Kenya
A Nation Born Again
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/ptcs.v14i2.26825Keywords:
Development, Pentecostal, Kenya, Politics, nationalismAbstract
In much of the work on Pentecostalism and development to date, Pentecostals have been considered as individual, adult converts adopting new (in contrast to traditional) socioeconomic approaches. These are seen by some authors as having transformative results for personal wellbeing and economic success as they are no longer subject to the restrictions of state, nation and society; others present opposite conclusions. As an alternative point of departure, this article considers that Charismatic, Pentecostal Christianity has been of great importance in the creation and evolution of Kenya as a state and nation. This understanding is used to illuminate the themes that dominated the country’s general election of 2013 and its developmental ramifications. It is suggested that exploring Pentecostalism at the level of nation and state, whilst continuing to allow for the importance of conceptions of personal responsibility, offers an additional and complimentary approach for exploring Pentecostalism and development.
References
Anderson, A. An Introduction to Pentecostalism. Cambridge: University Press, 2004.
Anderson, D. Histories of the Hanged. London: Orion, 2005.
Berger, P. Faith and Development: A Global Perspective. Johannesburg: Centre for Development and Enterprise, March 2008.
Brouwer, S., P. Gifford, and S. Rose. Exporting the American Gospel: Global Christian Fundamentalism. London: Routledge, 1996.
Deacon, G. “Pentecostalism and Development in Kibera Informal Settlement, Nairobi”. Development in Practice 22.5–6 (2012): 663–74.
—. “Satan’s Snake and Political Violence in Kenya”. In H. Moksnes and M. Melin (eds), Faith in Civil Society. Uppsala: Uppsala University, 2013: 158–63.
— and G. Lynch. “Allowing Satan In? Toward a Political Economy of Pentecostalism in Kenya”. Journal of Religion in Africa 43.2 (2013): 108–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15700666-12341247
—, G. Gona, H. Mwakimako and J. Willis. “Preaching Politics: Islam and Christianity on the Kenya Coast”. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, forthcoming (2015).
Englund, H. “Pentecostalism Beyond Belief: Trust and Democracy in a Malawian Township”. Africa 77.4 (2007): 480–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/afr.2007.77.4.477
— and J. Leach. “Ethnography and the Meta-Narratives of Modernity”. Current Anthropology 41 (2000): 225–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/300126
Freeman, D. (ed.). Pentecostalism and Development: Churches, NGOs and Social Change in Africa. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
—. “Pentecostalism and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa”. In E. Tomalin (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Religion and Global Development. Abingdon: Routledge, 2015: 114–26.
Gifford, P. Christianity, Politics and Public Life in Kenya. London: Hurst, 2009.
—. Ghana’s New Christianity: Pentecostalism in a Globalising African Economy. London: Hurst, 2004.
Glyptis, S. Leisure and Unemployment. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1989.
Hasu, P. “Prosperity Gospels and Enchanted Worldviews: Two Responses to Socioeconomic Transformation in Tanzanian Pentecostal Christianity”. In Freeman, Pentecostalism and Development: 67–86.
Huntington, S. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Jenkins, P. The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Johnston, S. Under the Radar: Pentecostalism in South Africa and its Potential Social and Economic Role. Johannesburg: Centre for Development and Enterprise, 2008.
Kalu, O. African Pentecostalism: An Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195340006.001.0001
Küng, H. and D. Tracy (eds). Paradigm Change in Theology: A Symposium for the Future. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1989.
Lynch, G. “Electing the ‘Alliance of the Accused’: The Success of the Jubilee Alliance in Kenya’s Rift Valley”. Journal of Eastern African Studies 8.1 (2014): 93–114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2013.844438
Martin, D. On Secularization: Towards a Revised General Theory. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005.
—. Pentecostalism: The World Their Parish. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002.
Maxwell, D. African Gifts of the Spirit: Pentecostalism and the Rise of a Zimbabwean Transnational Religious Movement. Oxford: James Currey, 2006.
Meyer, B. “Christianity in Africa: From African Independent to Pentecostal–Charismatic Churches”. Annual Review of Anthropology 33 (2004): 447–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.33.070203.143835
—. “Make a Complete Break with the Past: Memory and Post-Colonial Modernity in Ghanaian Discourse”. Journal of Religion in Africa 28.3 (1998): 316–49.
—. “Pentecostalism and Neo-liberal Capitalism: Faith, Prosperity and Vision in African Pentecostal- Charismatic Churches”. Journal for the Study of Religion 20.2 (2007): article 47769. Available at www.ajol.info/index.php/jsr/article/view/47769.
—. “Response to Harri Englund and James Leach, ‘Ethnography and the Meta-Narratives of Modernity’”. Current Anthropology 41 (2000): 242.
Ochomo, K. L. “How to Prevent Spread of AIDS”. Daily Nation, Nairobi (8 November 2001).
Parsitau, D. “Arise, oh ye Daughters of Faith: Women, Pentecostalism and Public Culture in Kenya”. In H. Englund (ed.), Christianity and Public Culture in Africa. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2011: 131–48.
Pew Forum. Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population. Washington DC: Pew Research Center, 2011.
