suspicion that the town's nouveaux riches were responsible for a spate of ritual murders allegedly committed in the pursuit of ‘fast wealth’. In addition to destroying the properties of the purported perpetrators, the rioters burned several pentecostal churches. This article examines the place of religion in the Owerri crisis, particularly the central position of pentecostal Christianity in popular interpretations of the riots. While pentecostalism itself fuelled local interpretations that ‘fast wealth’ and inequality were the product of satanic rituals, popular rumours simultaneously accused some pentecostal churches of participating in the very occult practices that created instant prosperity and tremendous inequality. The analysis explores the complex and contradictory place of pentecostalism in the Owerri crisis, looking at the problematic relationship of pentecostalism to structures of inequality rooted in patron-clientism and focusing on the ways in which disparities in wealth and power in Nigeria are interpreted and negotiated through idioms of the supernatural., En septembre 1996, des émeutes ont éclaté dans la ville d'Owerri, dans le Sud-Est du Nigeria, une partie de la population soupçonnant les nouveaux riches de la ville d'être responsables d'une série de meurtres rituels prétendument perpétrés dans le but d'acquérir une « richesse rapide ». Les émeutiers ont non seulement détruit les biens des prétendus coupables, mais aussi brûlé plusieurs églises pentecôtistes. Cet article examine la place de la religion dans la crise d'Owerri et particulièrement la position centrale de la chrétienté pentecôtiste dans les interprétations répandues concernant les émeutes. Alors que le pentecôtisme alimentait lui-même des interprétations locales selon lesquelles la « richesse rapide » et l'inégalité étaient le produit de rituels sataniques, les rumeurs répandues au sein de la population accusaient simultanément certaines églises pentecôtistes de participer aux pratiques occultes créatrices de prospérité instantanée et de grande inégalité. L'analyse examine la place complexe et contradictoire du pentecôtisme dans la crise d'Owerri, en observant le rapport problématique du pentecôtisme aux structures de relations patron-client ancrées dans l'inégalité et en se concentrant sur la manière dont les disparités de richesse et de pouvoir au Nigeria sont interprétées et résolues à travers des idiomes du surnaturel.
Sperber, Elizabeth, and Erin Hern. “Pentecostal Identity and Citizen Engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa: New Evidence from Zambia.” Politics and Religion 11, no. 4 (December 2018): 830–62.
Tishken, Joel E., and Andreas Heuser. “‘Africa Always Brings Us Something New’: A Historiography of African Zionist and Pentecostal Christianities.” Religion 45, no. 2 (April 2015): 153–73.
Ukah, Asonzeh F. K. “Those Who Trade with God Never Lose: The Economics of Pentecostal Activism in Nigeria.” In Christianity and Social Change in Africa: Essays in Honor of J. D. Y. Peel, edited by Toyin Falola, 253–74. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2005.
Ukpong, Donatus P. “Liturgical Prayer of the Faithful: A Theological Adaptation from a Pentecostal Perspective.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 35, no. 3 (December 2013): 385–404.
AbstractThe eucharistic celebration is the highest prayer of the church, where through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is given to God. In this article I examine the modus of the prayer of the faithful at the Roman Catholic eucharistic celebration in Nigeria. Are individuals free to express themselves in worship? I study the church's worship and prayer and offer proposals from the perspective of modern Pentecostalism, which, according to recent surveys and research, is seriously influencing Catholicism in many African countries. Furthermore, I articulate a model of adaptation that respects the church's liturgy and, at the same time, permits the faithful to experience their freedom and the power of the Holy Spirit during liturgical celebrations. Finally, I contend that both intellectualism and emotionalism are valid dimensions of being human and, therefore, are pleasing and acceptable to God in the liturgy.
Vahakangas, Mika, and Andrew A. Kyomo, eds. Charismatic Renewal in Africa: A Challenge for African Christianity. Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 2003.
Wankar, Gabriel T. “Toward Common Ground: Catholicism and Pentecostalism in African Christianity.” International Review of Mission 107, no. 1 (June 2018): 98–115.
Wariboko, Nimi. “Pentecostal Paradigms of National Economic Prosperity in Africa.” In Pentecostalism and Prosperity: The Socio-Economics of the Global Charismatic Movement, edited by Katherine Attanasi and Amos Yong, 35–59. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
AbstractCambridge Core - African Studies - Nigerian Pentecostalism - by Nimi Wariboko
Westerlund, David. “‘Walking in the Spirit’: The Complexity of Belonging in Two Pentecostal Churches in Durban, South Africa.” Svensk Missionstidskrift 95, no. 1 (2007): 96–98.
White, Peter, and Cornelius J. P. Niemandt. “Ghanaian Pentecostal Churches’ Mission Approaches.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 24, no. 2 (July 2015): 241–69.
AbstractMission is first and foremost about God and God's historical redemptive initiative on behalf of creation. In this regard, the Third Lausanne Congress affirms that the Church is called to witness to Christ today by sharing in God's mission of love through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. The World Council of Churches states that 'all Christians, churches and congregations are called to be vibrant messengers of the gospel of Jesus Christ'. How the Church participates in the mission of God is a question on which one should reflect. This article therefore discusses the mission approaches of Ghanaian Pentecostal churches. The article begins with a description of the Ghanaian mission strategic plan, their spiritual approach to mission, and then proceeds with other approaches in the light of Walls' 'five marks of mission' (i.e. evangelism, discipleship, responding to the social needs of people through love, transforming the unjust structures of society, and safe-guarding the integrity of creation) and Krintzinger's (and others') holistic mission approach (i.e. kerygmatic, diaconal, fellowship, and liturgical). This article argues that mission should be approached with a careful strategy.
Witte, Marleen de. “Pentecostal Forms across Religious Divides: Media, Publicity, and the Limits of an Anthropology of Global Pentecostalism.” Religions 9, no. 7 (July 2018): 1–13.
Yong, Amos. “Justice Deprived, Justice Demanded: Afropentecostalisms and the Task of World Pentecostal Theology Today.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 15, no. 1 (October 2006): 127–47.
AbstractBy and large, Pentecostal theology has proceeded with little attention to black Pentecostalism except as 'objects' of historical or sociological analysis. But what does Afropentecostalism--black Pentecostalism in its global contexts have to contribute to the formulation of a world Pentecostal theology for the twenty-first century? The works of Frank Chikane in South Africa, Robert Beckford in Britain, and Cheryl Sanders in North America are discussed and analyzed as points of entry into the theology of Afropentecostal churches. This essay assumes that the future of world Pentecostal theology cannot ignore the important contributions of Afropentecostal theological traditions. He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.
Yong, Amos. “Out of Africa? Pentecostalism in Africa, the African Diaspora, and to the Ends of the Earth.” Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 35, no. 3 (December 2013): 315–17.
AbstractAn introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including African Pentecostalism, reverse mission diasporic Christians and reformation of the African Christianity.
Zaalanga, Samuel. “Religion, Economic Change and Cultural Development: The Contradictory Role of Pentecostal Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Journal of Third World Studies 27, no. 1 (2010): 43–62.
Zalanga, Samuel. “Christianity in Africa: Pentecostalism and Sociocultural Change in the Context of Neoliberal Globalization.” In The Changing World Religion Map : Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics, 1827–61. Dordrecht: Springer, 2015.
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