Phiri, I. “President Frederick J. T. Chiluba of Zambia: The Christian Nation and Democracy”. Journal of Religion in Africa 33.4 (2003): 401–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157006603322665332
Robbins, J. “On the Paradoxes of Global Pentecostalism and the Perils of Continuity Thinking”. Religion 33 (2003): 221–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S0048-721X(03)00055-1
Spronk, R. “Sex, Sexuality and Negotiating Africanness in Nairobi”. Africa 79.4 (2009): 500–519. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/E0001972009001041
Anderson, D. Histories of the Hanged. London: Orion, 2005.
Berger, P. Faith and Development: A Global Perspective. Johannesburg: Centre for Development and Enterprise, March 2008.
Brouwer, S., P. Gifford, and S. Rose. Exporting the American Gospel: Global Christian Fundamentalism. London: Routledge, 1996.
Deacon, G. “Pentecostalism and Development in Kibera Informal Settlement, Nairobi”. Development in Practice 22.5–6 (2012): 663–74.
—. “Satan’s Snake and Political Violence in Kenya”. In H. Moksnes and M. Melin (eds), Faith in Civil Society. Uppsala: Uppsala University, 2013: 158–63.
— and G. Lynch. “Allowing Satan In? Toward a Political Economy of Pentecostalism in Kenya”. Journal of Religion in Africa 43.2 (2013): 108–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15700666-12341247
—, G. Gona, H. Mwakimako and J. Willis. “Preaching Politics: Islam and Christianity on the Kenya Coast”. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, forthcoming (2015).
Englund, H. “Pentecostalism Beyond Belief: Trust and Democracy in a Malawian Township”. Africa 77.4 (2007): 480–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/afr.2007.77.4.477
— and J. Leach. “Ethnography and the Meta-Narratives of Modernity”. Current Anthropology 41 (2000): 225–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/300126
Freeman, D. (ed.). Pentecostalism and Development: Churches, NGOs and Social Change in Africa. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
—. “Pentecostalism and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa”. In E. Tomalin (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Religion and Global Development. Abingdon: Routledge, 2015: 114–26.
Gifford, P. Christianity, Politics and Public Life in Kenya. London: Hurst, 2009.
—. Ghana’s New Christianity: Pentecostalism in a Globalising African Economy. London: Hurst, 2004.
Glyptis, S. Leisure and Unemployment. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1989.
Hasu, P. “Prosperity Gospels and Enchanted Worldviews: Two Responses to Socioeconomic Transformation in Tanzanian Pentecostal Christianity”. In Freeman, Pentecostalism and Development: 67–86.
Huntington, S. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Jenkins, P. The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Johnston, S. Under the Radar: Pentecostalism in South Africa and its Potential Social and Economic Role. Johannesburg: Centre for Development and Enterprise, 2008.
Kalu, O. African Pentecostalism: An Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195340006.001.0001
Küng, H. and D. Tracy (eds). Paradigm Change in Theology: A Symposium for the Future. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1989.
Lynch, G. “Electing the ‘Alliance of the Accused’: The Success of the Jubilee Alliance in Kenya’s Rift Valley”. Journal of Eastern African Studies 8.1 (2014): 93–114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2013.844438
Martin, D. On Secularization: Towards a Revised General Theory. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005.
—. Pentecostalism: The World Their Parish. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002.
Maxwell, D. African Gifts of the Spirit: Pentecostalism and the Rise of a Zimbabwean Transnational Religious Movement. Oxford: James Currey, 2006.
Meyer, B. “Christianity in Africa: From African Independent to Pentecostal–Charismatic Churches”. Annual Review of Anthropology 33 (2004): 447–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.33.070203.143835
—. “Make a Complete Break with the Past: Memory and Post-Colonial Modernity in Ghanaian Discourse”. Journal of Religion in Africa 28.3 (1998): 316–49.
—. “Pentecostalism and Neo-liberal Capitalism: Faith, Prosperity and Vision in African Pentecostal- Charismatic Churches”. Journal for the Study of Religion 20.2 (2007): article 47769. Available at www.ajol.info/index.php/jsr/article/view/47769.
—. “Response to Harri Englund and James Leach, ‘Ethnography and the Meta-Narratives of Modernity’”. Current Anthropology 41 (2000): 242.
Ochomo, K. L. “How to Prevent Spread of AIDS”. Daily Nation, Nairobi (8 November 2001).
Parsitau, D. “Arise, oh ye Daughters of Faith: Women, Pentecostalism and Public Culture in Kenya”. In H. Englund (ed.), Christianity and Public Culture in Africa. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2011: 131–48.
Pew Forum. Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population. Washington DC: Pew Research Center, 2011.
Phiri, I. “President Frederick J. T. Chiluba of Zambia: The Christian Nation and Democracy”. Journal of Religion in Africa 33.4 (2003): 401–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157006603322665332
Robbins, J. “On the Paradoxes of Global Pentecostalism and the Perils of Continuity Thinking”. Religion 33 (2003): 221–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S0048-721X(03)00055-1
Spronk, R. “Sex, Sexuality and Negotiating Africanness in Nairobi”. Africa 79.4 (2009): 500–519. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/E0001972009001041
Published
2015-08-04
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Deacon, G. (2015). Kenya: A Nation Born Again. PentecoStudies, 14(2), 219-240. https://doi.org/10.1558/ptcs.v14i2.26825
